To apply on Workday, you create a candidate account on that employer’s own Workday career site, verify your email, and complete a form that runs over several pages: My Information, My Experience, Application Questions, Voluntary Disclosures, Self Identify and Review. Upload your resume at the start so Workday can pre-fill what it can, then correct every field before you submit.
Each employer runs its own Workday site and decides which pages and questions appear, so no two applications are identical. The account you made for one company does not sign you in at the next.
Key takeaways
- Workday accounts are per employer. Expect to create a new one, and verify your email again, for almost every company you apply to.
- The usual page order is My Information, My Experience, Application Questions, Voluntary Disclosures, Self Identify and Review. Employers rename, hide and require pages and fields.
- Resume autofill is a first draft. Check every job, date and school it enters.
- Attach your documents on the My Experience page and review everything before you submit. Employers commonly lock an application once it is in.
- After you apply, Candidate Home shows your applications, their status and any tasks the employer sends you.
01
Why does every company need a new Workday account?
Workday is not one job site. It is software that each employer runs as its own career site, so the account you create belongs to that employer alone. Workday’s administrator documentation describes it from the employer’s side: candidates register an account on the employer’s external career site, and the employer chooses whether an account is required for every application. Workday recommends requiring one.
In practice:
- You sign up with an email address and a password, then click the link in a verification email to activate the account.
- Password rules are set by each employer. The University of Virginia, for example, asks for at least eight characters with uppercase and lowercase letters, a number and a special character.
- Your login at one employer does not work at another, even though the pages look the same.
A password manager and one dedicated email address make this manageable.
02
How do you apply on Workday, step by step?
These steps follow the instructions that the University of Virginia and Washington University in St. Louis publish for their own applicants. Page names and order vary by employer.
- Open the posting and select Apply. Start from the employer’s careers page so you land on the right Workday site.
- Create an account or sign in. Enter your email and a password, then activate the account from the verification email.
- Choose how to start. Typical options are Autofill with Resume, Apply Manually, Use My Last Application and Apply with LinkedIn. Some sites show a Quick Apply screen that asks for your resume first. Every option except manual entry fills parts of the form for you.
- My Information. Confirm your name, address, phone and email. You may also be asked how you heard about the job and whether you have worked for the employer before.
- My Experience. Check each job, date and school that autofill entered, add what it missed, and attach your resume and any other documents the posting asks for.
- Application Questions. These are the employer’s screening questions, and they are often required. Answer carefully: screening answers are what automatic rules act on, as the guide to what an ATS does explains.
- Voluntary Disclosures and Self Identify. The first page holds the employer’s disclosure questions and the terms you must accept to continue; UVA labels it Personal Information. On US applications, Self Identify held the federal Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form. The Department of Labor discontinued that form on September 21, 2026, so the page may be shorter or missing on applications you open now.
- Review and submit. Read the whole application on the Review page, go back to fix anything, then select Submit.
Email for applications: [address you check every day] Phone and mailing address: [as shown on your resume] Each job: [employer] | [title] | [start month and year] to [end month and year] | [city] Each school: [name] | [degree] | [field of study] | [years attended] Links: [LinkedIn URL] | [portfolio or GitHub URL] Work authorization: [your status] | Sponsorship needed: [yes or no] Files: [resume as .docx or text-based PDF] | [cover letter, if the posting asks]
03
What should you check after resume autofill?
Autofill reads your resume and copies what it recognizes into the My Experience page. Workday’s documentation lists the sections an employer can place there: work experience, education, certifications, languages, skills, websites and the resume file itself. The employer decides which of these appear and which are required, so the same resume produces a different form at each company.
Treat the result as a draft. The University of Virginia tells its applicants that not all data from an uploaded document carries over, and that each field needs a careful review before submission. Go through it in this order:
- Work experience: every employer, job title, start and end date, and description.
- Education: school, degree, field of study and dates.
- Skills, languages and certifications: fill in any section the form left empty.
- Websites: your LinkedIn or portfolio address, if the form has a field for it.
- Attachments: confirm that the resume file is attached.
If a site shows no autofill option at all, the employer has switched resume parsing off for applicants. Type your history in and attach the resume on My Experience. If the upload itself fails, see Workday resume upload not working. A plain, single-column file gives autofill the best chance, for the reasons in the ATS-friendly resume guide.
04
What happens after you submit a Workday application?
When you select Submit, a confirmation message appears and a confirmation email goes to the address on your account. From then on, the Candidate Home page of that employer’s site is your record.
- Your applications. A list, labeled My Applications or Submitted Applications depending on the employer, shows each job title, its requisition number, the date you applied and a status that updates as you move through the process. At Washington University, declined applications move to an Inactive tab.
- Tasks. Workday lets employers send requests to your account: questionnaires, requests for more information, interview scheduling, documents to sign, ID uploads and assessment tests. Check Candidate Home as well as your email.
- Drafts. At the University of Virginia, an unfinished application is saved automatically under Draft Applications, where you can continue or delete it.
Employers commonly lock a submitted application: Washington University allows changes to contact details only, not to answers or attachments. And if you withdraw a Workday application there, you cannot reapply to the same requisition.
A job application tracker saves you from signing in to a dozen career sites to remember where you applied.
05
How do you fix common Workday application errors?
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You cannot sign in or finish the form on an iPhone, an iPad or in Safari | The career site is embedded in another page and the browser blocks third-party cookies, which Workday says can stop sign-in and applications | Switch to a desktop browser such as Chrome, or allow cross-site cookies for the site |
| No verification email | It went to spam, or the address has a typo | Search spam for the employer’s name and “myworkday”; Washington University’s password emails, for example, come from an address at myworkday.com |
| The password is rejected or the account is locked | Too many failed attempts, or a stray space around the email address | Use the “Forgot your password?” link on the sign-in window and retype the email |
| Your school will not appear in the list | The list loads slowly; at Washington University it loads only after you press Enter | Type the first few letters, press Enter and wait, or choose “School Not Found” if it is offered |
| A page will not load or shows an error | An outdated browser, other open windows or a pop-up blocker | Close other windows, update the browser, turn off the pop-up blocker or try another browser |
| You spotted a mistake after submitting | Submitted applications are locked at many employers | Update contact details under Settings in Candidate Home and send the recruiter any other correction |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a different Workday account for every employer?
Yes, for almost every one. Each employer runs its own Workday career site with its own candidate accounts, so an account created at one company does not exist at another. You sign up again with an email and password and activate the account from a verification email.
Can I edit a Workday application after I submit it?
Often not. Washington University in St. Louis, for example, lets applicants update contact details after submission but not answers or attachments. Review everything on the Review page before you submit. If you find a serious error later, send the correction to the recruiter.
How do I check the status of a Workday application?
Sign in to the same employer’s career site and open Candidate Home. The list of your applications shows each job, the date you applied and its current status, and it updates as the application moves forward or is declined. Each employer’s site shows only the applications you made there.
Can I save a Workday application and finish it later?
Usually. At the University of Virginia, an application you start is saved automatically under Draft Applications in Candidate Home, where you can continue, view or delete it. Sign back in to the same employer’s site to find it.
Can I reuse an earlier Workday application?
At the same employer, yes, where the option is offered. Use My Last Application fills the new form from the one you submitted before, ready for you to edit. It does not carry over to a different company’s Workday site.
Sources
- Workday Documentation: Steps: Set Up Candidate Home Accounts: accounts on each employer’s career site, whether one is required, and the tasks employers can send.
- Workday Documentation: Create Job Application Templates: the My Experience sections, hidden and required fields, and when autofill is not shown.
- Workday Documentation: Create External Career Sites: embedded sites and third-party cookies, the source and previous-worker questions, terms consent and the disability self-identification form.
- U.S. Department of Labor, OFCCP: Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form: the rule that discontinued the form on September 21, 2026.
- University of Virginia Human Resources: Applying for a Job at UVA, External Applicants: account creation, Quick Apply, the order of the screens and draft applications.
- Washington University in St. Louis Human Resources: External Applicant FAQ: ways to start an application, status in Candidate Home, limits on editing, password resets and browser fixes.
Published by Jobbie and last updated on October 6, 2026. This guide is general information for job seekers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.