First Thoughts: LinkedIn 'Apply' Button

Buttons seem to be very much in vogue at the moment, with both Google and Twitter recently joining the ubiquitous Facebook 'Like' button in popping up across the web. Not one to miss out on a good trend and recently buoyed by their mega-IPO, LinkedIn are set to join the buttonistas with their 'Apply With LinkedIn' button. Although not officially announced as of yet, details have emerged via GigaOM of the button which, according to a “source briefed on the feature”, is set to launch by the end of June.

The button is intended to be embedded in the jobs section of a companies website in order to streamline the recruitment process, effectively negating the need to upload a separate resume (traditionally a .doc / .pdf document). Aside from purely submitting their LinkedIn profile as a CV replacement, the hiring company can also ask a few additional questions, and the applicant is also presented with a few additional pieces of information such as connections who are affiliated with the company or additional similar job openings to which to apply.

Undoubtedly a good move for LinkedIn, as discussed by GigaOM; currently generating 43% of their revenue through their recruitment solutions, it makes sense in the decentralised state that the recruitment industry finds itself in that they move to ingrain themselves further in to the recruitment process. Another benefit to LinkedIn will be uplift in their own user base; if this does become the de-facto way to apply for jobs, then even those who try to avoid making any kind of social footprint on the web could persuaded to sign up.

The surface benefit for candidates is also clear; if this takes off, then a candidate will one-touch applications available to them across multiple job sites, customer websites and recruiter sites, cutting down on the time filling in cumbersome forms and uploading a CV. It also has the effect of putting your CV in the cloud, which has the practical effect of meaning you no longer need to use a USB Stick or Dropbox et al to apply for jobs if you are anywhere other than home, plus applying from mobile devices will be a more viable option.

And what does this mean to us as recruiters? After all the dust has settled, I don't think it will have too much of an impact on the industry. Agency side, at first glance, it looks like it takes a little more power away, and there is a lot of noise around social networking eliminating the need for recruitment agents at all; an overreacting certainly, and used properly this should prove to be another useful tool. I'm sure this will be adopted gleefully across the board by in-house recruitment teams; with this however comes the danger that you will be bombarded with even more applicants than you already receive, and with that a higher proportion of irrelevant / unqualified applicants, making the filtering process a longer and more arduous one. As a good agent will know, there is no better route in to a client than when they are wasting their own time shifting through a mountain of CVs; provide a solution to this and you're golden.

That said, I'm fully behind the move from LinkedIn; and I'm sure it will lend some weight to every cent of their $9.1billion worth.