LinkedIn launches in-app job application feature

Now you can search for a job – and apply for it – without ever putting down your smart phone. 

Back in July, LinkedIn rolled out a feature that allowed users to search job listings via a smart phone or tablet. 

Now the California company is taking the natural next step, and making it possible to actually apply for those jobs without ever leaving the warming glow of your smart phone. In a blog post today, LinkedIn product manager Vaibhav Goel says the new feature would be rolled out globally today; to access it, you'll have to download the latest version of the free iOS or Android app. 

"Over 30 percent of members who view jobs on LinkedIn come from mobile and we want to make it easier for members to fully complete their job-seeking experience from mobile," Goel wrote in the post. 

The whole thing is pretty simple: Going forward, each listing on the LinkedIn app will include an "apply" or "save job" button. If you click "save job," you can return to the listing later, perhaps on your desktop. You can use your LinkedIn profile to apply (no resume attachment necessary) or you can enter new information straight from the app. 

Not that everyone is thrilled about the functionality. Writing in the comments section of a TechCrunch article on the LinkedIn app, one critic suggested that mobile applicants might lack a little bit of ... drive. 

"Maybe I'm just a little old-fashioned but I feel as though applying for a position via your mobile is like being the lazy kid who cant get his trash into the trashcan 3 feet away," the commenter wrote. "Get to your computer, take time building out a resume and submit it with a cover letter. Show the hiring manager you really want a job, not that you gave it your very least effort by clicking a single button." 

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