Let's face it. Staring at a big screen on your lap or desk all day doesn't always make for the most conducive environment for job seeking. Amid the doldrums of unemployment, there's only so many hours to waste before the urge to get outdoors to soak up all that newfound freedom takes hold.
A new mobile app from LinkedIn tries to embrace that reality while at the same time elevating the needs of its most engaged users in an increasingly mobile world. The LinkedIn Job Search app, which is available only on iOS devices in the U.S. for the time being, is LinkedIn's first standalone app dedicated to helping its members find, research and apply for jobs.
"More than 40 percent of you are currently using mobile to look at jobs on LinkedIn. We get it. It can be hard to search for a job while you're at your desk, not to mention the potentially awkward conversation with your current boss," product manager Daniel Ayele writes in a blog post detailing the features of the app.
Keep Your Job Search Discreet
"Our goal is to help make this process easier for you and to help you be discreet. We keep everything you do within the app private by not sharing your activity with your network," he adds.
Speed is important too, as applicants who apply to jobs on the first day they're posted are 10 percent more likely to land the job, according to LinkedIn.
After downloading and logging into the app for the first time, users are confronted with the usual barrage of permissions, requesting access to determine their location and send push notifications. LinkedIn Jobs Search then opens to a simple search page enabling users to search for jobs by title, keyword and location.
Upon viewing those initial results users can drill down further by tapping on the filter icon in the upper right corner. Sort results by tapping on "most relevant" or "most recent" at the top, and expand or narrow your search radius with a slider button.
By scrolling down further on the filters pages, users can also search for jobs by company, function, industry or seniority level. Customized job searches can also be saved for future retrieval.
Job postings that carry the "In Apply" icon can be applied for directly within the app using information from your LinkedIn profile. Other companies will send applicants directly to their website to apply for open positions.
Four Pillars of LinkedIn's Dedicated Jobs App
Four main tabs running along the bottom of the app enable users to switch from search to discover, track and notifications. The discover tab will only surface jobs that might be relevant to you if you have a complete profile and the requirement appears to be rigid. In my experience the discover window was completely even though I maintain a nearly complete profile on LinkedIn.
Track allows users to see all of the jobs they've viewed, saved or applied for in a single menu. Finally, much like the desktop version of LinkedIn, the notifications tab will alert users to any saved jobs that are about to expire, when a recruiter has viewed your application or when new jobs are posted that meet your criteria.
"Landing your dream job can feel like a full-time job. So we wanted to make it easier to find, research and apply for your next opportunity by maximizing your in between' moments," LinkedIn's Ayele writes. "The next time you're in a line for coffee or stuck waiting for a delayed flight, why not jumpstart your job search from your phone."
LinkedIn tells CIO.com it plans to expand the new Job Search app to more countries and languages in future releases.
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