Start from the Jobs icon, describe the role you're after as you'd say it out loud, then use the filters to narrow what you see. Turn on alerts to hear about new matches, save what you like and apply with Easy Apply or Apply.
Before you start searching for roles
- A LinkedIn account you can sign in to, on a computer or on your phone.
- A one-line description of the job you want, written the way you'd say it out loud.
- Your job preferences checked: on desktop they're at Jobs > Preferences > Open to work.
Finding and saving jobs, click by click
These are the desktop steps, with the phone route underneath.
- Open the Jobs page with the Jobs icon on your homepage.
- Use the search bar to say what you're looking for, in your own words.
- Add more details, or pick from the job roles suggested to you.
- Refine what comes back with the filters or suggestions at the top.
- Turn on the alerts toggle once your filters are set.
- Click Save on a job's details page to keep it.
The same search on your phone
- Tap the Jobs icon.
- Tap into the search bar and describe the job you want.
- Open a job post that interests you.
- Tap Easy Apply or Apply at the top of the job post.
- Follow the prompts.
Step two is the one worth slowing down on. The example on LinkedIn's job search help page is senior product designer for fintech in California, which packs a seniority, a job title, a sector and a place into one line. Aim for the same four things, then add or remove detail depending on how many results come back.
What the alerts toggle and Save button do for you
Once the alerts toggle is on, you get job alerts for that search. So the quality of your alerts depends on the quality of the search you built. A vague description gets you vague alerts, which is why the filters come first and the toggle comes last. Spend the extra minute narrowing things down, and only then switch it on.
Job titles vary from one employer to the next, so don't stop at your first description. Try the alternative names your kind of role goes by and see which one brings back the closest matches. Once you've found the wording that works, that's the search to switch alerts on for.
Save solves a different problem: you've found something good and you haven't got time to apply right now. Clicking Save on the job details page keeps that job for you, so you can come back when you've got the time to do it justice.
If you want to get the search itself tighter, there's more on searching for jobs on LinkedIn. If this is only one part of your hunt, searching remote job sites effectively covers the other places to look. And if an application form asks about your profile, here's what listing your LinkedIn profile on an application means.
Easy Apply and Apply aren't the same button
There are two kinds of posting, and they take you to different places. Easy Apply lets you apply for the job on LinkedIn itself. Apply sends you out to the company's website or a third-party site, and you apply there.
It's a small difference in the label and a big one in what happens next. Once you've been sent away, you're on someone else's site and working through whatever process it has. So before you tap either button, check which one you're looking at. On your phone, either button sits at the top of the job post, so that's the first place to read the label.
Plan your time around that. The plain Apply roles need a bigger slot, because the other site's requirements are a mystery until you're on it. Easy Apply ones can be done without leaving LinkedIn. Whichever you use, keep a note of where you've applied, especially for the roles that took you off to another site.
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For the rest of the series, see the LinkedIn Help: 28 Guides to Profile Views, Impressions, Algorithm and Account Fixes.
Related: the linkedin page.
Frequently asked questions
Can employers see the jobs I've saved?
Check LinkedIn's help pages before you assume either way, because who can see that isn't something to guess at while you're job hunting.
What are the suggested job roles based on?
Your preferences and qualifications.
Will a job alert cover all my searches?
No. The toggle turns on alerts for the search you've just filtered.
Can I stop a job alert once I've found something?
Check LinkedIn's help pages for the current way to manage or stop an alert.
Do I have to apply straight away?
No. Click Save on the job details page and come back to it.
Do I have to type exact job titles?
No. You can describe the job in your own words, then add details or pick from the job roles that are suggested to you.
