LinkedIn has become one of the most popular platforms for finding jobs and making professional connections. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional network on the internet. For job seekers, LinkedIn provides an easy way to search for open positions, connect with recruiters and hiring managers, and submit job applications.
But when you apply for a job on LinkedIn, who can see that you’ve applied? Can other LinkedIn members, recruiters, or even the general public see when you’ve submitted an application? Understanding how much of your job search activity is visible to others is important for managing your professional reputation.
What LinkedIn Members Can See When You Apply for a Job
When you apply for a job through LinkedIn, your connections in your network cannot see that you’ve applied. Your job applications are not broadcasted or shared with your connections or followers. This helps maintain privacy during your job search.
The only people that are notified when you apply for a job are:
- You (the applicant)
- The job poster
- LinkedIn Recruiters who have access to the job posting
The job poster could be the company itself, a staffing agency, or the hiring manager for the role. LinkedIn Recruiters are talent acquisition professionals who use LinkedIn Recruiter to source candidates for open roles.
So when you apply for a job through LinkedIn, the company trying to fill the role is notified. But your wider network remains unaware. Your job search activity is not public.
Can Connections See Your Job Applications in Activity or Profile?
Since your connections are not notified when you apply for jobs, they cannot see your job applications in your activity or profile. Your connections will not get any indication that you have applied for jobs.
The “Activity” section of your profile only shows endorsements, connections, and content you have shared. Job applications do not show up here. And a connection would not see job applications on your profile itself either.
It’s not possible for your connections, followers, or the general public to see what jobs you’ve applied for through LinkedIn. Your job search is private.
Are Submitted Applications Visible to Recruiters?
As mentioned above, LinkedIn recruiters are notified when you apply for a job that they have access to. Recruiters can see your submitted application within LinkedIn Recruiter.
If the job was posted directly by the hiring company, their internal recruiters would see your application. For jobs posted by staffing agencies, those agency recruiters would see you applied. And third-party recruiters may also have access depending on their arrangement with the hiring company.
So while recruiters can see some of your job search activity, regular LinkedIn members do not have this level of visibility. Only professional recruiters trying to fill a role can view applicants.
Can You See Who Has Viewed Your Profile?
Since recruiters can see when you apply for jobs, this potentially tips them off to view your LinkedIn profile. But can you see who has looked at your profile?
With a standard LinkedIn account, you cannot see who has viewed your profile. You can only see the aggregate number of profile views for the past 90 days.
With a LinkedIn Premium account, you can see more details on who has viewed your profile, including:
- Name and title of viewers
- Company of viewers
- Location of viewers
- Industry of viewers
So with Premium, you could potentially identify recruiters who viewed your profile after you applied for a job. But without Premium, you cannot see the identities of individual profile visitors.
Does Applying Impact Your Profile Visibility?
Applying for jobs does not make your LinkedIn profile more visible or searchable to others. Your privacy settings control who can view your profile and whether it appears in search engine results.
Here are examples of profile visibility settings you can adjust:
- Profile photo visibility
- Ability for others to download your profile
- Visibility of profile in search engine results
- Visibility of network, experience, education, etc.
These settings are not impacted when you apply for jobs. Your job applications do not override your chosen profile visibility preferences in any way.
Can You Apply Anonymously or Hide Your Identity?
There is no way to hide your identity when applying for jobs on LinkedIn. When you apply, the job poster and any associated recruiters will see your full profile information.
LinkedIn does not allow anonymous job applications like some other sites. Your full name, profile photo, current position, and other details are visible when you submit an application.
It is not possible to remove profile data when applying or “apply blind” to jobs. Your identity and professional details will be seen.
Conclusion
Applying for jobs through LinkedIn is a private affair. Your wider network will not receive alerts or see any indication that you have applied for opportunities.
The main parties that can view your job applications are the job poster themselves and any associated LinkedIn Recruiters sourcing for the role. But regular connections cannot see what jobs you have applied for.
While keeping your job search discreet, applying also does not impact your general profile visibility settings. You cannot apply anonymously, but take comfort that applications are not broadcasted publicly.