New LinkedIn button hooks up to job app tool

LinkedIn went public last month and watched its shares soar as high as $122.70 before settling down to $94.25 before the end of the trading day. In another possible cause for celebration, the company will be launching a new button that lets job seekers angle for new jobs straight from their LinkedIn profiles, according to GigaOM.

A Web site button may not sound like the most exciting product launch in the world, but a button can take a lot of hassle out of certain tasks. The "Apply with LinkedIn" button, as GigaOM is calling it, apparently removes quite a few steps from the usual job application process and justifies all that time you've spent fiddling with your profile.

According to an unnamed GigaOM source familiar with the upcoming feature, the button will appear next to a job description on an employer's page. The applicant will get an opportunity to tweak his or her profile before sending it along. Employers will get a chance to throw in some extra questions tailored for the position. This could lead to a surplus of ivory watermarked, 32-pound resume paper.

The job application tool will also pop up with a list of LinkedIn contacts that are associated with the potential employer. That gives you a chance to send that old colleague you worked with for a summer at Disneyland a heads-up that you're interested in his company. In a tight job market, every little bit helps.