How to apply for jobs on Ashby: a step-by-step guide

What is an Ashby job application?

Ashby is recruiting software that employers use to post jobs, collect applications and run their hiring process. When a posting sends you to a page that says Powered by Ashby, often at an address beginning jobs.ashbyhq.com followed by the company name, you are applying to that employer. Ashby’s privacy policy describes its role as processing personal information on behalf of its customers, the companies that are hiring.

Each employer builds its own application form from Ashby’s templates. Ashby gives every organization a default form, and employers can create shared forms for different teams or customize one posting’s form. That is why two Ashby applications can look quite different: one asks for a resume and five questions, another only wants a LinkedIn URL.

The posting page usually has two tabs: Overview, with the job description, and Application, with the form. Read the overview fully before switching tabs. For habits that apply to every online application, see how to apply for jobs online.

Do you need an Ashby account to apply?

No. An Ashby application is a single form you fill out and submit; there is no candidate sign-in or profile to set up first. The flip side is that nothing carries over between employers, so keep a master document with your work history, links and short answers you can adapt.

Use one email address you check daily and stick with it. Ashby uses the email address on your application to identify your earlier applications when an employer sets application limits, and applying with different details can create a second candidate profile that the employer has to find and merge. It is also where confirmation, scheduling and decision emails will arrive.

If a recruiter found you through a referral or sourcing, you may receive an application request instead: an email with a link to the employer’s form, so the team has your complete details even though you did not apply through the job board. Fill in the request carefully; Ashby says submissions through these candidate-specific links bypass its auto-reject and application-limit checks.

How to fill out an Ashby application form, step by step

Most Ashby forms follow a similar order, though the employer decides which questions appear and which are required. Required questions must be answered before the form will submit.

1. Use Autofill from resume at the top of the form, if it is offered, to upload your resume and fill in key application fields for you.
2. Check each autofilled field against your resume and fix anything that landed in the wrong place.
3. Upload your resume in the Resume field if it did not attach automatically; on some forms the resume is optional or not asked for at all.
4. Paste your full LinkedIn profile address and any portfolio or website links the form requests.
5. Answer the employer’s questions, which can be short or long text, yes-or-no, multiple choice, checkboxes, dates, numbers, file uploads or your education history.
6. Decide whether to complete any voluntary equal employment opportunity or diversity survey section, then review the page and click Submit Application.

Resume upload, autofill and file limits

Ashby accepts resume files of up to 50 MB, but only resumes of 16 MB or smaller are processed for full-text search and for autofilling application fields. A normal text-based resume is far below that. If a file will not autofill, check its size and whether it is a scan or an image, and export a clean, text-based version from your word processor.

Autofill saves typing but still needs checking. Read every field it fills in, especially dates, job titles and location. If you have a choice of format, the University of Minnesota Duluth Career Center notes that applicant tracking systems prefer .docx files but advises following the posting when it asks for a PDF.

Before uploading, tailor the resume to this posting. Match the posting’s wording where it truthfully describes your experience, and show context and results rather than a bare list of keywords. The resume keywords and ATS-friendly resume guides go deeper.

• Keep the file text-based so it can be read and searched.
• Name the file with your first and last name.
• If a File question asks for a work sample, upload a single file in the format the question describes.
• Use the same resume version you record in your tracker, so you know exactly what the employer saw.

Employer questions, auto-reject rules and application limits

Answer Ashby application questions as if each one could decide your application, because some do. Ashby lets employers set auto-reject rules that run when you submit through the job board and reject an application automatically when an answer matches a condition, such as a location outside the hiring area or a no to a required question. The employer can delay the rejection email by a set number of business days, so a rejection that arrives several days later may still have come from your form answers.

That is not a reason to shade the truth. Answer work authorization, sponsorship, location and license questions accurately, because interviews, background checks and offer paperwork expose wrong answers. Some forms also show follow-up questions only after certain answers, so scroll through the whole form again after changing an answer.

Employers can also set application limits. Ashby’s limits can cap how many applications one candidate submits within a period, or block candidates who were rejected from reapplying to the same role, or any role, for a set number of days. The employer can explain its limits in a note at the top of the form, and can write a message for blocked applicants; if it does not, a blocked applicant sees the employer’s usual after-submission message, so a normal-looking confirmation does not guarantee the application reached the team. The University of Minnesota Duluth Career Center makes a related point: employers can see every role you applied to at their company, so applying to all of them sends a confusing message. Pick the roles that fit.

Voluntary EEO questions and accessibility

Employers can collect equal employment opportunity information on the job page or later in the process, so you may see these questions on the form or in a separate survey email. On U.S. postings they commonly ask about gender, race and ethnicity and veteran status; postings elsewhere may show an optional diversity survey instead. These sections are voluntary, and each question includes a decline option, such as Decline to self-identify or I prefer not to answer.

If a disability makes any part of the form hard to complete, ask the employer for an accommodation. Many postings include an accommodation note or contact in the job description. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains that covered employers must provide reasonable accommodation so applicants can be considered, that you can ask orally or in writing, and that it is best to ask as soon as you know you need it.

Confirmation, status and follow-up after you apply

After you submit, the page shows the employer’s confirmation message. Employers can also send an automatic confirmation email, which Ashby sends only for applications made through the job board and which can come from an Ashby no-reply address. Not every employer turns it on, so a missing email does not mean your application failed. Screenshot the confirmation and save the posting.

Updates come from the employer, usually by email, so check your inbox and spam folder. Record the role in a job application tracker the same day, and if a week or two passes without news, follow the guide on how to follow up on a job application.

Updating or withdrawing an Ashby application, and common errors

You cannot edit a submitted Ashby application from the form. To send a corrected resume, fix a contact detail or withdraw, email the recruiter or recruiting team, ideally by replying to a message they sent. Ashby’s privacy policy likewise directs candidates who want to access, correct or delete their personal information to the company they applied to. Reapplying rarely helps: Ashby keeps one record when you apply to the same role again with the same details, and an application limit may block the attempt.

• Autofill did nothing: upload a text-based file of 16 MB or less, or fill in the fields by hand.
• A number field rejects a value such as a ZIP code that starts with 0: Ashby’s number fields do not accept leading zeros, so tell the employer rather than altering the value.
• The form will not submit: look for required questions you skipped, including follow-up questions that appeared after an earlier answer.
• You suspect an application limit blocked you: reread any limits note at the top of the form, and ask the recruiting team if you are unsure whether your application reached them.
• Some employers run fraud checks that look at signals such as device, IP address, email and phone number and flag applications for a person to review, so apply with your real, current contact details.