Workday Application Submitted But Missing Your Candidate Home

You hit Submit in Workday. The page refreshed. Maybe you even saw a quick “Thank you” message. Then… nothing. No confirmation email. Your Candidate Home looks empty. Or the site says “Already applied,” but your application list shows zero.

If that’s you, you’re not alone. Candidate-side Workday issues are common because the “apply” experience depends on several moving parts at once: cookies, pop-up permissions, email delivery, multiple job sites under one employer, and sometimes multiple candidate profiles that don’t talk to each other.

This playbook walks you through the most likely causes and the fastest fixes for these situations:

• Workday create account button not working

• Workday sign in button does nothing

• Workday candidate home shows no applications but says already applied

• Workday no confirmation email after applying

• Workday application submitted but not showing

Along the way, you’ll get step-by-step checks, real scenarios, and “what to do next” scripts you can use with recruiting teams.

Quick mindset shift: treat this like a tracking problem, not a rejection. Many “missing” Workday applications are real, they’re just filed under a different session, profile, or job site.

Step one: Confirm your submission actually went through

Before you burn time on deeper fixes, do a short, disciplined verification pass. Workday can fail silently when a session expires, a required question didn’t save, a file upload didn’t attach, or a pop-up blocked a handoff.

1) Look for a real submission signal, not a page refresh

A true submission usually triggers at least one of these:

• A dedicated confirmation page with a message like “Application submitted”

• A submission timestamp (sometimes shown as “Submitted on”)

• A candidate reference number or application ID

• A new entry in Candidate Home under “My Applications”

If you saw only a quick toast message, a spinner, or a refresh back to the job description, treat it as “not confirmed.”

Takeaway: If you can’t point to a confirmation artifact (page, timestamp, ID), you’re troubleshooting an unconfirmed submission.

2) Check the email trail properly (and why it fails)

“No confirmation email” is frustrating, but it’s not definitive proof your application failed. Email can fail for reasons unrelated to Workday:

• Corporate spam filters quarantining automated messages

• Typos in the email field (especially on mobile)

• Using “plus addressing” (like name+jobs@domain.com) that some systems mishandle

• Multiple accounts using different emails

Do this checklist:

• Search your inbox for the company name and also for “Workday”

• Check Spam, Promotions, Social, Updates, and any quarantine folder

• Search for keywords like “application,” “candidate,” and “thank you”

• If you have multiple emails, check all of them

If you still don’t have a confirmation, proceed to Candidate Home checks and account integrity checks below.

Takeaway: Missing email is common. Treat it as a clue, not a verdict.

3) Rule out the “different Workday site” trap

Many companies run multiple Workday career sites, for example:

• Early career vs experienced hires

• Corporate roles vs retail/warehouse

• Country-specific portals

• Subsidiary brands under the same parent company

If you applied on one portal and later sign in on another, Workday can look empty.

What to do:

1. Find the original job link you used (browser history, email, saved job).

2. Open it and click Sign In from that same page.

3. Then go to Candidate Home.

If your applications appear only when you start from the original portal, you’ve found the issue.

Takeaway: Always sign in from the same career site where you applied.

4) Know when “Already applied” is a good sign

If Workday says “Already applied,” it often means your application exists somewhere in that employer’s Workday tenant. The mismatch usually comes from one of these:

• You’re logged into a different profile

• You’re on a different portal

• Your browser session is stale

• A duplicate profile exists

Your job now is to identify which “identity” Workday associated with that application.

Takeaway: “Already applied” plus an empty Candidate Home is usually a profile or portal mismatch, not a lost submission.

Fix Workday buttons that do nothing and broken account creation

If the create account button does nothing or sign in button does nothing, you can’t troubleshoot missing applications because you can’t reliably access the right profile. These button failures are usually caused by browser restrictions, blocked scripts, pop-ups, or stale sessions.

The fastest recovery sequence (10 minutes)

Work through these in order. Stop when the button starts working.

1. Try an incognito/private window

• Chrome: New Incognito Window

• Safari: New Private Window

• Edge: New InPrivate Window

This bypasses corrupted cookies and aggressive extensions.

1. Disable extensions for the career site

Common culprits:

• Ad blockers

• Privacy blockers

• Script blockers

• Password managers that inject forms

If you don’t want to disable everything, try temporarily pausing extensions one by one.

1. Allow pop-ups and redirects

Some Workday flows open authentication or document upload in a new window. If pop-ups are blocked, the button can appear dead.

1. Turn off strict tracking protection for that session

Safari and Firefox privacy protections can block third-party scripts that Workday relies on.

1. Clear site data only for that career domain

Clear cookies and site storage for the specific Workday career site (not your whole browser). Then reload.

1. Switch devices or networks

If you’re on a locked-down corporate VPN or a restrictive network, scripts can fail to load.

A common real-world scenario

Scenario: Maya applies on her phone. The upload works, but the “Create Account” button never responds. She tries later on her laptop, but now the “Sign In” button does nothing.

What happened: Her mobile session created partial data, then a desktop extension blocked a script responsible for opening the sign-in modal.

Fix: Incognito on desktop + pop-ups allowed + extension paused. She signs in successfully, then her Candidate Home shows an in-progress application that never fully submitted.

Takeaway: “Button does nothing” is usually a browser environment issue, not a Workday outage.

If the apply flow breaks mid-way, preserve proof

While troubleshooting, capture evidence that helps recruiting teams verify your attempt:

• Screenshot of the job posting URL

• Screenshot of any “Already applied” message

• Timestamp and device used

• The email you used

This is especially useful if you need a recruiter to manually confirm receipt.

Takeaway: A few screenshots can save days of back-and-forth.

When Candidate Home is empty but Workday says already applied

This is the most confusing combination: Workday candidate home shows no applications but says already applied. It happens when Workday recognizes your application somewhere, but you’re not viewing it with the right profile context.

1) Check for duplicate profiles (the top cause)

Duplicate profiles happen when you:

• Applied with Google/LinkedIn once, then created a password later

• Used two different emails (personal vs school vs work)

• Applied on a different device where autofill used a different email

• Created an account on a different portal under the same employer

If duplicates exist, one profile may hold the application and the other looks empty.

Practical steps:

1. Try password reset for every email you might have used.

2. Sign in with each email, from the original job portal if possible.

3. Check Candidate Home each time.

If you suspect duplicates but can’t find the right one, this related checklist can help you systematically reconcile profiles: Workday Candidate Home Duplicate Profiles Fix Checklist

Takeaway: If Workday looks empty, assume you’re in the wrong profile until you prove otherwise.

2) Confirm you’re in the right “candidate home” view

Some Workday portals show multiple tabs like:

• My Applications

• My Account

• Draft Applications

• In Progress

Drafts can look like “nothing submitted,” even though your data is saved.

Do this:

• Check for Draft or In Progress sections

• Open any draft and look for missing required fields

• Re-submit from a stable browser session

Takeaway: A draft is a recoverable state. It’s annoying, but it’s not zero.

3) Understand the “Already applied” caching effect

Sometimes “Already applied” is shown because:

• You applied to a requisition that was later reposted

• The job ID changed but Workday maps it to your prior attempt

• Your browser is caching an “applied” state from a different session

What to do:

• Open the job in an incognito window

• Sign in first, then navigate to the job

• If the message persists, search Candidate Home by filtering on “All” or “Inactive” applications if available

Takeaway: Cache can confuse the UI. Incognito isolates reality.

4) If it’s not Workday, it might be another ATS in the chain

Some employers route candidates through different systems or multiple portals. If you’re juggling platforms and seeing “already applied but nothing shows,” the cross-system mismatch can look similar. This broader troubleshooting guide can help if you’re also applying through other platforms: Workday SuccessFactors Greenhouse Already Applied But No Applications Fix

Takeaway: Your “application record” can live in more than one place, even when the front-end looks similar.

Escalation playbook: What to do when it still doesn’t show

After you’ve tried the portal, profile, and browser fixes, you need a clean escalation plan. The goal is simple: get a human to confirm whether your application exists, and if not, get a safe path to reapply without being filtered as a duplicate.

Step-by-step escalation checklist

Follow this order so you don’t accidentally create more duplicates.

1. Stop creating new accounts

Every new attempt can create another profile, making the problem worse.

1. Document your “identity set”

Write down:

• Full name used

• Email(s) used

• Phone number used

• The job title and job requisition ID (if visible)

• Application date/time and time zone

1. Contact the company the right way

Options vary by employer, but candidate support usually exists in one of these forms:

• Career site “Help” or “Contact Us”

• Recruiting coordinator email from any prior communication

• The recruiter who posted the role (if listed)

1. Send a short, high-signal message

Use a message like this (copy and edit):

Hi, I applied to the [Job Title] role through your Workday career site. Workday now shows “Already applied,” but my Candidate Home shows no submitted applications and I did not receive a confirmation email.

Could you confirm whether my application was received under the email [email] and phone [phone]? If it wasn’t received, can you advise the safest way to reapply without creating a duplicate profile?

I can share screenshots and the job link if helpful. Thank you.

Takeaway: A good escalation message asks for confirmation and prevents duplicate-profile chaos.

Case study: The “submission succeeded but visibility failed” outcome

Scenario: Jordan applies to a role, sees “Application submitted,” but Candidate Home is empty the next day. No confirmation email arrives.

What happened: Jordan had an older profile from a previous internship application using a school email. The new submission used a personal email. Workday flagged “Already applied” based on name and phone number, but the visible application lived under the older profile.

Result: Recruiting support merged profiles and confirmed the application was in review. Jordan didn’t need to reapply.

Takeaway: Identity matching can occur on phone and name, not just email. That’s why duplicates are so common.

If you must reapply, do it safely

Only reapply if you’ve confirmed your original application is missing or incomplete.

Safe reapply steps:

1. Use incognito.

2. Start from the original portal and sign in.

3. If you can’t sign in, use password reset before creating a new account.

4. If you must create a new account, keep the same email and phone, and document everything.

Takeaway: Reapply once, cleanly. Multiple retries can create multiple records.

Reduce future Workday application anxiety

You can prevent most “submitted but not showing” scares with a simple routine:

• Save the final confirmation page as a PDF

• Screenshot the submission timestamp or application ID

• Keep a spreadsheet of job links and the email used

• Apply from a stable browser (desktop preferred) when possible

If you’re applying to many roles and want a more structured approach, ReferMe can help you stay organized and targeted, especially when you’re aiming for specific companies and referrals.

If you’re building a focused plan around target employers and want referrals that actually move your application forward, explore the ReferMe referral marketplace. If you want to identify and prioritize companies that match your goals before you apply, start with the company directory on ReferMe. And if you’re polishing materials for roles you’re excited about, use the resume services on ReferMe to get feedback and a stronger version ready before your next submission.

Takeaway: A better workflow reduces platform stress, and increases your odds of getting seen.

Final takeaway

When Workday says you applied but nothing shows up, the fix is rarely mysterious. It’s usually one of three things: wrong portal, wrong profile, or a browser session that didn’t complete the handoff. Follow the steps above in order, capture proof, and escalate with a clear message if you still can’t confirm submission.

If you want your applications to go further than “submitted,” take a more referral-driven approach. Build your target list, strengthen your resume, and get connected to employees who can refer you through ReferMe.