As a LinkedIn pro and recruiter, one question I’m always asked is, “What is the most important thing I can do to optimize my LinkedIn profile.” The answer is simple. You need to let recruiters (and your LinkedIn network, if you’re comfortable) know that you are open to work.
Lucky for you, LinkedIn makes this easy with their customizable Open to Work feature.
First, Tell me Why it Matters.
At any given time, roughly 10% of people are looking for work, we call these open candidates. Both internal and external recruiters will reach out to these open candidates first! Take a look at the example below. Only 41 of 280 Machine Learning experts in Cambridge, Massachusetts are listed as open to work. Recruiters don’t want to waste your time or theirs, so those Open To Work candidates are going to be contacted first.
Okay. How do I Let Recruiters Know I’m Open to Work?
From your profile, you’re going to want to select the “Add Profile Section” drop-down located to the right of your profile image. Choose the first option “Intro”, then select “Looking for Job Opportunities”.
From there, you’ll be directed to a pop-up that will gather your info. If you’re looking for the BEST results, we recommend filling in each and every section.
Beyond just letting recruiters know you’re Open to Work, you’ll want to provide them with details like Job Titles, Job Locations, Open To Remote Work, Start Date, and Job Types:
Job Titles
Under the Job Titles section, you can add the areas, fields, and positions you are looking to work in. Begin to type the job title and LinkedIn will initiate the autofill process. When you see what you are looking for, simply click on it and a bubble with that job title will be added. You can add a maximum of five job titles.
- Job Locations
The second section allows you to select the area where you are open to working. LinkedIn will populate and automatically check your current selected location. You’ll have the option to unselect that location and add other locations if you’d like. Again, the maximum number of locations that can be added is five. Open to Remote?
Next you have the option to either check or leave unchecked your openness to remote work. If you are looking for and open to working remotely, pop a check in that box. If you are only looking to work in a physical office space, leave this box unchecked.
Start Date
Here, you can choose if you are interested in starting a new position immediately (actively applying) or if you’re flexible about the start date (casually browsing.)
- Job Types
In this section, you can indicate if you are looking for full-time, contract, part-time, internship, or temporary employment. You are not limited to one answer here, you can choose just one, or all options.
- Privacy
Finally, you’re given the option to choose who can see that you’re open to work. If you select the top option, All LinkedIn Members, this will include recruiters and possibly even people at your company. This will also add the #opentowork frame to your profile image.
Choosing the second option, Recruiters Only, will make the information visible to only those who use LinkedIn Recruiter.
Is this New or What?
Not Exactly. You used to be able to indicate that you were looking for work under Settings and then Privacy. Now, you’ll find this new feature under the “Add Profile Section” drop-down list. The option to add the #OpenToWork profile image frame is relatively new.
How Safe Is It To Use The Open to Work Feature?
The way Open Candidates is supposed to work is that LinkedIn will not show your status to recruiters at your company or to affiliated recruiters. That said, it can be difficult for LinkedIn to identify every affiliated recruiter among the more than 100,000 LinkedIn Recruiter licenses. The most obvious example is a recruiter working as a contractor for your firm. There is no way to know that your firm is a client, so that recruiter will be shown your “secret” data. While many recruiters will do the right thing, it will be on “the honor system” and you will not be in control of this critical piece of data.
A recent CXO-level client told us that it would effectively end their career if the rest of the executive team knew he was looking for new opportunities. For her, the choice to not use Open Candidates was easy. Another client is between jobs and turning on the Open Candidates switch for his LinkedIn profile can only help.
Massive data breaches over the last decade and WikiLeaks postings make it clear that there can never be a 100% guarantees of privacy on the internet. Given that, it comes down to a question of risk versus reward. For most people the Open Candidates feature should pose no special issues and is definitely worth activating. On the other hand, If you are a key executive at a publicly-traded firm or occupy a sensitive position, Open Candidates may not be the best choice for your LinkedIn profile!
What Does it Look Like for a Recruiter?
Check out the image below for a little peek behind the curtains of a LinkedIn Recruiter’s view.
The image shows you how a recruiter can search for a specific job title they are looking to fill (those who currently have that job title as well as those with it as a past job title) and then filter to view only those who are looking for work. That filter is very important because recruiters will first contact those open candidates.