LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for networking and job searching. With over 722 million members worldwide, it’s no surprise that many people turn to LinkedIn when looking to make a career change or find a new job opportunity.
One of the most useful features of LinkedIn for job seekers is the ability to search for other members who have indicated they are open to new job opportunities. This opens up new possibilities for connecting with potential hiring managers, recruiters, and companies that may be looking to fill open positions.
What Does “Open To Work” Mean on LinkedIn?
When someone adds the “Open To Work” frame to their LinkedIn profile photo, it signifies that they are looking for a new role and are open to being contacted about job opportunities. The frame includes the field or job title they are interested in.
Adding the Open To Work photo frame is a way for LinkedIn members to quietly signal to their network that they are looking for a new job. It allows them to privately indicate their interest, without having to blast out a “I’m looking for a new job” post that all connections would see.
Who Can See the Open To Work Photo Frame?
The Open To Work frame is only visible to a member’s 1st-degree connections on LinkedIn. This includes anyone they are connected with directly. It will not be shown to 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections, or the general public if the profile is set to private mode.
Recruiters and hiring managers who are connected to someone who has added the frame will be able to see it when viewing their profile. This allows them to discreetly surface potential job candidates in their network.
How to Add an Open To Work Frame to Your Profile
Adding an Open to Work frame only takes a few clicks on the LinkedIn website:
- Go to your profile and click on the pencil “edit profile” icon.
- Click on the camera icon to change your profile photo.
- Select the “Open to Work” frame option.
- Choose the field you want displayed, such as Software Engineer or Product Manager.
- Click Save.
The Open to Work frame will now be visible around your profile picture any time one of your 1st-degree connections views your profile.
How to Remove the Open to Work Frame
If you want to remove the Open to Work frame, simply edit your profile photo again and deselect the frame option. This will revert your profile picture back to normal.
It’s a good idea to remove the frame once you’ve secured a new job offer or are no longer open to opportunities. Forgetting to remove it could send the wrong signal about your employment status.
Searching for Open to Work Members on LinkedIn
In addition to adding the frame to your own profile, you can also search for other LinkedIn members who have indicated they are open to work. Here are the steps:
- Go to the LinkedIn homepage and enter your search terms into the main search bar, such as “software engineer.”
- Scroll down and click “People” to filter your search to only view LinkedIn profiles.
- Under the filters on the left, check the box next to “Open to work.”
- Apply any other filters you’d like, such as location or current company.
- Browse through the profiles that match your search criteria.
You can now easily connect with qualified candidates open to new opportunities. This allows you to proactively build your network, even if you don’t have any specific jobs to fill at the moment.
Searching for Open to Work Members You’re Connected To
In addition to searching LinkedIn broadly, you can also filter your 1st-degree connections to see who in your existing network has added the Open to Work frame:
- Click “My Network” from the LinkedIn toolbar.
- Select “Connections” to view your list of 1st-degree connections.
- Type “open to work” into the search bar.
- Toggle the filter underneath to “Connections who’ve indicated they are open to work.”
- Browse the list of contacts who are open to opportunities.
Reaching out directly to people you already know is a great way to make a more personal connection with prospective job candidates in your extended network.
Messaging Open to Work Connections
Once you’ve identified profiles of people open to work who seem like a potential fit, you can send them a message directly through LinkedIn:
- Mention how you found their profile and why you wanted to reach out.
- Ask if they would be interested in learning more about potential openings at your company.
- Highlight what skills, experience, or characteristics of theirs caught your attention.
- Include links to any specific roles you think might be a match.
Keep your outreach polite, personalized, and low-pressure. Avoid sending generic copy-and-pasted messages.
Pro Tips for Messaging Open to Work Contacts
To increase your chances of getting a response when messaging Open to Work connections, keep these tips in mind:
- Personalize each message based on the person’s profile and experiences.
- Communicate your genuine interest in their background and skills.
- Ask if it would be helpful to set up a phone call to discuss current opportunities.
- Respect their time – don’t overmessage if they don’t respond right away.
- Follow up if you don’t hear back after 1-2 weeks.
Messaging through LinkedIn is less intrusive than cold calling or emailing someone’s work address. But you still need to make a good impression and build rapport if you want to move your outreach off LinkedIn.
Turning Open to Work Outreach Into Candidate Interviews
Here are some steps to take when trying to convert your outreach to Open to Work members into interviews:
- Pre-Screen for Interest Over LinkedIn – Ask screening questions to gauge their appetite for a role at your company before proposing an interview.
- Suggest a Phone Call – Transition the conversation to a more personal channel like a phone call where you can give more details about the role and company.
- Send Role Description – Share the official job description and details about the position’s responsibilities, must-have skills, salary band, etc.
- Formally Invite to Interview – If interest remains high, send a calendar invite to schedule a first round video interview.
- Follow Standard Process – Move them through your normal interview cycle like any promising applicant.
With the right nurturing, an initial Open to Work outreach can lead to bringing a great new hire into the fold!
Should I Indicate I’m Open to Work on LinkedIn?
Deciding whether to add an Open to Work frame to your own LinkedIn profile is an individual choice. Here are some pros and cons to weigh:
Potential Advantages
- Surfaces your interest to recruiters and hiring managers discreetly
- Lets you be found by opportunities that become available
- Proactively expands your connections in your field
- Gives you access to unlisted jobs that employers fill through their network
Potential Disadvantages
- Current employer may discover your search if connected
- Could be too passive if you don’t network actively also
- Need to screen random incoming opportunities carefully
- Recruiters may contact you even if not an ideal fit
In general, the Open to Work status makes sense for those already committed to finding a new role and willing to invest time networking. It works best as one piece of a proactive job search strategy.
Other LinkedIn Options for Job Seekers
In addition to the Open to Work frame, LinkedIn provides other options for showcasing your job search status:
Open to Opportunities Listing
Similar to Open to Work, the Open to Opportunities setting indicates you are interested in new roles. This feature became available to LinkedIn members more recently.
When enabled, a small icon saying “Open to opportunities” appears at the top of your profile under your name. Hovering over it explains you are open to job possibilities.
The listing is visible to all of your 1st-degree connections, rather than the entire network. Turning it on sends a notification to your connections as well.
Career Interests Field
Another way to indicate your job search interests is listing skills or roles in the Career Interests section of your LinkedIn profile.
This allows you to go into more detail on specifics of what you’re looking for. You can include multiple positions, industries, or locations you’d consider.
Career interests display on your profile for all connections to see. Premium account holders also get access to jobs matching their listed interests.
Using Boolean Search in LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s advanced search allows you to use Boolean operators and parameters to fine-tune your queries. This can help surface more targeted results when searching for members open to work.
Here are some examples of Boolean operators that can be used:
- NOT – Exclude profiles from your results.
- OR – Retrieve profiles matching either term.
- “” – Search for an exact phrase in quotes.
You can also filter by profile fields like company, job title, or geographic location using these operators:
- site: – Search by company name.
- title: – Match job titles.
- loc: – Filter by location.
For example, to find software engineers open to work in Seattle at Amazon, you could use:
“software engineer” AND “open to work” AND site:amazon AND loc:”seattle”
Leveraging Boolean operators helps you shape broad searches into targeted prospecting sourcing strategies.
Exporting LinkedIn Search Results
To manage your outreach, you may want to export search results to a spreadsheet containing the profiles of members open to work.
LinkedIn allows premium account holders to export up to 2,000 search results at a time. Here are the steps:
- Run your search for Open to Work members.
- Click the button to export results.
- Choose either “Export all” or “Export selected.”
- Pick your desired file format – Excel is recommended.
- Open the exported file to view profiles and contact information.
Having search results in a spreadsheet allows you to organize next steps like outreach scheduling and tracking responses.
Is Scraping LinkedIn Profiles Allowed?
Some recruiters use web scraping tools to automatically export profile data from LinkedIn in bulk. However, this practice goes against LinkedIn’s User Agreement.
Key facts on web scraping LinkedIn profiles:
- Breaks LinkedIn’s terms of service when done without permission
- Can lead to account restriction or banning if detected
- LEgal under certain fair use circumstances in the US
- Allowed for limited personal, non-commercial use cases
- Requires a paid LinkedIn subscription to access some profile data
Overall, most experts recommend against scraping LinkedIn data. Manual exporting within LinkedIn’s limits is a safer option.
Recruiting Through LinkedIn – Laws and Best Practices
When leveraging LinkedIn to source or contact prospective hires, it’s important to follow applicable laws and recruiting best practices. Here are some key considerations:
Avoiding Discrimination
Focusing outreach solely on gender, race, age, or other protected traits may violate anti-discrimination laws. Cast a wide net and evaluate candidates objectively.
Honoring Privacy
Only contact members who have indicated they are open to opportunities. Don’t scrape or purchase data.
Providing Equal Access
Post roles publicly to give all qualified candidates a fair chance rather than recruiting exclusively through connections.
Transparent Communication
Be upfront about the recruiting process, role responsibilities, pay range, and application steps.
Moving Off Platform
Shift from LinkedIn messaging to phone/email to discuss details and arrange interviews. Don’t overwhelm members’ inboxes.
Tracking Compliance
Document sourcing efforts and results to ensure recruiting practices are ethical, equitable, and legally compliant.
Should You Outsource LinkedIn Recruiting?
Sourcing candidates through LinkedIn and managing outreach takes time. Some companies choose to outsource these activities to third party recruiting firms.
Benefits of Outsourcing to an Agency
- Frees up in-house recruiters to focus on later-stage hiring
- Leverages specialists with proven prospecting expertise
- Provides scalability during high volume hiring
- May deliver candidates missed by internal efforts
Risks of Outsourcing LinkedIn Recruiting
- Communication gaps between agency and internal team
- Higher cost than in-house recruiting resources
- Overreliance on vendors vs. developing internal capabilities
- Potential for misalignment with company employer branding
Carefully vet any agency partners to ensure a good cultural fit and results. Clarify responsibilities between external and internal recruiters.
Tools to Automate LinkedIn Recruiting
While automation can’t fully replace the human touch in recruiting, some tools can help streamline and scale sourcing efforts:
ContactOut
Helps manage high volume outreach campaigns on LinkedIn by automating initial messages and tracking responses.
Connector.io
Enables one click connection requests to targeted prospects who meet defined criteria.
MeetLeon
AI-powered assistant schedules meetings by autonomously engaging with prospects on LinkedIn.
ProspectPoint
Automates searching for prospects that match specific attributes and skills across LinkedIn.
Seamless.ai
Platform that handles scheduling interviews with prospects through intelligent chat conversations.
When leveraging automation for recruiting, ensure the tools comply with LinkedIn’s policies and don’t compromise the candidate experience. Thoughtful human oversight of automated workflows is key.
Conclusion
Searching for and connecting with members who have indicated they are open to new job opportunities can expand your talent pool, whether recruiting for your own team or helping others with their search. However, thoughtful communication and respect for people’s time remains critical.
Leverage the Open to Work feature strategically as part of a holistic networking and hiring strategy. Combine automated tools with personal outreach for optimal results. With the right approach, LinkedIn can connect you to your next dream hire or career move.
