Changing your LinkedIn settings to indicate you are open to new job opportunities is a great way to get your profile in front of recruiters and hiring managers. With LinkedIn being one of the top places employers look for talent, opening up your settings is an easy way to get your foot in the door for new career possibilities. In this article, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to change your LinkedIn settings to open to work.
Should I update my LinkedIn settings to show I’m open to work?
Before diving into the “how”, let’s first cover the “why”. Here are some key reasons you may want to indicate you are open to work on LinkedIn:
- Increased visibility – Recruiters often search LinkedIn for people open to new opportunities. Opening up your settings makes it easy for them to find you.
- New opportunities – Showing you are open exposes you to jobs and companies you may not have considered before.
- Career advancement – Looking for a promotion or next step in your career? Open settings let hiring managers know you’re interested in leveling up.
- Test the market – See what’s out there without fully committing to a job search. You can always change your settings back if you’re happy in your current role.
- Networking – Connect with new people and expand your professional network, even if you aren’t urgently looking to change jobs.
The main downside is your current employer may be notified. Some choose to wait until they secure a new position before indicating they are open. Overall there are many upsides with limited risk, so it’s generally recommended.
Step 1: Consider upgrading to premium
To get the most out of opening your settings, upgrading to LinkedIn Premium is highly recommended. Here are some key benefits with Premium:
- See who viewed your profile – You’ll be able to tell if openings settings led to more recruiter views.
- Contact anyone – Unlock ability to reach out to recruiters and hiring managers directly.
- Advanced filters – Narrow your job search with more filters like date posted, salary, company size and more.
- Salary insights – See pay range data for positions to help negotiate salary.
- Interview preparation – Get tips on how to prepare for common interview questions.
Premium gives you greater visibility and opportunities. The monthly cost is minor compared to its career advancing potential.
Step 2: Add “open to work” to your profile headline
Your profile headline is one of the first things people notice on your LinkedIn profile. This key real estate should be used to indicate you are open to new opportunities.
Here are some examples of good “open to work” headlines:
- Sales Director (Open to New Opportunities)
- Digital Marketing Manager – Available for New Roles
- Engineer | Open to Work | Houston TX
- Product Manager – Open to Relocation for the Right Opportunity
Keep it short and mention key skills, experience and location. Don’t forget the “open to work” indicator.
Step 3: Add the open to work profile badge
In addition to your headline, LinkedIn offers an “open to work” profile badge to further indicate your interest in new roles. The badge is displayed prominently on your profile.
To add it:
- Go to your LinkedIn Profile
- Click “Add profile section”
- Select the “Open to work” badge
- Check the box to confirm you want to advertise your job search activity
- Select visibility (Public, Connections only, etc)
The badge lets recruiters quickly identify you as open to new opportunities.
Customize Open to Work Preferences
Simply indicating you are open to work is a good first step. You can further customize your preferences to attract roles that interest you.
Specify job titles
Under the open to work section, you can provide details on types of roles you are interested in. List relevant job titles that match your experience and interests.
For example, if you are an marketing manager looking for director roles, you could list:
Marketing Director
Digital Marketing Director
Social Media Marketing Director
Specifying job titles helps ensure recruiters reach out about suitable roles.
Share preferred locations
Are you willing to relocate or commute? Add your preferred locations.
You can list multiple cities or metro areas. For those open to remote work, simply add “Remote”.
If you are not able to relocate, only list your current city. Recruiters can then tailor opportunities accordingly.
Provide compensation range
Choose to display the compensation range you are targeting. Providing a salary range demonstrates you know your worth and helps recruiters pitch appropriate offers.
Research typical pay for your experience level and job titles of interest. You can provide a range, for example:
$80,000 – $100,000
$125,000 – $145,000
$250,000+
Showing compensation expectations sets proper expectations with prospective employers.
List preferred industry/function
To attract roles in your desired industry or function, add details on preferences here.
Examples include:
– Industry: Tech, Automotive, Healthcare, etc
– Function: Marketing, Finance, Engineering, etc
Recruiters can then tailor opportunities accordingly.
Update Privacy Settings
As a final step, review your general privacy settings. Ensure your profile and site activity settings allow for visibility from recruiters.
Here are key settings to review:
Profile viewing options
Make sure recruiters can find and view your full profile. Under privacy settings, set visibility to:
– Your Connections
– Recruiters at companies you have applied to or that have viewed your profile
– Public
This exposes your full profile to recruiters looking for your skills, experience and preferences.
Your activity such as views, follows and searches
Allow activity to be seen by:
– Your Connections
– Public
This lets recruiters see that you are actively searching, following companies and viewing job-related content.
Sharing profile edits
Select option to share major profile changes with your network. This broadcasts updates like new jobs, education and skills.
Keeping these settings open provides maximum exposure of your “open to work” status and profile details to recruiters. Restrict settings only if you wish to keep your search completely private.
Promote Your Profile
With your profile optimized to advertise your job search, here are extra tips to boost visibility:
Proactively connect with recruiters
Search LinkedIn for recruiters at your target companies and connect with them directly. Send a note emphasizing your interest in opportunities and fit for openings.
Engage with company pages
Follow, comment on and like company pages to get on their radar. Be helpful and build connections.
Join industry/niche groups
Join LinkedIn groups related to your field. Post helpful insights and build your reputation. Recruiters mine groups for talent.
Follow relevant hashtags
Follow job search related hashtags like #opentowork, #jobsearch, #hiring, etc.
Attend LinkedIn events
Look for LinkedIn hosted networking events. Use them to make connections.
Proactive outreach widens the net for discovering new roles. The more exposure of your “open to work” profile, the better.
Evaluate Effectiveness
Changed your settings to “open to work”? Here are ways to track effectiveness:
Profile views
Monitor profile views and look for upticks after updating open to work settings. Views from recruiters indicate it is working.
Job invites
Gauge success by the volume of job invites and InMails received from interested recruiters. More invites equal higher visibility.
Recruiter connection requests
Numerous new connection requests from recruiters signal your settings update is driving interest.
We can visualize profile traffic with a table:
Metric | Before “Open to Work” | After “Open to Work” |
---|---|---|
Profile Views | 20/week | 50/week |
Job Invites | 2/month | 8/month |
Recruiter Connections | 5/month | 15/month |
Tracking metrics allows evaluation of impact on recruiter interest and engagement. Use it to fine tune settings and strategy.
Closing Tips
Here are some final tips as you open up your LinkedIn profile to attract new career opportunities:
- Keep current job description updated. Showcase all responsibilities and achievements.
- Expand your network. Connect with more professionals in your target field.
- Follow companies you are interested in. See their latest jobs and news.
- Join industry groups to build reputation and connections.
- Make skills, particularly key technical skills, prominent.
- Display certifications, volunteer work and awards.
- Consider paid LinkedIn job seeker services to gain added visibility.
The more complete and optimized your profile, the better the chances of catching a recruiter’s eye.
Changing LinkedIn settings to “open to work” positions you to be discovered for great new career moves with the companies and roles you want. Take advantage of the professional networking power of LinkedIn to achieve your next career goal. Here’s to your future success!