#Opentowork: Should you tell everyone on LinkedIn you're looking?

A few months back, LinkedIn emailed me and included in the message was a statement.

"Share you’re open to work and double your chances of being contacted by recruiters."

This contradicts the sentiment of several others I've heard, who say it seemed desperate and may have the opposite of the intended effect. If you need to become more familiar with this feature, you can read more about it here.

I wanted some real-world data. So, using my very own profile, I decided to try it. Having the behind-the-scenes notification setup to inform recruiters and the #opentowork badge present for about a month, I was ready to conclude that those seeking a new role should refrain from using this functionality. I didn't receive a single related job inquiry that was in any way aligned with my profile.

There were a few moments of excitement when I thought a recruiter was interested. Instead, it was a handful of messages mainly about franchising opportunities. And one cleverly (or confusingly) written message that made me think I was being recruited to work as a full-time career coach. I also received several messages of support from friends/former co-workers offering help, which I greatly appreciated. If there was any promise to leveraging this feature, it was quickly letting my network of friends and co-workers know.

So why it may not be working for you? The primary benefit of LinkedIn comes in the form of networking. When it comes to connections in your network, letting them know you are looking is an effective strategy.

The second target of LinkedIn is to get the attention of recruiters. However, I feel the opposite when it comes to getting the attention of recruiters. There is something funny about humans and our bias towards getting things we can't have. There is no shame in telling anyone you are open to work, but I don't know that it will yield the intended result you are after, which is to get more interviews and ultimately land a job, especially in the current market.

My Recommendation - If you use the green open-to-work banner and it's working for you, keep doing it! If it's not working, though, consider a change in your strategy. The most significant benefit to this capability on LinkedIn is that it helps you send out a message like this to let your network know. This has tremendous benefits, and this is where I see the best results.

And I'm not saying all you need to do is remove the green banner, and things will magically happen. It's a tough market for many, which is beyond our control. You can instead make sure you are dedicating your time towards aligning your resume/LI to the jobs you are applying to. If you are getting interviews but have yet to succeed, that's a different problem to consider.

I'm Sean, and I help technology professionals gain clarity over their career direction. I'd love the opportunity to chat. I'm a Certified Career Coach with 25 years of experience managing or working in nearly every role in the technology sector.

You can find the 'Book an Appointment' link in my profile to get some quick but powerful feedback on your LinkedIn profile and resume or chat about your career goals.

Note- as you see it today, my profile is different than the one I experimented with as I'm beginning an entirely new career.

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