LinkedIn Open to Work: pros, cons and privacy

What is LinkedIn Open to Work?

Open to Work is a LinkedIn setting that shares your job preferences with recruiters. LinkedIn's help page on letting recruiters know you're Open to Work says you can set job titles, location types, locations, start date and employment types. You then choose who can see that you are looking, from three options.

The feature is set up from the Preferences area of the Jobs tab. LinkedIn notes that some members may see the wording "Choose what you need in your next job" instead. Either way, the same three visibility settings apply, and you can change them at any time.

Who can see your Open to Work status?

That depends on the setting you pick. The all LinkedIn members setting shows your status to everyone, including recruiters and people at your current company, and adds the #OpenToWork frame to your photo. The Recruiter only setting shows it to people using LinkedIn Recruiter. The third setting is visible only to you.

LinkedIn's help page on viewing Open to Work candidates in Recruiter confirms the difference. Candidates who share with recruiters only still appear in an Open to work spotlight search, without the photo frame. Their search result card shows an Open to work label, and hovering over it shows what they chose to share.

Does Open to Work help you get contacted?

LinkedIn's own data says candidates who signal it respond more. A Talent Blog analysis of InMail response rates, dated May 19, 2022, states that the response rate for candidates who indicate they're Open to Work is 37% higher than for other candidates. That measures replies to recruiters, which is a different thing from job offers.

The same post says most InMail replies come quickly: 65% within 24 hours and 90% within one week. For a job seeker, the practical point is simple. Recruiters can find you with a filter, and when they write, a fast reply is normal.

No page LinkedIn has published, among those checked for this article, measures whether the public frame leads to more interviews or offers. Treat any claim that the frame helps or hurts your chances as opinion unless it comes with data you can check.

How do recruiters find people who are Open to Work?

Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter run a search and then click the Open to work spotlight at the top of the results. LinkedIn's help page on filtering search results in Recruiter also lists Open to work as an option on filter terms. That option is available in Recruiter only, and the page does not list it for Recruiter Lite.

LinkedIn's page on how to use LinkedIn Recruiter says Recruiter has 40+ advanced search filters, Recruiter Lite 20+ and free tools 6. So the Recruiter only setting reaches the recruiters on LinkedIn's full paid product. Recruiters also get a notification when someone already in their project pipeline turns Open to Work on.

The guide on how recruiters search LinkedIn covers the other filters your profile needs to match.

Can your current employer see that you are Open to Work?

With the public setting, yes. LinkedIn's help page says the all members option includes people at your current company. With the Recruiter only setting, LinkedIn says it takes steps to prevent Recruiter users who work at your company from seeing your shared career interests. It also says plainly that it can't guarantee complete privacy.

So if your employer finding out would cause you trouble, assume there is some risk even with the private setting. Anyone who views your profile, including coworkers, can also see your headline and posts. Keep the headline focused on your current work, and let the private setting carry the signal.

What are the trade-offs of the public frame?

The public frame reaches everyone, including former colleagues who might refer you. That is useful if you are between jobs and want your network to help. The cost is that you lose control over who knows, and you may hear from people you don't know, some of whom are not hiring for anything real.

The Federal Trade Commission's page on job scams says scammers advertise online, including on job sites and social media. It states that honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. If a message after you turn on the frame asks for money, a deposit or a fee, stop there.

If you are already telling your network, the frame can sit alongside a post. The page on announcing you're job hunting on LinkedIn has examples of what to write.

Which setting should you pick?

Pick Recruiter only if you have a job and want recruiters to find you quietly. Pick all members if you are between jobs, your network knows, and you want referrals. Pick visible only to you if you just want better job recommendations. You can switch settings later, so start with the one that feels safest.

Here is a quick way to decide, as an example rule:

• Employed, and your manager would react badly: Recruiters only, or nothing.
• Employed, and your company knows you are leaving: either setting works.
• Laid off or between contracts: all members, plus a post to your network.
• Student or new graduate: all members, since you have no current employer to worry about.

The guide to a job search after a layoff covers what to do in the first weeks.

What should you fill in on your preferences?

Fill in the titles you would accept, using the standard names employers post. Add the locations and location types you want, such as on-site, hybrid or remote, a start date and employment types. Recruiters see these preferences, so a vague or overly wide list makes you a weaker match for every search.

Keep the list to the roles you would take. If you add five unrelated titles, a recruiter who hovers over your label sees a scattered search. Match the titles to your headline, and use the LinkedIn headline examples to make the two agree.

How do you turn Open to Work off?

Open the same preferences and click Delete. LinkedIn's help page says you can re-enable it at any time, but your previous preferences won't be saved, so note them down first. LinkedIn may also remove the feature for you if you stop answering recruiter InMails and don't confirm you are still looking.

The help page explains the second case. If you stop responding to recruiter InMails, LinkedIn emails you to confirm you are still open to work. If it doesn't hear back, it removes the #OpenToWork feature from your profile automatically.

What else should you do while Open to Work is on?

Reply to recruiters within a day or two, even when the role is a poor fit. A short, polite no keeps the door open. Then make sure the rest of your profile matches what you told recruiters you want, from headline to skills to the About section.

The LinkedIn profile optimization checklist covers each field. The page on how to message a recruiter on LinkedIn has templates for replying. When a call gets booked, the free interview question generator gives you likely questions to practise, and Prept's Mock room lets you answer out loud on a clock in the free plan.