Debate: Should You Be “Open to Work”?
There’s a flaming hot debate on LinkedIn right now around the “Open to Work” feature and whether job seekers should turn it on. A former Google recruiter is going viral for saying open to work makes you look “desperate” and “job searching is like dating” (Business Insider). This has triggered a lot of debate amongst candidates and recruiting professionals in this challenging market.
The debate hits especially close to home for me, as I previously work with the person quoted when they were in a leadership position at my former company. Considering whether to turn on the Open to Work feature? This is what job seekers should know.
What is Open to Work?
LinkedIn’s Open to Work feature was created to highlight which job seekers are looking for new opportunities. By turning on this feature, a green banner appears around your profile photo, allowing for easy visual identification of those who are looking for new roles.
This is especially useful in alerting recruiters who might view your profile and allows job seekers to share which opportunities they would want to be hired for. It’s also helpful for networking during your search and to let your connections know you are open for new opportunities should they come across a position for which you would be a fit.
You have the option to display the green banner as viewable to everyone who sees your profile or to limit it only to recruiters. For many, this has been seen as a quintessential tool to use when building out your LinkedIn profile.
How Do Recruiters Use It?
For recruiters, the Open to Work feature is a gold mine because it helps recruiters quickly identify potential high interest candidates. Recruiters use LinkedIn differently than job seekers and even have a tool called LinkedIn Recruiter specifically used to search for candidates. Candidate searches can be narrowed down to specific profiles based on skills, company types, years of experience (which is why building out your LinkedIn profile is so important!)
When these searches deliver profiles, recruiters can filter through candidates who are more likely to respond, which includes, you guessed it, those with the Open to Work feature turned on. This should be a good thing!
The Debate and Why this is an Important Conversation
Now this is where the debate becomes tricky. Based on the now viral article, having the Open to Work feature turned on can be seen as “desperate” by hiring managers. In this view, top talent isn’t actively seeking new jobs and the banner makes you appear like you’re open to any work. Along with biases like ageism and education, now job seekers have to deal with this too? It seems like the list of hurdles is never ending.
I’ve worked in recruiter for tech companies for over 5 years recruiting, managing recruiters, and hiring for my own teams. I’ve worked closely with CEOs, founders, and executives. And in completely transparency, I have worked with hiring managers or executives who have shared this view - which I don’t agree with.
The negative view of Open to Work completely disregards the current market we’re in, where over 250,000 tech workers alone have lost their jobs in 2023. This is also the place where I as a recruiter have educated and partnered with hiring managers to check their biases on hiring those who are Open to Work or may have a nontraditional background.
These are extremely important conversations to have. Talent acquisition professionals need to discuss biases in the open to name, resist, and nip bias in the bud. The best recruiters are champions of candidates and should be helping remove any bias around Open to Work. Hiring managers need to hear outside opinions, so they can rethink the context and their approach. Finally, job seekers need to understand these potential hurdles so that they can be recognized and faced. As painful as it is, this is a necessary conversation.
Should You Turn on Open to Work?
With LinkedIn’s feature, job seekers can decide for themselves if they want to showcase open to work status for everyone in their network or only to recruiters. Think of your specific job search strategy and how important social media like LinkedIn plays into it. Whether you turn on the green banner or fly under the radar, your LinkedIn profile is your introduction to potential employers and should tell a compelling professional story. This includes crafting a clear story of why you’re open to work and how you will bring your experience to help your future employer. Whether your story and marketing includes being Open to Work, is up to you!
