Should You Announce on LinkedIn Headline that You Are Looking for a Job?
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LinkedIn is a useful and popular platform for job seekers to find job opportunities. You may have come across a LinkedIn profile with a headline indicating the availability for a new position such as “Looking for new opportunities”, “Open for new challenges” and you might have done the same thing for your LinkedIn account. While these headlines tell recruiters your status, it is questionable whether it really helps one to attract more job opportunities.
Here are some reasons why you may want to remove that headline.
There is an Unfair Propensity Towards Hiring Passive Candidates
Unfortunately, announcing that you are seeking for new job opportunities send signals that you are jobless or very desperate about getting a job. Many recruiters have the tendency to avoid active candidates because of the presumption that they are unemployed, desperate or fired from their jobs. In contrast, passive candidates (those who are not actively looking for jobs) receive a stronger preference by some recruiters, mainly because of the bias against the unemployed and the psychology of playing hard to get.
You Will Get More Unhelpful Connection
Instead of getting attention from recruiters, you may be receiving more connection requests and irrelevant text messages from unhelpful strangers.
You May Still Be Contacted Without Putting Up the Headline
If your profile fits the job requirements, recruiters will contact you even if you do not display your availability for a new job. In contrast, when recruiters do not find your experiences a match, it is unlikely that you will get an interview whether you are a passive or active job seeker.
It Does Not Make Your Profile More Impressive
Your profile can still stand out from other candidates by showcasing relevant experiences, skills or career goals. Therefore, announcing your job availability does not bring you more job invitations.
Your Manager Discovers Your Intention to Leave
It can be risky for an individual who is employed to show his/her availability on LinkedIn. When the manager discovers about your plan to leave, you could be in a big trouble. Not leaving online messages about your intention to change your job is a safer option to consider.
Solutions
For those who are employed and open for job opportunities, LinkedIn has a helpful feature known as “Let Recruiters Know You’re Open”. Your indicator only appears to paid premium “LinkedIn Recruiter” account holders and are invisible to those who work at your current company. Although this is a smaller group of recruiters, your intention is protected from your colleagues and managers.
In case you are unemployed, you can beef up your LinkedIn profile by including valuable experiences gained from unpaid work or continuing education during this period of time when you are looking for a job. These experiences can be fruitful, enriching and add value to your future job. Showing recruiters that you are meaningfully occupied (while unemployed), or studying gives a more positive impression.
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