Reasons to Remove the Open To Work Banner on LinkedIn

After years of observing hiring patterns, I've noticed something counterintuitive: publicly displaying the green "Open to Work" banner on your profile can actually decrease your chances of securing premium opportunities.   Here's a more strategic approach: 1. Remove the public-facing "Open to Work" banner from your profile. 2. Instead, use LinkedIn's private job seeking features and update your career interests and job preferences where only recruiters can see them. 3. Select "Recruiters Only" in your visibility settings This ensures hiring professionals can discover your availability without broadcasting it. 4. Focus on strengthening your profile content by updating your skills, experiences, and accomplishments to naturally attract interest.   The psychology behind this approach is simple: Candidates who appear selective and in-demand generate more interest than those who seem eager for any opportunity.   Recruiters are already actively searching for qualified talent whether or not you display availability.   This subtle shift in strategy maintains your professional leverage while still ensuring you're discoverable to the right opportunities.   What LinkedIn strategies have you found most effective in your professional journey?   Check out my newsletter for more insights here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #executiverecruiter #eliterecruiter #jobmarket2025 #profoliosai #resume #jobstrategy #professionalcommunication #linkedinoptimization #jobsearchstrategy #careeradvancement

The green #opentowork banner - yes or no? This is the number one question I've received from job seekers in the past week since my viral open-to-work post (now at 640k). For those who are not familiar with this, it is a small green banner that can be added to your LinkedIn profile picture, indicating that you’re open to work. In a similar way, the purple banner can now be applied to show that you are ‘hiring’. LinkedIn gives you 2 options when you are completing your "open to work" section; you can choose Visibility to "Only share with recruiters" or "All LinkedIn Members." When you choose "All LinkedIn Members" the open to work green banner will appear on your profile photo. The advantage of the green banner is that select hiring managers can see you are open to work versus only recruiters. I've gone back and forth on this one quite a bit, so I have asked a few recruiters I respect, and here is their advice: Select ”Share with recruiters only.” When you choose this option, only a small subset of recruiters on LinkedIn are notified, namely those whose organizations have paid for access to LinkedIn’s "Recruiter” platform. They all recommended NOT using the green banner and reaching out to your network privately for referrals and connections to open roles. I also spoke to a few hiring managers who felt there would be a better chance of you being hired while you are currently working. Again they did not recommend the green banner. Stating that there is a well-known bias well toward "passive candidates" i.e. those not actively looking. Note: For those currently employed, LinkedIn prevents recruiters at your firm from seeing this option turned on for you, to safeguard your privacy. But that’s no guarantee that a recruiter at your firm won’t ask a colleague to look up who is open-to-work at your company. I have always kept my profile open to work, but truthfully I have not received many viable opportunities over the years. All of my roles have come through a referral or direct application. Here is what I suggest: Email or send private messages to your network and/or post. Keep it positive and provide your target positions, target companies where they might have contacts, and why you should be hired. I welcome input from hiring managers and recruiters on this one - what do you recommend? #careeradvice #hiring #marketing #modernmarketer

The “open to work” banner often backfires. It’s meant to help you get noticed. But it often attracts the wrong kind of attention, like job scammers who prey on people in active search. They know you’re eager. They know you’re vulnerable. Instead, build visibility by sharing your expertise, engaging in conversations, and networking with real humans. Make the right people find you, on your terms. P.S. Have you ever been contacted by a fake recruiter because of the Open to Work banner?