LinkedIn - Recruiter Tell-All

LinkedIn is a great tool for discoverability. It’s there so that recruiters can find you. This means that it works best as the “passive” side of your job search.

You can think of your LinkedIn profile as an SEO opportunity: if recruiters searching for profiles on the platform find you easily, you will get opportunities. This works best during a candidate-driven job market, where recruiters are fighting over a low supply of available candidates.

Needless to say that 2025 isn't such a market...

Yes, there are job postings on LinkedIn, but the platform is too crowded for most to get results. Because everyone uses LinkedIn, it’s become the most competitive job board. The "Easy Apply" functionality makes the barrier to entry extremely low, so “everyone applies to everything”. Job postings therefore get flooded with applicants, for which recruiters will mostly review a (surface level) LinkedIn profile.

Put simply, LinkedIn is a nice plus in 2025, but it isn't a must, nor should it be part of your main job search strategy.

LinkedIn is most likely not where your next job is coming from… Job boards shouldn’t be your main focus either, for the same reason (high competition).

…So what works? Again, avoid your competition as much as possible:

• List smaller/less known companies and apply via their career pages (most jobs there aren’t posted on any job boards).
• No career page? Even better! Send your resume by email to the general info@....
• Many open roles are not public. You’ll be one of the very few candidates considered if a position is vacant.

LinkedIn introduced the "Open to Work" feature in July 2020 as a way to help people navigate the challenging job market during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It allows you to signal your interest to recruiters and hiring managers by adding an "Open to Work" badge to your profile photo. (check how it works on the LinkedIn website).

As a Recruiter, it was one of my favorite features as a recruiter for Google. Here's why.

Recruiters have to sort through hundreds (sometimes thousands) of profiles. They have a limited amount of time, and a limited number of “InMails” (direct outreach emails) to send.

The “Open to Work” feature shows up in the search results. It provides recruiters with a list of candidates they can reach out to with a potentially high response rate.

So recruiters will start by messaging the “Open to Work” list before anyone else.

The "Open to Work" status is not shown to people working within your company. However, according to LinkedIn's own admission, this is only 99% effective.

For example, if someone from your company does not include their current employment or uses a different company name, then the "Open to Work" status will be visible.

In the rare chance that your employer sees your "Open to Work" status, they might understand that you are not happy with your current situation.

However, their response to this information depends on their policies and perspective.

Some employers may proactively reach out to discuss how they can improve your experience and encourage you to stay. Others might "brace for impact" and look for a replacement.

In any case, getting fired due to an "Open to Work" status is very unlikely. You just have to know the risk.

No.

This is a widely used feature on LinkedIn and does not send any negative signals to employers. Remember: employers and recruiters also think about their own interests.

They appreciate knowing that a candidate is open to opportunities because it saves them time and effort.