Does the #OpenToWork Frame Help, or Does It Send the Wrong Message?
You may have the relevant experience, significant achievements and the skills required to take on your next role. However, if your way of communicating your openness to new opportunities doesn’t reflect your career stage and circumstances, you may not be making the most of LinkedIn’s potential.
The #OpenToWork feature was introduced by LinkedIn in 2020 to enable users to let others know that they are open to considering new career opportunities. Setting this feature to public adds a green frame to your profile picture, which is visible to other LinkedIn users.
For many job seekers, this may be a useful solution. However, for experienced professionals, managers and executives, it is worth considering whether this is the best way to communicate their professional situation and attract the right opportunities.
Could the Green #OpenToWork Frame Be Sending the Wrong Message?
The #OpenToWork feature is neither a good nor a bad solution in itself. Whether it will effectively support your job search depends on your career stage, industry, professional situation and the strategy you adopt.
For those starting out in their careers, greater visibility can be a major advantage. If someone is still building their network and doesn’t yet have a strong position in the market, publicly signaling that they are open to new opportunities can help them become visible to more recruiters.
For managers and executives, the job search process is often different.
At this level, the best career opportunities rarely come solely from applying to publicly advertised roles. They often come about through:
- recommendations,
- professional networks,
- contacts with headhunters,
- direct discussions with decision makers,
- long-term presence in the industry.
Senior professionals should therefore communicate their openness to new opportunities in a way that strengthens their professional positioning, supports their chosen job-search strategy and enables them to maintain a strong negotiating position.
How Do Professionals Perceive the Green Frame?
In one of our LinkedIn polls, we asked the community:
“An experienced manager / executive looking for a job has added the green #OpenToWork badge to their profile. What do you think?”
Almost 250 people took part in the survey.
The results revealed a range of views:
- 32% of respondents felt that it might help,
- 24% said it would not make much difference,
- 44% believed it might do more harm than good.
This doesn’t mean that the green frame is always the wrong choice. However, it does show that the way you present your professional situation can influence how other LinkedIn users perceive your profile.
Why Simply Providing Information About Availability Might Not Be Enough?
One of the common mistakes made when looking for a job is to focus mainly on increasing the visibility of one’s availability.
The mere fact that someone is available doesn’t show why they might be a valuable candidate for a specific role. A recruiter, headhunter or decision maker still need to find answers to the following questions:
- What sort of roles are you suited for?
- Which parts of your experience are most relevant to your next career move?
- What achievements demonstrate your value?
- What business problems can you solve?
Just as a LinkedIn profile shouldn’t simply be a copy of your CV, stating that you are open to new opportunities shouldn’t be the only message you convey to the job market.
Your profile should help the reader quickly understand your potential in the context of future professional roles.
If not the Public Green Frame… Then What?
1. Ensure Your LinkedIn Profile Is Optimized
For many senior professionals, a more effective strategy may be to increase the visibility of the value they bring professionally.
Your LinkedIn profile should clearly show:
- who you are professionally,
- what you specialize in,
- what achievements demonstrate your impact,
- what sort of roles you’re suited to.
For senior professionals, simply listing job titles and companies is usually not enough. It is also worth highlighting the scope of responsibilities, the scale of operations and the results achieved.
2. Tap into Your Network
Many valuable career opportunities aren’t advertised publicly.
Conversations with former colleagues, business partners, industry contacts or headhunters often lead to opportunities that you won’t find in job ads.
However, it isn’t simply a matter of increasing the number of contacts at random. A network should be built deliberately and support a clearly defined career direction.
3. Build a Professional Presence on LinkedIn
LinkedIn allows you to showcase not only your career history, but also your mindset, professional perspective and the areas in which you can add value.
Sharing your experience, commenting on relevant industry topics or publishing your own observations helps to build your visibility and credibility among people in your industry.
4. Consider the Private #OpenToWork Setting
LinkedIn also allows you to make your #OpenToWork status visible only to recruiters.
For many managers and executives, this may be a more suitable solution than a public green frame, particularly if they value greater discretion.
Looking for a Job Discreetly Doesn’t Mean Waiting Passively
At manager and executive level, a successful job search usually requires a combination of clearly communicating your experience, developing professional relationships and deliberately reaching out to the right people in the market.
How Does Career Angels Support Managers and Executives?
At Career Angels, we have been supporting senior professionals, managers and executives in making informed career decisions for over 16 years.
Over the past five years, more than 4,800 professionals have come to us for advice, seeking a specific answer, guidance or an independent perspective on their career situation. Over 80% of Career Angels’ clients come to us through recommendations.
Among other things, we help with:
- strategic career positioning,
- preparing CVs and LinkedIn profiles,
- increasing visibility in the job market,
- planning the next step in your career.
Don’t Wait Until Change Becomes a Necessity
The best career opportunities often arise before a vacancy is publicly advertised.
If you put off optimizing your LinkedIn profile and developing your job search strategy until a change becomes urgent, you may limit your options.
Make sure your profile supports your career goals and clearly communicates where you want your career to go next.
If you are a manager or executive with over 10 years of experience and would like to check whether your LinkedIn profile and job search strategy support your career goals, email us at Contact@CareerAngels.eu to book a free, non-obligatory online Career Consultation.
Sometimes, just one conversation is enough to gain a better understanding of your career situation and the next possible steps.
