How to Use LinkedIn Open to Work in Your Job Search

In brief: To use LinkedIn's Open to Work feature, add the job titles and locations you're targeting, then choose whether recruiters or all LinkedIn members can see your signal. Make sure your profile supports those choices, and keep applying and talking with your network. The setting doesn't guarantee recruiter contact or confidentiality.

Three things to remember

1. Pick public visibility only if you're comfortable with colleagues and your wider network seeing your search.
2. Recruiters-only visibility is more discreet, but it has privacy limits.
3. Add titles and locations you'd genuinely consider.

Start with your preferences. Then read your headline and recent experience as a recruiter or contact might: do they make your target roles easy to understand?

Set up Open to Work on your profile

Go to your LinkedIn profile and select Open to, followed by Finding a new job. Add the titles, locations, and work arrangements you're willing to consider. Then choose who can see your preferences and save them.

Use titles that fit both your experience and your intended direction. A project manager, for example, might choose "Project Manager" and "Program Manager" if both are realistic targets. There's no need to add roles you wouldn't accept simply to make the list longer.

The same goes for locations. Choose places where you'd actually consider working.

LinkedIn can change its buttons and options. If these steps don't match what you see, look for the current instructions in the LinkedIn Help Center.

Choose who can see your job search

Your visibility choice affects who can see the signal. Here's the distinction:

Privacy caution: LinkedIn takes steps to hide the recruiters-only signal from recruiters at your current employer, but those protections aren't foolproof. Check LinkedIn's official guidance before deciding how much visibility feels right.

Thing is, the setting doesn't control everything you do on LinkedIn. If you publish a post asking for job leads, that post has its own visibility, whatever you've chosen for Open to Work.

Make your profile support your target roles

Your selected titles tell people what you're looking for. Your headline and experience give them a reason to connect those titles with your background.

Compare your profile with descriptions of jobs you'd consider. Then replace vague wording with details that accurately describe your work. Take this headline:

• Before: "Experienced Professional"
• After: "Project Manager | Software Implementation | Cross-Functional Delivery"

The second version says more, but use it only if it reflects what you've actually done. Your experience section should back it up with relevant responsibilities and examples. A headline alone can't do all that work.

For an international move, check the locations in your preferences against the places where you're actively searching. A LinkedIn location preference doesn't establish permission to work there.

Use the signal alongside applications and networking

Don't wait for the setting to do the job search for you. Use it alongside applications and conversations, then give yourself time to review what's coming back.

1. Set your preferences. Choose a visibility level and add the titles, locations, and work arrangements you'd consider.
2. Read your profile. Check that your headline and recent experience make sense alongside those targets. Revise wording that leaves your background unclear.
3. Apply and start conversations. Look for suitable openings, and give contacts a specific question they can answer. For example: "Hi Maya, I'm exploring program manager roles in Chicago. Would you be open to sharing what your team looks for in candidates?"
4. Revisit the search. Over the next few weeks, notice whether the roles and messages are relevant. Adjust your preferences or make your profile language more specific if they're missing the mark.

Keep applying while you review the results. There's no guaranteed response rate or timetable for hearing from a recruiter.

Check the quality of your results

A busy inbox isn't necessarily a useful inbox. One conversation about a role that fits your experience and preferred location may be worth more to your search than several unrelated approaches.

Look at the opportunities themselves. If they don't fit, compare the titles you've selected and the words in your headline with the jobs you actually want, rather than assuming that more messages will eventually produce a better match.

Hearing little? Check whether your recent experience gives readers enough context, and keep reaching out and applying. Your profile and your preferences can be revised as you learn what's relevant.

Protect yourself from suspicious offers

Treat unexpected recruiter messages with care, particularly when someone asks for payment or sensitive personal information early in the process. Check the employer and the opening independently on the organization's official website.

Don't pay someone to obtain a job. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's job scam guidance describes warning signs and what to do if you encounter a scam.

To be honest, a relevant-looking message still deserves a check. Take the time to verify the opening before sharing sensitive information.

For more help preparing for a search, DossierPro's career resources cover resumes, interviews, networking, and job-search planning.

Open to Work FAQs

Can my employer see that I am Open to Work?

Colleagues can see the green frame if you choose public visibility. Recruiters-only is more discreet, but LinkedIn can't guarantee that your current employer won't learn about your search.

Should I use the green Open to Work frame?

It's an option if you want your network to know and you're comfortable making the signal visible to all LinkedIn members. If discretion matters more, consider recruiters-only visibility. Remember its privacy limits, too.

Does Open to Work guarantee recruiter contact?

No. The setting signals your interest; it doesn't promise a message or an interview. Continue applying for suitable roles and speaking with people in your network.

What titles should I add?

Choose jobs you'd genuinely consider and titles your experience supports. Close variations can make sense when they fit. Leave out unrelated roles you wouldn't pursue.

The bottom line

Choose the visibility level that fits your need for discretion, and check that your profile supports the titles you've selected. In a few weeks, look at the opportunities you're receiving and adjust your preferences if they aren't relevant.