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“The largest pink flag on LinkedIn is the ‘open to work’ image.” This scorching take is delivered to you by former Google recruiter Nolan Church.
And the dialogue continues. As I flick through my LinkedIn feed, there are nonetheless ongoing conversations concerning the #OpenToWork profile photograph body.
Do you have to use it? Does it work? Is there even a small probability it could make you look determined or unoriginal as a job seeker?
Featured Voices:
Sure, #OpenToWork has potential.
However it’s not the one technique job seekers must be utilizing to land a brand new position.
“In my expertise, it looks like the #OpenToWork body is just like carrying a t-shirt that claims ”Open to Work” — it will solely get seen if you happen to make your self seen,” says Ramona Sukhraj, Principal Advertising Author at HubSpot.
Sukhraj was just lately within the job market herself.
“It‘s a visible help that makes it clear you’re open to employment conversations on the platform, however if you happen to don‘t put up, have interaction, or make your self seen to the best teams, the trouble is usually in useless. So if you happen to’re going so as to add it, be ready to be energetic.”
In different phrases, it’s not sufficient so as to add the photograph body, sit again, and anticipate the job presents to roll in.
The Recruiter Perspective
Katelynne Bazile, World Crew Lead, Rising Expertise Programming & Operations at HubSpot, shared the identical sentiment as Sukhraj once I requested concerning the effectiveness of LinkedIn photograph frames.
“Whereas the #OpenToWork and #Hiring photograph frames initially served a helpful function by serving to people simply establish these searching for or providing job alternatives, the present job market’s volatility and excessive variety of people utilizing these frames have diminished their effectiveness,” says Bazile.
“Because the frames have turn out to be extra prevalent as a result of elevated layoffs, they could not have the influence they as soon as did when first launched.”
And he or she makes level about layoffs. To date in 2024, over 74,000 workers have been laid off, together with practically 300 tech firms.
Unpacking the Scorching Takes
Regardless, Bazile stated she would not categorize the #OpenToWork photograph body as “a sign of desperation or dangerous to job-seeking candidates.”
Although she does counsel that there are higher methods to make your self stand out.
“Personally, I’ve discovered extra influence in actively partaking on LinkedIn, interacting with content material from key figures and using the platform’s instruments to attach with related job alternatives,” says Bazile.
“It is vital to adapt and refine our methods because the platform evolves. Whereas I would not discourage the usage of photograph frames, I like to recommend incorporating extra approaches to successfully attain your target market.”
Let’s face it — there are roughly 40 million folks trying to find jobs on LinkedIn each week. In at the moment’s job market, it’s vital to construct your community, begin conversations, and create a plan to make your self stand out.
The Vibrant Aspect
Sukhraj did have some excellent news to share on the photo-frame entrance.
“I’ll say, once I initially posted a feed replace when including the [#OpenToWork] body, I acquired messages from a number of recruiters inside seconds,” says Ramona.
“This makes me imagine some people are monitoring the hashtag or maybe even specific job titles.”
And this is smart — knowledge exhibits that 77% of employers are nonetheless utilizing LinkedIn to supply candidates.
However I’d say the most important takeaway right here is that LinkedIn photograph frames are nonetheless only one small half of a bigger technique.
The Backside Line
To reply the overarching query posed on this article, I’d say sure — LinkedIn photograph frames can truly be useful. However they’re not made to face on their very own, and also you’ll nonetheless must do the heavy lifting to land your subsequent gig.
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