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“The most important 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 in regards to the #OpenToWork profile photograph body.
Must you use it? Does it work? Is there even a small likelihood it might make you look determined or unoriginal as a job seeker?
Featured Voices:
Sure, #OpenToWork has potential.
But it surely’s not the one technique job seekers needs to be utilizing to land a brand new function.
“In my expertise, it looks as if the #OpenToWork body is much like carrying a t-shirt that claims ”Open to Work” — it will solely get seen when you 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 support that makes it clear you’re open to employment conversations on the platform, however when you don‘t submit, have interaction, or make your self seen to the appropriate teams, the trouble is generally in useless. So when you’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 provides to roll in.
The Recruiter Perspective
Katelynne Bazile, World Workforce Lead, Rising Expertise Programming & Operations at HubSpot, shared the identical sentiment as Sukhraj once I requested in regards to the effectiveness of LinkedIn photograph frames.
“Whereas the #OpenToWork and #Hiring photograph frames initially served a helpful goal by serving to people simply determine these in search of 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 into extra prevalent on account of elevated layoffs, they could now not have the affect they as soon as did when first launched.”
And she or he makes a very good level about layoffs. Thus far in 2024, over 74,000 workers have been laid off, together with almost 300 tech firms.
Unpacking the Sizzling 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 affect 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 necessary to adapt and refine our methods because the platform evolves. Whereas I would not discourage using photograph frames, I like to recommend incorporating extra approaches to successfully attain your target market.”
Let’s face it — there are roughly 40 million individuals trying to find jobs on LinkedIn each week. In right now’s job market, it’s necessary 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 consider some of us are monitoring the hashtag or even perhaps specific job titles.”
And this is sensible — information reveals that 77% of employers are nonetheless utilizing LinkedIn to supply candidates.
However I’d say the largest 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 really be useful. However they’re not made to face on their very own, and also you’ll nonetheless have to do the heavy lifting to land your subsequent gig.
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