You will be able to set LinkedIn's job-seeking options and know who can see each one.
Looking for a new job while you still have one is normal, and it is sensible, because you search from a position of stability. It does mean you need to know what each LinkedIn setting shows and who can see it.
Wei Ling is in this position. She wants recruiters to find her, but she does not want her manager to see a green "Open to Work" frame on her photo on Monday morning. She also remembers a colleague whose headline change caused office gossip, and she wants to avoid the same thing.
LinkedIn changes its menus from time to time. If a setting is not where these notes say it is, search LinkedIn's help pages for the setting's name.
Open to Work is the LinkedIn feature for telling people you are looking for a new role. When you turn it on, you choose who can see it, and there are two options.
The first is all LinkedIn members. A visible "Open to Work" frame appears on your profile photo, and anyone who views your profile can see it, including your colleagues and your manager. This suits people who are between jobs, people whose employer already knows they are looking, and people finishing a contract.
The second is recruiters only. There is no frame on your photo. The signal is shown to recruiters who use LinkedIn's recruiting tools, which can raise your visibility in their searches without announcing anything to your network.
Recruiters only reduces the chance that your employer sees it, but it does not guarantee they won't. LinkedIn says it takes steps to stop recruiters at your own company from seeing the signal, and it also says it cannot guarantee complete privacy. There are a few ways it can leak. A recruiter at another firm may know your manager. A recruiter at an agency your company uses may mention it. Your company's own talent team may not be identified as your company in every case.
Base your choice on what would happen if your employer found out. If the outcome would be awkward but survivable, recruiters only is a reasonable choice. If it would put your job at real risk, consider leaving Open to Work off and relying on a strong headline, your skills and an active network, which make you findable without any signal.
Wei Ling asks herself that question and decides that her manager knowing would be uncomfortable but not dangerous. She turns on recruiters-only visibility. She also tells one trusted colleague, so that if word does spread, she hears it from a friend first.
When you turn on Open to Work, LinkedIn asks what you are looking for. These job preferences shape which recruiters see you and which roles LinkedIn suggests to you, so fill them in carefully.
For job titles, use the role words from your market sheet. You can usually add several, so include the main variations. Wei Ling adds "supply chain analyst", "logistics data analyst" and "operations analyst". Then add your location and choose the work arrangements you would accept from on-site, hybrid and remote. If there is an option for a start date, set it honestly.
Keep these titles consistent with the headline you built in Lesson 4.1, "Headline and About", where you said who you help and how. A mismatch sends recruiters a mixed message. If your preferences say "supply chain analyst" and your headline says "operations executive" with no mention of analytics, a recruiter gets two different pictures of what you want.
When you change your profile, LinkedIn can share some updates with your network, such as a new job, a new headline or a work anniversary. Rebuilding your whole profile in one evening can produce a run of noticeable activity.
Wei Ling's former colleague updated his headline one evening. By lunch the next day, half the office had seen a notification and was asking whether he was leaving.
Before you edit anything, find the profile update sharing setting, which controls whether your profile changes are shared with your network, and turn it off. On many versions of LinkedIn it appears as a toggle when you edit your profile, and it is also in settings under visibility. Once your updates are done, you can leave it off.
A profile that changes gradually draws less attention than one rebuilt overnight. If you are worried, spread your edits over a couple of weeks.
Writing down each setting and who can see it stops you guessing, and it can show you problems you had not noticed. Wei Ling's notes look like this:
Open to Work (recruiters only): seen by recruiters on LinkedIn's tools. Job preferences: seen only by those recruiters. Headline and About: seen by everyone. Profile update sharing: off, so her network gets no notifications.
Reading the list back, she spots that her headline, "moving into supply chain analytics", is visible to everyone. She decides she is comfortable with it, because it reads as career development rather than a resignation notice. You might decide differently and soften your own headline instead.
Now do the same review for your own profile in the activity. Go setting by setting, and note who can see each one.
Open your Open to Work and notification settings and write down who can see each one.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).