Often I am asked the merits of posting “looking for new opportunity” in your headline on LinkedIn. My immediate answer had always been “no; it makes you sound desperate.” Historically, hiring managers want candidates who were gainfully employed — not unemployed.
Then I brought in a recruiter to work on a project with me and that is one (of the many!) ways she sourced candidates. Particularly if the employer needs someone quickly or for a short-term assignment.
To announce or not to announce, that is the question
I’m still of two minds on this question as so many of my clients prefer candidates who are working. It’s the old adage “I want someone that someone else wants or is being actively pursued.”
I think the stigma of being out of work and looking for work is long gone. With so many people making moves or having moves forced on them these days, this is an everyday occurrence.
If you do it, do it right
If you are going to say you are actively pursuing a new opportunity, however, make it easy for the hiring manager or recruiter to contact you. There’s nothing more frustrating that announcing to the world that you are indeed available, and then making it hard for us to reach you. Put your contact details in your summary (or at the very least at the bottom of your profile where it says ‘contact details’).
There’s nothing more frustrating for a recruiter than wanting to reach someone and jumping through hoops to do so. As I said before, with more and more people making moves, if it’s hard to reach you, we just move on!
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