Dec 16
What!? *Don't* put 'looking for a job' in your LinkedIn status?!?
Published by Amybeth (@researchgoddess) at 7:00 am under Career Advice,Research,Social,Talent
I was pointed to a new blog post today by Laurent Brouat entitled “Don’t put ‘Looking for a job’ on your linkedin status“. In the post, Brouat advises those who are in the market for new employment not to place these words in their LinkedIn status because “you position yourself as someone asking for something, asking for a job, waiting for things to happen…”
Say wha-a-a-a-t!?!?! I completely and quite loudly disagree with this!
- If you don’t ask, you cannot receive. There’s a Book that talks about this quite extensively, actually
- ANY recruiter, and sourcer especially, worth their salary, knows how to conduct in-depth LinkedIn searches and would be quite pleased to discover someone who’s left word that they’d be open to listening to new opportunities right on their LinkedIn page. Don’t believe me? Just type the phrase “looking for a job” into the LinkedIn search field and check out the resulting 8,000+ individuals seeking new employment AND LETTING YOU KNOW THEY ARE.
- Guess what? I have automated search agents set up through LOTS of social media sites with key phrases like “looking for work”, “I need a job”, “need a new job”… and I’ll bet a million bucks I’m not the only one!
Granted, Mr. Brouat is from London so the way things are done across the pond could be quite different from here in the States, but I believe a better piece of advice might be to tell job seekers not to simply STOP at putting this phrase in their profile.
Job seeking is essentially self-marketing, and the one thing that you should know about good marketing is that you should NEVER rely on one method to get the job done. The reason for this is that you’ll have different target audiences that will be reached via different methods. So I say in addition to putting a phrase such as “looking for a job” (or perhaps you prefer “entertaining new opportunities”, “seeking a new venture”, or “in transition”?) it’s good to combine other active outreach such as IN-PERSON networking, looking to see who is hiring and then proactively reaching out, etc. In my personal opinion, it certainly can’t hurt to leave a note on a page that I guarantee is going to be visited by actively querying recruiters and sourcers.
It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for something you want – just make sure you do it tactfully!
Well stated! This is the 2nd similar post today I have read on this subject. I personally enjoy the reference to the Book! Have a great Christmas!
Hey Amybeth,
Great article. You know – I would bet that over 90% of people are looking for a change but just dont talk about it…..
I’ve just got involved with blogging and seeing how addictive this is…
However, if someone is currently employed but looking, he might end up on the street if his employer sees that he is actively looking.
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Hey Amybeth,
Really an interesting article . If you are a sourcer / Recruiter, this is really good for you ( to find candidates )But if you are a Candidate then you might have to do it tactfully.
This also goes for those in recruiting who are contracting. Many believe they shouldn’t admit that they work as a contractor for the company they list. Yet if they fail to show they are contracting (and therefore are available) how will they get the next gig? In the “old days” contracting might have had a negative connotation but I don’t think it is viewed that way today. What do you think Amy?