So, you’ve updated your LinkedIn status to show that you are Open to Work. You may be passively looking (if something better comes along) or actively pursuing your next opportunity.

What does this really mean?

As a recruiter, if I see that you are Open to Work, I will think it’s okay to approach you for a role/s that matches your skills and experience. In the current hot market, you might be inundated with InMail’s, and they may not all be relevant to what you are looking for.

Should you respond? If the role isn’t what you want… the location is wrong, the position requires skills you don’t have, or it's permanent, and you only want a contract, or vice versa, why respond?

Ask yourself this. Do you want recruiters to understand what you DO like/want?

A LinkedIn profile only gives a certain amount of information, so sometimes, it’s hard to determine if a person is a good match. We also don’t know if you require visa sponsorship or are looking for career progression in a specific direction. There are many variables that a quick conversation, over LinkedIn or by phone, can help determine.

Whilst my LinkedIn InMail response rate is well above average 😉, I’m still surprised by the number of people who don’t reply.

Are you aware that if you DECLINE the InMail, a recruiter is blocked from sending you another message for 90 days? For this reason alone, it’s far better not to decline and send a quick response. Otherwise, I won’t be able to contact you with other great opportunities until that time elapses.

For me, I always try to respond to everyone who messages me back. Firstly, as a courtesy, to acknowledge the response, but also to find out more information, if that’s relevant. Building that connection means that if I do reach out again in future, I’m now armed with more information and can reach out with more appropriate positions.

The other thing to consider is that if you are constantly being approached for roles that you feel are not aligned with your skills/experience; then it may be that your LinkedIn profile isn’t providing enough information and may need some tweaking.

This is certainly something that I would be willing to help with. Advising on your resume and LinkedIn profile so that it’s more impactful and also highlighting your strengths is something that I enjoy. That second set of eyes, coming from an independent perspective and with my knowledge of the market, can assist you in making your profile more targeted and your skills more obvious.

But what if the InMail details a role that sounds interesting? What then? Well, the best action is to respond immediately to let the Recruiter know and provide a contact number, so they can reach you to discuss further. Several candidates on LinkedIn respond by asking for a copy of the job description or the salary range.

Whilst you might think this is an easy way to determine if the job is the right fit, you also have to consider that there is a lot more to it than that, information which we haven’t put into the LinkedIn message. Hence, a quick conversation can determine if your skills/experience are aligned and if the location/working mode – i.e., remote/hybrid, company (size, industry sector etc.) and culture are also a fit. Once I have established these baselines, I will happily share the details of my client and the job description.

So let me finish with this. If you get an InMail, please think about responding and help me to help you in your job search.

If you are a client looking for a Recruitment Consultant to help you with your next role, please reach out to me at Morgan Consulting via:

✉️ ljennings@morganconsulting.com.au

📱 0437 413 878

Or connect with me on LinkedIn!