When you are openly job-searching, LinkedIn is an amazing platform to set out your stall. Your network is (and recruiters as well), actively searching for talents in your own field. It makes sense to claim your profile and use it to your maximum advantage.

If you’re active on LinkedIn, one of the things you’ve noticed is that (too) many job seekers (even TOP Executives!) constantly write on their LinkedIn profile headlines is “currently seeking new opportunities.”

Ouch!

Seeing this drives recruiters slightly nuts.

You may be tempted to do it too, believing that it might help your job search.

Don’t. It makes you look desperate.

Recruiters are hiring you on the value you can add to them, not so much on whether you are immediately available!

If they want you badly enough and have to poach you from someone else – they will (try).

A key element of your LinkedIn profile is the HEADLINE. The headline shows up in search results alongside your name, photo, location, and industry.

– At its best, this 126-character descriptive field will entice the reader to visit your profile and find out more. If it is properly optimised and include your industry keywords, it will even help you rank better on LinkedIn!

– At its worst, it will tell them nothing of interest, causing them to skip your profile asap… and you’ll be forgotten forever.

Many LinkedIn members do use their headline to state only they are looking for a job. They use headlines like:

>> Currently in transition

>> Looking for work / a new role / a job

>> Looking for / open to / available for / seeking / considering new opportunities / roles

>> Actively seeking work / employment / a new role / the next challenge

>> Exploring new options

>> Available for work / employment / permanent and contract opportunities

Ok, they’re saying their available. 

But that THE ONLY THING THEY’RE SAYING. And it makes them look veeeery desperate…it makes them sound they are struggling to get interviews, and in most cases: they actually are!

Having such headline is a critical mistake and if yours is of this kind, chances are high that your LinkedIn profile includes many more critical mistakes.

If you want to say you are available for work in your headline, you can but these words should be paired with phrasing that tells who you are, where you are going, and what you plan to do. The following 126-character headlines combine both, telling the recruiter more about the job-seekers and what they want to do:

“Head of IT Seeking New Role| Keen to Support Timely, Quality Delivery of IT Optimisation Programmes”

“TOP Finance Executive MBA Holder | Seeking a Challenging Position with a Leading Financial Services Company”

These formulas may help to get you cracked the right way:

>> (add target role title) now ready for my next (add functions / skills) role

>> Career Target: (add target role title) | (add keywords)

>> (add target role title) who (solves what problem) for (who) | Seeking new opportunities

>> (add target role title) ready to (add benefit you deliver) for (company or client descriptor)

Need more LinkedIn tips? check this article: 

>> How To Rank High On LinkedIn – And Why Is It Important? <<