I really like Linkedin as a networking tool. I know many recruiters swear by it and I can see why. Its easy to use and full of good data that recruiters love. Anyways, I was playing around on it today and noticed a few things. It seems to me that a lot of people are seeking work on Linkedin and are announcing it in their profiles. Case in point, go to Linkedin Search and do a search using “unemployed” as the current job title.
Click on one of the profiles that are returned (as shown in the picture below) and check out the most recent position.
You get similar results with quite a few searches:
* At this writing, searching “unemployed” in the current job title returned 4,739 results.
* At this writing, searching “looking for work” in the current job title returned 652 results
* At this writing, searching “seeking new role” in the current job title returned 17 results
Is this a good thing? Honestly, I am split on what I think of this. On one hand, I like it because it makes it easy for recruiters to find you and suggests that you will most likely return their queries when they reach out to you. On the other hand, many recruiters (or rather hiring managers) have an asinine inclination to believe that unemployed people are not as qualified as those currently working. (I will never, never, never understand that rationale. But hey, maybe that’s just me.)
So, I want to ask jobseekers and recruiters for their feedback. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to say that you are looking for work on Linkedin? Do tell…
Jim
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There are 1,000,000 better titles to list for yourself than unemployed. Anyone who needs someone to tell them they’re employed or not lacks imagination and creativity. Start a blog, learn to develop web sites, help a nonprofit with marketing, cut grass, work for free at your church, start your own business selling on ebay or Amazon, become a linkedin/twitter/facebook expert … for the love of god do something, anything. Every tool needed to start or conduct business on your own behalf is free – and if you’re “unemployed” it’s not like you’re too busy.
Job opportunities are created. I don’t know many recruiters starting their search for skilled candidates by looking for the unemployed. You look for someone who’s taking full advantage of their current opportunities and is anxious for more.
Asking for what you want clearly and cleanly greatly improves your chances of getting it.
Asking for what you want clearly and cleanly greatly improves your chances of getting what you want.
“(I will never, never, never understand that rationale. But hey, maybe that’s just me.)” …
…Me too.
I think it is a great way to develop and pique interest in a profile. When I have had challenging contract roles to fill I have found this search quite successful.
I’ve seen quite a few people use “in transition” which seems a bit more graceful, although most people seem to recognize it as the new code for unemployed (or soon to be).
JoeTierney makes a good point in his closing statement. If unemployed, there are so many things that a person can do to continue skill development and create opportunities. Those activities would create a much stronger listing than “unemployed.”
Great artical. I find it amazing that just word changes can be the diffrence in getting the job, but its so true!!
What we’ve been subject to within the last a long period is mainly responsible for some people to question ‘Can we trust Microsoft?’
It’s easy to come up with a buck. It’s actually a lot tougher to make a difference.