The “Open to Work” feature serves as a digital signal that professionals use to indicate their availability for new career opportunities. This straightforward tool allows individuals to broadcast their job search status to their network or selectively to talent acquisition specialists. While effective for attracting interest, users often need to remove this status once they have accepted a new role or wish to conduct a more discreet search. This guide provides instructions on how to fully deactivate this feature, manage lingering visibility settings, and stop the influx of unwanted recruiter messages.
How the Open to Work Feature Functions
This status operates with a dual visibility setting on the dominant professional networking platform, impacting how a user appears in search results. The most visible manifestation is the public photo frame, a green border applied directly to the profile picture, which is visible to all members of the network. This public badge is typically selected when a user is comfortable sharing their job-seeking status widely, including with colleagues and current employers.
The more discreet layer of the feature is the private signal, which is transmitted only to those who possess a specialized recruiter account. When this setting is active, the profile is flagged in talent search results, indicating the user is open to receiving inquiries, without displaying the public green photo frame. This private signal remains active even if the public badge is removed, allowing for a confidential job search. This requires a separate deactivation process to fully stop all notifications.
Step-by-Step Guide to Disabling Your Status
Disabling the status requires navigating to the specific job preferences section of your profile to remove both the public badge and the private signal. Begin by navigating to your personal profile page, which displays your current work experience and education history. Look for the “Open to Work” panel, usually located below your introduction card, and click the pencil icon to begin editing the settings.
Clicking the edit icon opens the job preferences modal, which contains the details of your desired job titles, locations, and work types. Scroll to the bottom of this pop-up window where the option to deactivate the feature permanently is located. The system requires users to explicitly select the “Delete from profile” or “Delete” option.
Selecting the delete option prompts a confirmation to ensure the action is intentional. This will erase all saved job preferences and remove the public notification. It is necessary to confirm this final step to fully save the changes and eliminate the status from appearing on the profile. After confirmation, refreshing the page will show that the “Open to Work” panel is no longer visible on your introduction card, signifying the initial deactivation is complete.
Adjusting Recruiter Visibility and Message Settings
Disabling the primary status is only the first step, as certain secondary settings can continue to flag your profile to recruiters and generate unwanted messages. Even after deleting the status, the platform maintains a separate section known as “Career Interests,” which acts as a persistent private signal to talent acquisition users. This section includes details about desired job roles and locations, and it needs to be managed separately to ensure full privacy.
To address this, navigate to the “Jobs” tab and locate the “Career Interests” settings, which may still be toggled to “On” even after the main status removal. Within this panel, you must review and potentially clear any saved information regarding your preferred job titles or work arrangements. Explicitly turn off the setting that signals your interest to recruiters, which ensures your profile will no longer be prioritized in their targeted searches.
Furthermore, the platform may continue sending automated job alert emails based on the preferences previously saved in the now-deleted “Open to Work” panel. These alerts can be managed in the notification or communication settings area, where you can turn off specific job alert subscriptions. Adjusting these communication preferences prevents your inbox from being filled with irrelevant or untimely job opportunities, completing the process of stopping all job-seeking-related communication.
Subtle Alternatives to Signaling Job Availability
Professionals who wish to remove the conspicuous public badge but still remain passively available for new roles can utilize several discreet profile adjustments. One effective method is to update the profile headline with subtle keywords that reflect future aspirations rather than current employment. Phrases referencing “growth,” “expansion,” or “seeking new challenges” can attract attention without explicitly stating a job search.
Another approach involves leveraging the “Career Interests” section by filling it out but maintaining the visibility setting to “Recruiters only.” This allows your profile to be found by talent acquisition specialists using the platform’s premium search tools, while remaining invisible to your general network and current employer.
Updating your work history to reflect recently acquired skills or certifications also optimizes your profile for keyword searches conducted by recruiters. This ensures your profile is easily discoverable by those seeking specific expertise and relevant opportunities.