LinkedIn Alert: Beware of New Feature Connecting Job-Seekers to Recruiters

Many people have turned to LinkedIn to look for a new job. However, in the past, if you identified yourself as a job seeker on your profile, you ran the risk of alerting your employer (always a no-no) or appearing desperate to viewers of your profile. Now, there is a way to make your interests known to recruiters through a new “private” feature on the site called Open Candidates.

This feature is located under the Jobs tab within the section called, Preferences. In this section, you will be prompted to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire allows you to identify your preferences related to job functions, geographic location and industry specializations. You can also specify whether you want to be considered for a part-time, full-time, contract or freelance opportunity. You are encouraged to provide a 300- character introduction. I suggested you include relevant keywords in the introduction. For more information about today’s announcement visit the LinkedIn Blog.

Beware of one important caveat: LinkedIn has included a disclaimer stating that they cannot always determine if a recruiter is working for a specific company. Therefore, if you work for a large company, it is possible that a recruiter from your company will be notified of your interest in a new position.

The disclaimer states: “We take steps to not show your current company that you’re open, but can’t guarantee that we can identify every recruiter affiliated with your company.” Since I believe that it is always better to be safe than sorry, I would only use the Open Candidate function if you are not currently employed or are employed on a contract or internship basis. It can also be worth trying if you are looking for a position in a non-competitive industry. Please do let me know what your experience is now that this function is live.