LinkedIn is trying to help job seekers with new tools. If you are urgently looking for a new opportunity, you can add the #OpenToWork photo frame to your LinkedIn profile photo.
It adds a green ring around your profile photo as you can see from the image in the blog post, letting others know you’re open to new job opportunities. This helps you share your job preferences with the LinkedIn community to get more support, and we can all use a little extra support right now.
Remember that anyone in your professional network can lead to your next job opportunity – whether they hire you for a role or refer you for a position. This is why it’s so important to have a robust network that you are consistently cultivating and not to burn bridges unless you really must (you can always repair strained relationships).
You’d be surprised how willing people are to help each other right now – all you have to do is ask. Make sure you turn on the open to job opportunities functionality on your profile as well so that recruiters know that you are actively seeking a new role.
And finally, make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are both up to date. Don’t wait to do this until you are in a crisis situation.
To anyone reading this who has been furloughed or lost their job, please know that you will be okay. I’ve lost my job several times and each time, I’ve bounced back and wound up in a better place. You are more resilient than you think. This pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime extreme circumstance out of all of our control – but you will be okay. You may need to pivot what you are doing and think outside of the box, and you may need to ask for help. But you will be okay.