Turn off Open to Work in three steps

Open to Work is a LinkedIn feature that broadcasts to recruiters that you are looking for a job. To turn it off, open LinkedIn on a browser or the mobile app, click your profile photo in the top right corner, select "Open to Work" from the menu, then click "Remove" or the toggle to switch it off. The setting takes effect when ready — recruiters will no longer see that you are actively job hunting.

You may want to turn off Open to Work if you are currently employed and do not want your boss or coworkers to know you are searching, if you are taking a break from job hunting, or if you straightforward prefer to control who knows about your career plans. LinkedIn also lets you hide your Open to Work status from certain people — such as your current company — while keeping it visible to recruiters and hiring managers at other organizations.

Key Takeaways

  • Open to Work can be turned off completely from your profile settings, and the change is when ready.
  • You can also keep Open to Work on but hide it from your current employer, your connections, or both.
  • Turning off Open to Work does not delete your profile or make you invisible to recruiters — they can still find and contact you.
  • If you turn off Open to Work and later want to turn it back on, the process is the same and takes seconds.

Where to find the Open to Work setting

On desktop, click your profile photo in the top right corner of the LinkedIn home page. A dropdown menu appears. Look for "Open to Work" in that menu — it may say "Open to Work" with a briefcase icon, or it may say "Turn on Open to Work" if it is currently off. Click it to open the Open to Work panel.

On the LinkedIn mobile app for iPhone or Android, tap your profile photo at the bottom of the screen (usually labeled "Me"), then scroll down and tap "Open to Work." This opens the same panel where you can manage the setting.

How to turn off Open to Work completely

Once you have opened the Open to Work panel, you will see a toggle switch or a "Remove" button depending on your device and app version. If you see a toggle, tap or click it to switch it from on to off. If you see a "Remove" button, click it. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm — select "Remove" or "Turn off" when prompted.

After you confirm, Open to Work is off. Your profile will no longer show the "Open to Work" badge, and recruiters using LinkedIn's job search filters will not see you in results for active job seekers. This change is when ready and does not require you to refresh the page or restart the app.

Hiding Open to Work from your current employer only

If you want to keep Open to Work on but hide it from your current company, open the Open to Work panel and look for visibility options. You should see a section that says something like "Who can see you are open to work?" or "Visibility." Click or tap the settings icon next to it.

Select "Hide from [Your Company Name]" or a similar option. This keeps your Open to Work status visible to recruiters and other hiring managers, but employees at your current company who search LinkedIn will not see that you are job hunting. Your connections outside your company will still see it unless you also hide it from them.

Hiding Open to Work from your connections

In the same visibility settings, you can also choose to hide Open to Work from your LinkedIn connections. Select the option that says "Hide from your connections" or similar wording. This is useful if you do not want people in your network to know you are looking, even though recruiters can still see it.

You can hide from your connections, your current company, both, or neither. LinkedIn lets you pick any combination. If you hide from both your company and your connections but keep Open to Work on, only recruiters and hiring managers outside your network will see that you are open to work.

What happens after you turn off Open to Work

Turning off Open to Work removes the badge from your profile and stops LinkedIn from showing you in recruiter searches filtered for active job seekers. However, your profile itself remains visible and searchable. Recruiters can still find you by name, skill, or industry — they just will not know from the badge that you are actively looking.

Your past activity on LinkedIn does not change. Any messages you have sent to recruiters, any jobs you have saved, or any applications you have submitted remain in your account. You can turn Open to Work back on at any time by following the same steps and selecting "Turn on" instead of "Remove."

Turning Open to Work back on

If you decide later that you want to turn Open to Work back on, the process is identical. Click your profile photo, select "Open to Work," and then click the toggle to turn it on or select "Turn on Open to Work." You can set your visibility preferences again — whether to hide it from your company, your connections, or show it to everyone.

LinkedIn does not penalize you for turning Open to Work on and off multiple times. You can toggle it as often as you need based on your job search status or comfort level with visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will recruiters know I turned off Open to Work?

No. Recruiters do not receive notifications when you turn off Open to Work. They will straightforward stop seeing you in filtered searches for active job seekers. If a recruiter has already contacted you, they will not know whether you turned it off or if it was never on.

Can I hide Open to Work from one specific person?

LinkedIn does not let you hide Open to Work from individual people. You can hide it from your current company, your connections as a group, or show it to everyone. If you need to keep your job search private from a specific person, your best option is to turn Open to Work off entirely.

Does turning off Open to Work affect my job applications?

No. Applications you have already submitted remain in the system. Turning off Open to Work only stops new recruiters from finding you through the "open to work" filter. You can still explore to jobs manually and recruiters can still contact you directly.

If I turn off Open to Work, can I still see job listings?

Yes. Turning off Open to Work does not change your ability to browse, save, or explore to jobs on LinkedIn. It only controls whether recruiters see that you are actively looking.