Most people who ask this question are still employed, and the question is the same either way: do you say you're looking, or do you let the setting say it? Put it in the headline and you spend the opening characters — the only part every surface shows — on your availability instead of on the words that would find you. Leave it out and nothing in the line tells anyone you're listening. That's what the setting is for, which is why the answer is the same in both cases: the setting carries the signal, the headline carries the search terms.
The one case where the words earn their place is when you're out of work and want to be found by someone looking for a candidate who can start now. Even then they go last — after the role, the specialism and one proof — never first, and never instead of them.
Three slots, and where availability goes
- Role the title you want to be found for, whether you hold it today or held it last. Someone filtering for a title is not restricted to people currently in it, and downgrading your own title to look modest costs you the searches for the level you actually work at.
- Specialism the two or three things you're known for in that role: the segment, the systems, the domain. These are the terms that separate you from everyone else carrying the same title.
- One proof a scope, a number, a credential, or the surface you own. One. It is the part a reader can ask about.
- Availability, last and optional one short phrase after the proof: “Open to new roles”, “Available from March”, “Interviewing for Q2 start dates”. Never first, never the whole line.
A LinkedIn headline is limited to 220 characters, and only the opening stretch of it is visible in search results and on the mobile profile card. The headline and About limits — and how much of each field actually displays before it truncates — are set out on LinkedIn headline and About character limits.
What the setting does that the words can't
LinkedIn's Open to Work setting has more than one visibility level — a public version that adds the frame to your photo, a version shown to people using LinkedIn's hiring tools, and a setting that keeps your preferences to yourself. (Check the current labels in LinkedIn Help; the three-way choice is the same whatever they are called.) That setting is a signal a recruiter can act on directly. Words in your headline are search terms: they help only if someone happens to search them, and they cost you the characters a role term would use.
If you're employed and your search is confidential, that is the case the visibility levels exist for: use the one that keeps the sign out of your network's feed, and keep availability language out of the headline entirely. Assume anything set to public is public.
Before and after
Three more lines you can paste
- Data Analyst | SQL & Tableau | Interviewing for Q2 start dates — availability as a dated fact at the end, where a recruiter can act on it.
- Customer Success Manager | Onboarding & Retention | Open to roles in B2B SaaS — the availability phrase narrows the search instead of replacing it.
- Project Manager | PMP | Available from March — one credential in the proof slot and a month a hiring manager can plan around.
Mistakes that keep an open-to-work headline out of search
- Availability as the entire headline — “Open to Work | Seeking new opportunities” tells a reader you're available and gives them nothing to search or to ask about. The setting already said the first half.
- Spending the setting in words — the words only work if someone searches them; the setting is the part a recruiter can filter on. Use both, and let each do its own job.
- Leading with the situation instead of the work — “Unemployed”, “Between roles”, “Looking for my next opportunity”. None is a term anyone searches, and each takes the opening characters from one that is.
- Shorthand and hashtags — "#opentowork", "OTW", "seeking" cost characters and match nothing. If availability goes in the line at all, spell it plainly and put it last.
How the free score works on this page
On this page the score reads your pasted text for what the line should be doing while you're looking: whether a target role appears and appears early, whether a specialism is named, whether one concrete proof is there, and how much of the line is spent on availability rather than on the words a role is searched by. A headline that is mostly availability scores low even when it is honest — the score is reading the text for the terms, not for your circumstances.
Paste the headline you run today — plus a couple of sentences from your About if you have them — into the box at the top of this page. The free score is computed from your own words: whether your target role appears early, whether the terms recruiters filter on for your role are present, how concrete the line is versus filler, and whether it carries any evidence of scope or impact. The 0–100 number and a rewritten headline come back immediately, in full and unblurred. The rewritten About and your top 3 experience bullets are the $1 one-time part.
- Paste your current headline — or a few lines of your About — into the box at the top of this page. Text is the input: nothing is fetched, so there is nothing that can fail to load, and a profile URL is accepted in the same box if you have one handy.
- Read your 0–100 visibility score and your rewritten headline — free, in full, no signup and no card. A score in the 80s means the terms and evidence recruiters filter on are mostly there. A score in the 40s means most of them are missing.
- Want the rest? $1, one-time, unlocks the rewritten About section and your top 3 experience bullets, written from the same text — no subscription, no account access, nothing posted anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put "open to work" in my LinkedIn headline?
Usually no — use the setting, and keep the headline for the role terms that get you found. If you're out of work and want to be found by someone looking for a candidate who can start now, one short phrase at the end is defensible: "Open to new roles", "Available from March". After the role and the proof, never instead of them.
Should I use the open-to-work frame if I'm employed and searching quietly?
That's what the visibility levels are for. Pick the version shown to people using LinkedIn's hiring tools rather than the public frame if you don't want your network to see it, and keep availability language out of your headline. Treat anything you set to public as public.
Will my headline still work if I'm not looking at all?
Yes. A headline naming your role, your specialism and one proof does the same job whether you're searching or not — that's why the availability phrase is optional and the role term isn't.
Is the score really free, and what does the $1 unlock?
The 0–100 visibility score and your rewritten headline are free — no signup, no credit card, and no email address needed. The $1 one-time charge unlocks the rewritten About section and your top 3 experience bullets. It never recurs: $1 per review, no subscription, and you only pay when you want fresh rewrites.
Do you need access to my LinkedIn account?
No. Standout never asks for your LinkedIn password, never connects to your account, and never posts or edits anything on your profile. You paste text you can already see on your own public profile, and the review is written from that text.
Why paste my headline instead of just my profile URL?
LinkedIn blocks automated reads of public profiles, so a review built from a URL alone would fall back on a public preview and whatever search-indexed copies exist — a thinner picture of you than the ten seconds it takes to paste your real headline or About. The same box accepts a profile URL if you have one handy, and you can paste both.
Do you store my data?
We keep the review we wrote for you — the score, headline, About, and bullets — and the email address you give us. If you pay for a review, we also keep the headline or About text you pasted, so we can deliver it and re-deliver it if anything goes wrong. We never connect to your LinkedIn account, never post or edit anything, and never sell your data.
What if I'm not happy with my rewrites?
If you're not satisfied, email us at [email protected] and we'll make it right — including a refund if needed.
What if my role or situation isn't covered on this page?
Paste your current headline into the box anyway — the score is computed from your own text, and the rewritten headline is written from the same text, so any role works. The role pages exist to tell you which words are worth having, not to limit who can use the tool.
See where your headline stands while you're looking.. Paste it and get your free 0–100 score and a rewritten headline — no login, no card, no email. Jump to the score box →
Related guides
- LinkedIn headline when you're unemployed
- How LinkedIn recruiter search works
- Free LinkedIn profile review: what recruiters see
- A full sample review (score, headline, About, bullets)
Other situations
Same tool, same free score — copy tuned to the situation you’re in:
- LinkedIn headline for a career change
- LinkedIn headline with no experience
- LinkedIn headline after a career break
- LinkedIn headline when you're between roles
- LinkedIn headline for veterans
- LinkedIn headline when you're relocating
- LinkedIn headline for freelancers and the self-employed
- LinkedIn headline for job seekers over 50
- LinkedIn headline for international candidates