When you are in between jobs or currently unemployed, your LinkedIn profile may feel like an unfinished story. Your employment history has an abrupt ending, and that empty “Current Position” field stares back expectantly. What should you put there, if anything at all?
This is a common dilemma for job seekers and career changers. The right approach depends on your circumstances and goals. With some strategic thinking, you can complete your LinkedIn profile in a way that puts your best foot forward during your job transition.
Should you leave the current position blank?
Leaving the current position field blank is an option, but not necessarily the best one. Here are the pros and cons of leaving it empty:
Pros:
- Honestly reflects that you are between positions
- Avoids confusion from listing an outdated job
Cons:
- Leaves your profile with a gap, less complete
- Does not showcase your current skills and goals
- May make you look stagnant or less active in your field
A completely blank current position leaves recruiters guessing about what you are up to. It also forgoes an opportunity to highlight your recent experience, even if it was unofficial or unpaid work.
Should you list your last job as current?
Another option is to continue listing your most recent position as your current role, even if you have left that job already. Here are some pros and cons of this approach:
Pros:
- Allows a continuous timeline, no gaps
- Keeps your most relevant experience highlighted
Cons:
- Can be seen as deceptive by some recruiters
- Does not communicate your current availability
- Creates update work after getting a new role
If your employment gap is very brief, like 1-2 months, listing an recently ended job as current may be fine. But beyond that, it starts to look questionable and outdated.
Should you list yourself as a freelancer or consultant?
If you have been doing freelance work, consulting, or project-based assignments, listing yourself as a freelancer, independent consultant, or contractor is often a good solution:
Pros:
- Accurately represents ongoing working status
- Demonstrates initiative to stay active in your profession
- Positions you as available for project opportunities
Cons:
- Implies self-employment vs. standard employment
- Can raise questions about stability if used as permanent title
This is an excellent option if you have robust freelance experience to showcase. But if paid freelance work is sparse, this title may feel like overstating your status.
Should you list your volunteer work or education?
For job seekers with minimal recent paid work, listing unpaid volunteer experiences, education programs, or courses in the current position can communicate your ongoing development:
Pros:
- Shows you are actively building skills and knowledge
- Demonstrates relevance to your field
- Highlights transferable skills gained
Cons:
- Does not convey paid professional status
- Education may appear outdated if too far in past
This is a strategic approach for communicators, marketers, those in nonprofit roles, and others who actively volunteer. For many industries though, unpaid work has its limits in filling the current role space.
Should you create a new aspirational title?
When all else fails, you can craft a personalized professional title from scratch. Some examples:
- Career Changewriter
- Marketing Strategist – Independent
- Leadership Development Consultant
Pros:
- Projects desired career direction
- Customizes language to your niche
- Allows creativity in communicating your brand
Cons:
- Can come across as exaggerated or pretentious
- Hard to verify when not tied to past roles
- Requires constantly updating once gain standard employment
The key here is crafting something authentic. Avoid titles that grossly misrepresent your experience level or qualifications. Ask trusted contacts for their take to reality check your approach.
Tips for writing an accurate and effective current position
Whatever approach you take, here are some best practices for showcasing your current professional status:
- Be truthful – Don’t mislead or exaggerate your work
- Be specific – Provide details about projects, skills, and clients
- Show progress – Demonstrate continuous learning and development
- Emphasize benefits – Focus on what you offer employers
- Get feedback – Ask contacts to review for clarity
- Update as needed – Adjust when status changes substantially
Here are some examples of written current position summaries:
Freelance Marketing Consultant
Providing inbound marketing, content development, and branding services for startups and small businesses on an independent contractor basis. Recent projects have focused on SEO content strategy, social media management, and email campaign creation.
Career Pivoter | UX Designer
Shifting careers into user experience design. Currently completing UX design certificate program through Northeastern University. Seeking dedicated UX or product design role to utilize existing visual design skills and newly-developed prototyping abilities. Portfolio available at www.firstnamelastname.com.
Accounting Professional in Transition
Currently interviewing and evaluating new accounting and finance opportunities after 5 years in audit role. Eager to take on higher level responsibilities. See resume for full work history. Availability immediate.
Should you state that you are seeking work opportunities?
Being transparent that you are currently seeking new employment as part of your current position headline is encouraged. Phrasing like “Seeking new opportunities” or “Actively interviewing” clearly signals your interest in connecting with recruiters and hiring managers.
However, avoid sounding desperate or urgent. Declarations like “Urgently hiring!” or “Immediately available!” can raise red flags about why you left (or are leaving) your last position. Focus on enthusiasm and proactive language over urgency.
Customizing your headline for different audiences
LinkedIn allows you to customize your profile headline for your overall network vs. when being viewed by recruiters. This enables tailoring your current position statement based on the audience.
For your general network, you may want to keep things straightforward, like “Currently seeking new opportunities” or “Between roles – Open to new challenges.”
But when being viewed by recruiters, you can get more bold and specific, like “Experienced Accountant – Seeking NYC-based Controller Roles” or “Recent Computer Science Grad – Interviewing for Software Engineer Roles.”
Take advantage of this feature to optimize your positioning for relevant hiring managers.
The risks of an outdated or misleading current position
While tempting to inflate or obscure your current unemployed status, proceed with extreme caution. Dishonesty on your LinkedIn profile can seriously backfire.
If you state you are still working at your past job, recruiters may reach out to that company to verify or ask probing questions. Claiming “CEO” or “Founder” status for an non-existent startup will ring hollow.
Beyond mistrust, misrepresenting your current role can undermine your actual skills and experience. Reframe the situation to focus on communicating your strengths, not obscuring employment gaps. Transparency and authenticity are key.
When to remove past positions as you update your current role
As you evolve your current position statement over weeks and months of searching, you may need to consolidate your employment history as well. This prevents your profile from becoming excessively long and hard to parse.
As a rule of thumb:
- Always showcase the most relevant positions to your target role
- Keep the last 2-3 jobs as detailed positions
- You can collapse prior roles to just company name and date range
For example, once you are 6-12 months out from your last staff position, consider trimming details on anything earlier than 3 jobs back. Recruiters are most interested in your recent experience.
But use judgment – if you have crucial skills or achievements from farther back roles to feature, find ways to work these in. Just be selective.
Who should provide recommendations during unemployment?
Profile recommendations can carry even more weight when you are in career transition. Glowing words from key managers, clients or colleagues can provide third-party validation when your current status is unclear.
Aim for recommendations that emphasize transferable skills, core competencies, and work ethic. You want to attract opportunities where you can excel, despite being between steady jobs.
Good sources for recommendations when unemployed:
- Former supervisors at recent jobs
- Colleagues who can vouch for your abilities
- Clients, vendors, or contacts
- University professors if a recent grad
- Volunteer organization leaders
Avoid recommendations from family, friends, or peers who lack professional context. Also use discretion on overly personal character references – focus on competencies.
Should you connect with recruiters and hiring managers?
Networking with recruiters and hiring managers on LinkedIn is wise during periods of unemployment. But avoid mass connection requests.
Be selective and strategic. Target key companies you want to work for and professionals in your geographic region and industry. Personalize invitation notes to reference common connections, shared groups, or specific skills they seek.
Participate in LinkedIn Groups where recruiters are active members. Share advice and build credibility through insightful commentary. Convert online connections into informational interviews to grow relationships.
The goal is quality, trust-based relationships, not just accumulating connections. Demonstrate your expertise and mindset through consistent value-add participation.
How to frame unemployment in LinkedIn profile summary
Your LinkedIn Summary section offers valuable space to frame your current unemployment situation in your own words. Be transparent but positive.
Suggested strategies:
- Note you are between opportunities and eager to bring your skills to a new challenge
- Describe how you are spending your time volunteering, learning, or consulting
- Emphasize the types of roles and cultures you are targeting for optimal fit
- Share unique assets not evident from your job titles alone
- Convey passion for your field and interest in continued growth
This is also the place to provide context if needed – a move required relocation, a layoff necessitated a fresh start, family reasons prompted a break. Be judicious in how much detail you share, but a sentence can help preempt assumptions.
Keep the overall tone positive and forward-looking. Present yourself as productive, engaged, and excited about what’s next in your career progression.
Key takeaways
– Leaving your LinkedIn current position blank can create an unhelpful gap, but listing outdated jobs can also be misleading. Strike a balance.
– “Freelancer” or “Consultant” roles communicate ongoing professional activity, if accurately reflecting paid work.
– Customized aspirational titles allow creativity in expressing your brand, but avoid exaggerating or appearing desperate.
– Be thoughtful in curating your employment history, spotlighting the most relevant positions.
– Recommendations from trusted contacts and groups participation can boost credibility when unemployed.
– Frame unemployment positively in your profile summary, focusing on skills, continued growth, and ideal opportunities.
Conclusion
Being between jobs is never easy, but how you present your current status on LinkedIn can make a difference in your search. Avoid quick fixes like inflated titles or outdated employers.
Instead, showcase meaningful experience, progress, and purpose – not just past job titles. With a balance of transparency, positivity, and strategic presentation, your profile can convey readiness for what’s next, despite current unemployment.
The right opportunities, companies, and hiring managers will recognize the value you bring. With perseverance and courage, this period will become just one chapter in your upward career journey.