How the Filter Works
When enabled, the filter returns only people whose LinkedIn profile shows the Open to Work status.
The filter is based only on this profile status, not on what people write in their posts. Someone who mentions looking for a new job in a post, but doesn't have the Open to Work status on their profile, won't appear in the results.
Each person can carry only one status at a time, either Open to Work or Hiring, based on the latest profile status we have. This means a person won't match both the Open to Work and Hiring filters at once.
When to Use This Filter
The Open to Work filter is useful when you want to reach people who are actively open to new opportunities, for example:
Recruiters and staffing agencies: building candidate pipelines for open roles.
Talent and HR teams: sourcing candidates with specific skills or experience.
Career and job-search services: finding people who might benefit from coaching, training, or placement services.
Good to Know
Smaller result sets: only a small share of profiles carry the Open to Work status, so expect fewer results than with most other people filters.
Status changes: people turn the status on and off as their situation changes, and results reflect the latest status we have on record.
MCP: the filter also works through Ocean.io MCP, so you can use it from AI assistants like Claude or Cursor. See Using Ocean.io with AI Assistants (MCP).
Credits: loading results follows the standard credit rules. See Credits Explained.
Tips for Best Results
Combine the filter with Job Title, Skills, or Seniority to find candidates for a specific role.
Add Person Location to focus on candidates in a particular city, region, or country.
Use Job Experience or Time in Current Role to narrow down by career stage.
Start broad, since results are naturally smaller with this filter, and add more filters only once you see how many results you have.
Summary
The Open to Work filter is a simple toggle that finds people whose LinkedIn profile shows they're open to new opportunities. It uses the profile status only, not post content, and works best combined with role, skill, and location filters.