Haley Tamblyn, LinkedIn expert at Consentium and Josh Ransome, Senior Talent Partner at oOh!media help us address your most frequently asked career break-related LinkedIn questions below.

A: Absolutely. And here’s why.

A: The following are non-negotiable. A complete LinkedIn profile will increase your discoverability by recruiters and profile search appearances.

There are two sections in your LinkedIn profile where you can share details about your former roles and accomplishments.

The first is in the “Experience” section where you can add information about each role in your work history. Haley says: “You can pop as much or as little information as you like in each job section, but bear in mind most recruiters or HR managers are extremely time poor and will likely skim read – so dot points are great here”.

Do not stress if you do not have any recommendations. A strong application and LinkedIn profile is what matters most.

Josh advises treating your career break like a job and adding it into your “Experience” section. Step it up a note by highlighting the skills you gained during your career break and including the transferable skills in the description.

“You can say, ‘I learnt Year 6 Maths because I’ve been homeschooling through Covid’, or make note of any professional development you’ve done, or if you’ve devoted time to volunteering. It’s also worthwhile to make note of your passions and any extra curricular activities during this time,” he says.

Yes. Volunteer experience is highly regarded by employers as they want to establish a holistic picture of who you are. Plus, LinkedIn data reveals that your profile is six times more likely to be viewed if you have volunteer experience included.

Remember, your volunteer experience doesn’t need to be as robust as your work experience unless you think it will add value. Include details of the organisation and how you have contributed and leave it at that. If you feel your volunteer experience is highly relevant to your career and would be of interest to future employers, add more detail.

A: Yes. You may be aware of the “Open to work” feature that signals you are open to being approached about potential roles – and this is something you should absolutely switch on if you are looking for work. Josh advises it’s a feature recruiters often use when searching for candidates.

LinkedIn has privacy settings so you can control who sees you’re open to work. You may be comfortable signalling to all LinkedIn members you are open to work. If you are currently employed, you can control your privacy settings so only recruiters who have access to LinkedIn’s paid recruiter platform can see your “Open to work” status. Find instructions on how to switch on ‘Open to work’ and control your settings here.

You can also request recommendations from your network and former colleagues. Some recruiters are interested in reading the recommendations a candidate receives as they can further round out a person’s career and work history.

Do not stress if you do not have any recommendations. A strong application and LinkedIn profile is what matters most. However, if you do have trusted former colleagues or connections, you may like to reach out to them about writing you a recommendation. The Muse has compiled tips on how to request recommendations – and how you can return the favour to your network.

Switching on “Open to work” is just the first step. If there’s anything you take away from this guide, let it be this – it’s one thing to optimise your LinkedIn profile, but to really get the full benefit of the platform, you need to be active in the way you use it.