A Simple Guide to Spotting Hiring Badges on LinkedIn

The purple “Hiring” banner shows up on a LinkedIn profile when the member selects the “I’m hiring” option in the Open to Work section. Unlike the green “Open to Work” badge, there's no public search filter for the purple banner on LinkedIn. Recruiters often have to either scroll through profiles manually or use third-party tools, which can violate the platform's terms. Here's how you can find these badge holders correctly, understand their intent, and save them on a networking radar for effective outreach.

How can I find the purple hiring badge without breaking LinkedIn’s rules?

Start with LinkedIn’s built-in search functionality. Click on People at the top and type something like “hiring” or a job title. If you have access to Recruiter or Sales Navigator, you can bring up the All filters menu, select Open to work → Hiring, and save this filter for continual use. The search results will highlight those with the purple banner, and you can see the purple icon next to their photo. Even when the web interface does not show the filter, a glance through profile pictures in the results should help you spot the badge.

For a wider search, try combining the keyword with a location or industry filter. For instance, if you search for “hiring” in a specific city’s tech sector, you’ll find recruiters currently seeking talent in that area. After generating the list, confirm each candidate's hiring intent by checking their recent posts or job postings. A profile that has a new job post or shares an article about hiring is likely a better candidate than one without hiring action.

There are GraphQL endpoints that reveal a badges field, but using them needs a private API client and is against LinkedIn’s User Agreement (which forbids scraping or crawling). Depending on them may lead to account restrictions. It's best to stick with LinkedIn’s official interface and accepted APIs.

What quick decision rule lets me confirm a badge holder is genuinely open to outreach?

Once you filter the badge holders, apply this simple decision rule: Intent confirmation – Does the profile show hiring behavior (like job posts, hiring posts, or holding a recruiter title)? Relevance match – Is this person’s industry, seniority, or function relevant to the solution you’re considering? Engagement potential – Has this profile engaged with your LinkedIn solution evaluation posts or your LinkedIn intent signals?

If all the criteria check out, keep these details in a networking radar. Note their badge status, the context behind their hiring, and a brief comment on why they’re relevant. When reaching out, reference their recent post or job listing to indicate you’ve done your homework. This human-centered approach makes a passive badge evolve into a significant conversation starter and boosts your chances of getting a positive reply.

By following these steps, you can reliably find hiring badge holders without risking your LinkedIn account. You'll use LinkedIn's own intent signals, respect the platform’s terms, and integrate the outcomes into an organized networking radar. This will help you make explainable LinkedIn recommendations and reach the right people with your outreach.