During these uncertain times, you may question whether it is worth putting any energy into your job search, LinkedIn or career management.
Many of you may be facing furlough or a downturn in workload. A LinkedIn Lockdown Spring Clean, may be just the thing to support your longer-term goals and career aspirations.
So, what is a LinkedIn Lockdown Spring Clean? It is a term I have coined to encourage you to undertake a deep dive into your LinkedIn connections, to qualify, reconnect and purge – if necessary.
Some people just don’t have the time to respond to LinkedIn messages especially if connections run over 500. Thus a build-up of messages occurs and important information can be overlooked – I have been guilty of doing this many a time.
In addition, many people are not discerning when it comes to accepting LinkedIn invitations, making it challenging to keep on top of who is in their LinkedIn network.
Professional networking and relationship building is critical for effective job search and career management, yet many people neglect to stay aware of who is in their network – unless they want something of course. That’s one of the biggest challenge many of my clients face.
We know that the number one way many organisations recruit is via referrals. Thus, utilising your LinkedIn network to access opportunities, especially in a competitive job market, should be an integral part of your job search strategy.
During career coaching conversations with my clients, many shy away from reaching out to their network, (unless it is a close colleague or friend), primarily because they haven’t had the time to get to know their connections.
Top 5 Tips to Clean Your Linkedin Account
These five top tips will kick start your LinkedIn Lockdown Spring Clean, to encourage you to build a truly connected network:
- Conduct a LinkedIn Network Audit – take stock of your connections and the role these connections can play in your current and future professional life. For example, who can connect you with others? Who are the knowledge providers? Who are the influencers and therefore can help build your own network and profile?
- Reciprocity – is the key to networking. Share an interesting update about yourself or an article, business insight or home-working strategy you’ve found useful. If you do this on a regular basis, you can potentially avoid embarrassing outreaches in your time of need, especially if you contact people you haven’t connected with in years. The key here is to find an reason to reconnect.
- Purge – be kind here. Take note of your LinkedIn audit and decide who stays and who goes. (LinkedIn has helpfully made this exercise discreet, so your connections may never know – unless they also conduct a LinkedIn Spring Clean Audit of course!)
- Refresh – your profile. Given the current climate and the changeable world of work, how can you reframe your skillset to make yourself more attractive and stand out from the competition? Is it time to update your online personal brand perhaps?
- Re-build – looking at your career audit, identify and connect with the professionals and companies you would like and need within your network.
Sit back, admire your work… and repeat.
If you would like to learn more about CCS coaching programmes, please email me at Czarina@career-counselling-services.co.uk
Czarina Charles, CCS Associate
