LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 700 million members. As a career-focused social media platform, LinkedIn allows users to create professional profiles that highlight their work experiences, skills, education, accomplishments, and more. With so many people using LinkedIn to network and search for jobs, it’s important to understand how changes to your own profile on LinkedIn can be seen by others.
Does LinkedIn send notifications when you update your profile?
The short answer is no, LinkedIn does not automatically notify all of your connections when you update your profile. However, some of your connections may still become aware of changes you make to your LinkedIn profile in certain situations:
- If someone views your profile shortly after you’ve made updates, they will be able to see that you edited your profile recently.
- If you change your profile photo, headline, or other top-line elements of your profile, these updates may be shown to your connections in their LinkedIn feeds.
- If you add a new position, skill, education, etc. to your profile, these updates may be fed into the feeds of connections who follow you closely on LinkedIn.
So while LinkedIn does not send a mass notification to all connections when you edit your profile, some of the changes can become visible to your network organically. The visibility depends on factors like how frequently your connections check LinkedIn, as well as their settings for notifications and feeds.
Who can see your LinkedIn profile updates?
There are a few categories of people who may be able to see changes you make to your LinkedIn profile:
Your 1st-degree connections
Your 1st-degree connections are people you are directly connected with on LinkedIn. If they actively follow your profile, they may see updates in their feeds or notifications.
2nd and 3rd-degree connections
More distant connections may also see some profile updates if you change top-line elements like your photo, headline, experience etc. However, they’ll have less visibility than 1st-degree connections.
Profile viewers
Anyone who views your profile around the time you made updates will be able to see that you edited your profile recently.
LinkedIn Premium subscribers
Premium subscribers have greater access to data like profile update timestamps and expanded network information.
Recruiters
Recruiters and hiring managers who follow you closely may receive notifications about major profile changes.
How to customize notifications and visibility
As the profile owner, you have some control over how visible your profile activity is to others on LinkedIn:
- Profile visibility: Toggle your profile between public and private to control how people can view your profile.
- Activity broadcasts: Turn sharing on/off for when you make major profile changes.
- Activity status visibility: Limit which groups of people can see when you’re actively updating your profile.
- Feed preferences: Customize the updates you want to see most in your feed.
Using these settings strategically can help shape what connections see from your profile activity.
Best practices for updating your LinkedIn profile
Here are some tips to follow when updating your LinkedIn profile:
- Make changes gradually over time rather than overhauling your profile all at once.
- Space out major updates over a period of weeks/months.
- Proofread carefully when updating key profile sections like your headline, summary, and work experiences.
- Add media elements like photos, videos, and presentations to enhance your profile.
- Customize visibility and notifications to suit your preferences around privacy.
Should you notify connections about profile updates?
Notifying your connections about changes you make to your LinkedIn profile is optional. Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros
- Lets your network know about your latest skills, accomplishments, job changes, etc.
- Creates an opening for connections to engage with your updates.
- Broadcasts the news on your timeline which could get more profile views.
- Surfaces your profile higher in search results immediately after updating.
Cons
- Can come across as bragging or drawing unnecessary attention.
- Notifications may not feel relevant to all connections.
- Some connections may find it annoying if you broadcast changes too frequently.
- Important updates may get buried under a lot of minor notifications.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn doesn’t automatically inform all of your connections, updating your profile can increase visibility. Leverage profile settings to control notifications and reach the right audience when promoting major accomplishments or career changes. With a strategic approach, you can keep your profile fresh and impactful.
