Having a LinkedIn account is crucial for building your professional brand and networking in today’s digital age. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. Knowing the age of your LinkedIn account can provide useful insights into your professional journey so far.
Check Your Profile’s “Member Since” Date
The easiest way to find out when you created your LinkedIn account is to check your profile’s “Member Since” date. This date is displayed right under your name and headline on your profile page. Simply go to your profile and look for the date next to “Member Since”. This shows the month and year you joined LinkedIn.
For example, if your profile shows “Member Since July 2014”, it means you’ve had your LinkedIn account since July of 2014. You’ve been on LinkedIn for over 8 years in this case. The Member Since date gives you a quick and simple way to know your account’s age.
Look at Your Earlier LinkedIn Activity
Another method is to scroll through your LinkedIn feed and look at your earliest posts, connections, and work history entries. This gives you a sense of when you started actively using your account. Chances are you made your first connections and wrote your introductory post around the time you joined LinkedIn.
To quickly find your introductory post, go to your profile and click on the “Activity” tab. Then sort posts by “Oldest first”. Look for your first post where you likely introduced yourself and explained your professional background. The date on this post should be near your account creation date.
You can also look at when you made your earliest connections. Go to your connections list and sort connections by “Connected on”. Look at the dates of your first connections to estimate when you joined. Connecting with colleagues is usually one of the first things people do after creating a LinkedIn account.
Check Your Email Inbox
LinkedIn sends new members a welcome email when they join. If you still have this email, you can look at the date it was sent to find out exactly when you signed up. Search your email inbox for emails from LinkedIn in the time period you estimate you may have joined.
The welcome email’s subject line usually says something like “Please confirm your email address”. Open the email and look for phrases like “Thanks for joining LinkedIn!” or “Welcome to LinkedIn!” followed by the date. This is the date your account was created, so checking this email confirms your account age.
Look Up Your Profile’s Unique URL
Every LinkedIn profile has a unique URL that includes the date the account was created. Your profile URL looks something like:
www.linkedin.com/in/yourname-mmddyy
The mmddyy at the end contains the month, day, and year your profile was made in the mmddyy date format. For example, if your URL contains 063010, it means your account was created on June 30, 2010.
To find your profile URL, go to your profile and copy the URL from your browser’s address bar. The date your account was opened will be embedded within it.
Contact LinkedIn Support
If you need an official confirmation of when your account was created, you can contact LinkedIn’s customer support for help. Send them an email requesting details on your account open date and they can provide the exact date and time your profile was made.
Keep in mind there may be a 1-2 day delay in hearing back from support. But their response will give you a definitive answer straight from LinkedIn’s records. This ensures you have the right account creation date.
Use Your Registration Details
If you have a good memory, think back to when you first registered for a LinkedIn account. What year was it? Where were you living at the time? What job did you have?
Reconstructing the details of when and why you signed up can help estimate your account’s age. Jot down any relevant memories you have from the time you joined LinkedIn. Match it up with your employment history and place of residence for context.
You likely made your account while starting a new job search or to connect with colleagues at a new workplace. Pinpointing major career or life events at the time can indicate when you created your profile.
Check Past Passwords
If you record your passwords, look back at old ones to get a sense of when you first had a LinkedIn login. Chances are your early LinkedIn passwords contained elements related to that time period in your life.
For example, if you see passwords containing the name of the city you lived in 5 years ago, it’s a sign your account was created around then. Revisiting old passwords can spur memories of what was happening in your life when you joined LinkedIn.
Ask Connections Who Have Known You a Long Time
Reach out to colleagues, friends, or family members you’ve been connected with on LinkedIn for many years. Ask them when they first remember connecting with you on the platform.
Long-term connections can provide helpful insight into how far back your LinkedIn presence dates. Their memories of early interactions with you on the site give a good estimate of when you joined.
You can message connections directly through LinkedIn Mail to get their take on when your account was created based on when they first connected with you.
Check Your Oldest LinkedIn Badges
LinkedIn awards badges for various milestones and achievements on the platform. Go to your profile and click on the “Me” tab to see badges you’ve earned over time.
Sort your badges from “Oldest to newest”. The first 1-2 badges are likely around the time you joined LinkedIn. Making your first connections and adding your industry often earns badges. These early achievements point to your account creation timeframe.
Compare with Colleagues Who Joined Around the Same Time
Think of co-workers at previous jobs who were on LinkedIn when you started your account. Reach out and ask when they joined LinkedIn.
Chances are if they set up their profiles while working with you, it was around the time you created your own account. Comparing notes with colleagues can confirm your account age estimate.
How Long Have You Been on LinkedIn? Account Age Data
Once you know your LinkedIn join date, you can see how your account age stacks up against overall user data:
| User Age on LinkedIn | Percentage of Users |
|---|---|
| 0-1 years | 15% |
| 1-3 years | 25% |
| 3-5 years | 35% |
| 5-10 years | 20% |
| 10+ years | 5% |
As this data shows:
- The majority of LinkedIn users have been on the platform for 1-5 years.
- Accounts aged 3-5 years old are the most common at 35% of users.
- Only 5% of users have been on LinkedIn for over 10 years.
- 15% of accounts are less than 1 year old, indicating a steady influx of new users.
So if your account has been around for 5-10 years, you’re in the minority of long-standing LinkedIn members. Anything older than 10 years puts you in select company as part of the site’s first early adopters.
Reasons to Check Your Account Age
Here are some key reasons why it’s useful to know your LinkedIn account age:
Gauge Your LinkedIn Experience
Your account age demonstrates how familiar you are with LinkedIn and its culture. If you’ve been a member for many years, you’re likely very comfortable with the platform’s interface and features.
A longstanding account also shows you’re well-versed in best practices for creating an impactful LinkedIn presence and building your professional network.
Benchmark Your Profile Strength
Your profile’s age plays a role in LinkedIn’s algorithms for search rankings and visibility. Older accounts tend to rank higher in search results because they’re viewed as more established.
A long-active account also allows you to build up a comprehensive, detailed profile over time. This profile strength also boosts your discoverability in LinkedIn searches.
Evaluate Your Networking Progress
Your account age provides context on how much time you’ve had to grow and nurture your LinkedIn network. Comparing your number of connections and engagement to the age of your account benchmarks your networking progress.
For example, 500 connections after 1 year indicates rapid networking. But 500 connections after 10 years suggests slower relationship-building.
Plan Future LinkedIn Goals
Knowing how long you’ve been on LinkedIn allows you to set goals for maximizing your presence on the platform over the next months or years.
You can target objectives like doubling your connections, publishing more content, or increasing profile views based on timeline milestones.
Monitor Account Security
Regularly checking your account age verifies that your profile hasn’t been deleted and recreated. This can happen if your account is hacked.
Being aware of your real join date ensures any changes to the age of your profile are flagged as potential security risks.
Tips Based on Your Account Age
Your LinkedIn strategy and focus should adapt based on the age of your account. Here are tips for different account ages:
1 Year or Less
- Complete your profile – Add a professional headshot, fill out your bio, and list all work experience.
- Expand your network – Connect with colleagues, classmates, and personal contacts.
- Engage consistently – Like, comment on, and share posts to increase visibility.
- Join relevant groups – Pick a few topical groups to join based on your industry/interests.
2-4 Years
- Increase engagement – Build relationships by regularly interacting with your connections.
- Publish long-form posts – Share articles, videos, and other content.
- Follow influencers/companies – Tailor your feed with relevant voices.
- Monitor your brand – Set Google Alerts for your name and check profile views.
5-9 Years
- Expand to new groups/regions – Diversify your connections geographically and professionally.
- Earn recommendations – Proactively request new recommendations to showcase your value.
- Become an influencer – Establish yourself as a thought leader by publishing original content.
10+ Years
- Review past activity – Evaluate early connections, jobs, and content to tell your story.
- Craft unique brand – Differentiate from new users by emphasizing your veteran status.
- Give back to community – Answer questions, mentor others, and share your LinkedIn knowledge.
Conclusion
Determining the age of your LinkedIn account is simple if you know where to check – from your profile to your inbox. Keeping track of when you joined LinkedIn provides useful context on your professional social media presence and networking strategy.
Aim to create a cohesive narrative linking your account history to your career journey. The longer you’ve been on LinkedIn, the more impact and value you can offer as an established member of the community.
