Should I cull my LinkedIn connections?

Having a large number of LinkedIn connections can seem impressive, but is it actually beneficial to have thousands of contacts you barely know? Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding whether to do a purge of your LinkedIn network.

Pros of Culling Your LinkedIn Connections

There are some potential advantages to pruning your LinkedIn network and removing contacts you don’t truly have a relationship with:

• Your profile may look more impressive and professional if you have 500 high-quality connections rather than 5000 contacts you barely interact with.
• You can focus on nurturing your relationships with your closest contacts when you’re not inundated with constant connection requests and notifications.
• Removing contacts you no longer work with or haven’t been in touch with for years can declutter your feed and help you better focus on current colleagues and industry trends.
• LinkedIn’s algorithms may show your posts and activity to a higher percentage of your connections if you have fewer contacts.

Cons of Culling Your LinkedIn Connections

On the other hand, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider before doing a major purge of your LinkedIn network:

• You never know when a past contact might become useful again for your career, so pruning your network may cut off potentially valuable connections.
• Your number of connections is a signal of your experience level on LinkedIn. A lower count could potentially damage your credibility.
• It takes time and effort to selectively cull through all your connections and remove people strategically.
• Some contacts may be offended if you remove them, particularly if you have worked together in the past.

Who Should be Culled from Your LinkedIn Network?

If you do decide to do some selective culling, here are some types of connections that are reasonable to remove:

• Contacts you haven’t interacted with in 5+ years
• Connections from jobs you left long ago who you are unlikely to work with again
• Contacts who you do not know personally and who do not share any work connections
• Anyone you simply connected to in order to increase your numbers, without an actual relationship
• Contacts who are no longer active on LinkedIn or in your industry

On the other hand, avoid removing connections simply because:

• They have changed jobs
• You have not been in recent contact
• You want to “upgrade” your network by replacing them with someone perceived as more valuable

How Many Connections Should You Have?

There is no magic number for how many connections you should maintain on LinkedIn. The ideal number depends on factors like your industry, career level and how you use LinkedIn. Here are some guidelines based on user research:

The most important thing is not the raw number but having meaningful connections with people you actually know, interact with, and can provide value to each other.

Strategies for Culling Your LinkedIn

If you want to prune your LinkedIn network, here are some tips on how to do it effectively:

• Do it gradually over time. Removing 500 contacts all at once can be disruptive.
• Use LinkedIn’s filtering tools to find contacts you have not interacted with for a certain period of time.
• Manually go through your contacts list and remove people you would not recognize or communicate with again.
• Don’t feel obligated to accept every connection request you receive moving forward.
• Consider adding a customized message when accepting requests explaining your criteria.
• If necessary, remove contacts in batches of 50-100 each week to make the process more manageable.

Should You Inform Contacts Before Removing Them?

There are pros and cons to notifying contacts before removing them. Some benefits of informing them:

• They will not be surprised or offended to suddenly discover the severed connection.
• You can preserve real life relationships by explaining your reasoning.
• Notification provides an opportunity to re-connect if you both agree it is valuable.

Some downsides to notifying contacts:

• It takes more effort on your part to communicate with each individual.
• Some people may try to aggressively sell you on staying connected.
• It may come across as insulting or hurtful to be told you will be removed.

Overall, notifying close contacts you want to maintain in real life is wise. Mass notifications are not necessary for contacts you barely interact with.

Should You Do a Public Post About Culling?

Posting publicly on LinkedIn about culling your network is controversial. Here are some pros of making a post:

• Lets your network know what you are doing so they understand any removed connections.
• Shows you are being intentional and strategic about who you connect with.
• Encourages others to be more mindful about their contacts.

Some potential cons of a public post are:

• Could be seen negatively as “bragging” about the size of your network.
• Posts about culling often invite debate and criticism in comments.
• Some contacts may feel hurt if they see themselves called out indirectly.
• May come across as pretentious about trying to appear exclusive.

Proceed with caution if considering a public post about culling your LinkedIn. Focus on your reasons and criteria without calling out contacts directly.

Conclusion

Culling your LinkedIn network can be beneficial in moderation by focusing on truly valuable connections. But be careful not to go overboard severing ties with potentially useful contacts from your past. Move slowly, communicate with close connections, and use discretion with public posts. The most important factor is not your number of contacts, but the quality of relationships you maintain.