What happens when I hibernate my LinkedIn account?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 800 million members worldwide. As a LinkedIn member, you can make connections, join groups, follow companies, and search for jobs. However, there may come a time when you want to take a break from LinkedIn without deleting your account entirely. That’s where hibernating your account comes in.

What is hibernating a LinkedIn account?

Hibernating your LinkedIn account temporarily deactivates it. Your profile and network connections will be hidden until you reactivate your account. Here are some key things to know about hibernating a LinkedIn account:

• Your profile will not show up in search results or be viewable to other members.
• You will stop receiving notifications, messages, and updates from connections and groups.
• You cannot send or receive messages on LinkedIn.
• You will no longer show up as a connection to others.
• Your employment history, profile photo, connections and groups will be saved and restored when you reactivate.

Essentially, hibernating temporarily puts your account “on pause” without deleting any of your information. Your profile remains in LinkedIn’s system but is inaccessible to the public.

Why hibernate instead of deleting your account?

Here are some of the main reasons to hibernate rather than permanently deleting your LinkedIn account:

• Take a break, not a goodbye: Hibernating gives you the flexibility to take a break from LinkedIn when you need to without losing your profile and connections forever.
• Test a theory: If you want to see how inactive LinkedIn presence impacts your career, hibernating lets you experiment without fully committing to leaving.
• Pause notifications: Hibernating stops all notifications and emails from LinkedIn if you feel overwhelmed.
• Focus on other goals: If LinkedIn is distracting you from other priorities, hibernating lets you minimize its presence.
• Preserve your network: Deactivating means losing your connections, but hibernating keeps your network intact.

Overall, hibernating gives you more flexibility if you want to step away from LinkedIn temporarily rather than permanently severing your presence.

How to hibernate your LinkedIn account

Hibernating your LinkedIn account is simple. Just follow these steps:

1. Click on the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. From the dropdown menu, select Settings & Privacy.
3. Click on the Account preferences tab at the top of the page.
4. Under the Account management section, click Hibernate account.
5. On the pop-up, click the Hibernate Now button.

And you’re done! Your account will now be hibernated. LinkedIn will also send a confirmation email to verify the hibernation.

How to reactivate a hibernated LinkedIn account

If you’re ready to start using LinkedIn again after hibernating your account, reactivating it is simple:

1. Go to LinkedIn.com and click Sign in.
2. Enter your email address and password to log in.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions. You may need to enter a confirmation code sent to your email.
4. Once confirmed, your account will be fully reactivated with all of your previous data restored.

After reactivation, it may take up to 24 hours for your profile and activity to be fully restored across LinkedIn.

What happens when your LinkedIn account is hibernated?

When you hibernate your LinkedIn account, here are the key changes that will take effect:

Your profile is hidden

Your profile will not show up in LinkedIn search results. Other members will not be able to view or access your profile. Essentially, it will seem like you deactivated your account as far as the public is concerned.

You cannot send or receive messages

Since your account is inactive, you will be unable to send or receive LinkedIn messages. Any messages sent to you will not be delivered until you reactivate your account.

Your connections will disappear

Temporarily, your connections will no longer show you as a connection in their network. You will essentially “disappear” from their connection list while hibernated.

You will leave groups

When hibernating, you automatically leave any LinkedIn groups you had joined previously. You can re-join groups after reactivating your account.

Ads targeting you will stop

LinkedIn will no longer use data from your account for targeting ads or suggestions while your account is hibernated. Any ads you were seeing will halt.

Notifications will cease

Since your account is inactive, all LinkedIn notifications will stop during hibernation. This includes message notifications, connection requests, and more.

API access is revoked

If you had given any third party apps access to your LinkedIn data via the API, this permission is revoked when your account is hibernated. API access can be re-enabled after reactivating.

Job seeking tools pause

Features like LinkedIn’s job seeking tools and ability to apply with your profile will be paused until you reactivate your account.

Pros of hibernating your LinkedIn

Here are some of the notable upsides to hibernating your LinkedIn account:

• Take a healthy break: Hibernating lets you step away from LinkedIn without losing your connections or info.
• Avoid distractions: Removes the temptation of periodically checking LinkedIn when you should be focused elsewhere.
• Give yourself space: Provides breathing room from LinkedIn if you feel overwhelmed or need a reset.
• Pause notifications: Stops all emails and notifications from LinkedIn while hibernated.
• Test your reliance: Lets you see if hibernating LinkedIn substantially affects your career or opportunities.
• Temporarily opt-out: Good for times when you need to temporarily opt-out of LinkedIn without permanently leaving.

Cons of hibernating your LinkedIn

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to keep in mind:

• Lose connections: Your connections may forget about you or purge you after being inactive for too long.
• Miss opportunities: Hibernating means you won’t learn about new jobs, groups, or connections on LinkedIn.
• Profile goes stale: Your profile’s “Last updated” date will remain static while hibernated.
• Need to rebuild presence: After a long hibernation, you’ll have to rebuild awareness of your profile.
• Skills get rusty: Prolonged time away means getting less practice using LinkedIn’s features.
• Reactivation hurdles: You may forget your password or run into issues reactivating your account.

What are the risks of a hibernated LinkedIn account?

While hibernating your LinkedIn account can provide a useful break, there are some risks to consider as well:

• Your profile and connections could be permanently lost if you leave your account hibernated indefinitely and don’t reactivate within 18 months. LinkedIn will send reminders before deleting hibernated accounts.
• Future employers may view your hibernated profile as a red flag if discovered. Being absent from LinkedIn for too long can look suspicious.
• You may miss out on key job opportunities, connections, and networking that aid career advancement.
• Long periods of hibernation can make it very difficult to rebuild your network if most connections have forgotten you.
• Skills and familiarity with LinkedIn’s constantly evolving features can become rusty after prolonged absence.
• Coming back after years away to find all connections severed and profile views at zero can be demoralizing.

Moderation is key – while short hibernation periods can be beneficial, excessive dormancy can do more harm than good in the long run.

How long should you hibernate your LinkedIn account?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are some best practices on hibernation duration:

• Less than 3 months: Safe for a short break with minimal impact.
• 3-6 months: The maximum recommended hibernation before connections start forgetting you.
• 6-12 months: Risky, as 1+ year absence can raise eyebrows if discovered.
• 12-18 months: Not recommended, as your account may be permanently deleted after 18 months of inactivity.
• 18+ months: High risk of permanent account deletion by LinkedIn if you remain hibernated.

The ideal hibernation length balances giving yourself a recharge while avoiding concerning extended absences. Shoot for no longer than 6 months at a time if possible.

What can you do while LinkedIn account is hibernated?

While your LinkedIn account is hibernated, here are some productive things you can focus on:

• Spend more time building connections offline through events, meetups, and conferences.
• Take online courses to learn new job skills.
• Start a blog or personal website to build your brand away from LinkedIn.
• Focus on responsibilities and goals not related to networking.
• Reflect on your ideal career path and professional goals.
• Research and reach out to employers through methods other than LinkedIn.
• Consider alternative professional platforms like Xing if you need a social media presence.

The possibilities are endless. Just be sure to have a plan to keep developing your career outside of LinkedIn while hibernated.

Should you mention a LinkedIn hibernation gap on your resume?

No – there is no reason to mention on your resume that your LinkedIn was hibernated for a period of time. Your resume should focus on your skills, experience and achievements rather than anything related to LinkedIn activity.

Listing a LinkedIn hibernation gap could raise eyebrows from some employers. At best it’s irrelevant, at worst it can be viewed negatively.

Focus your resume on telling your professional story – LinkedIn hibernation is unlikely to enhance that narrative in any way. Save that explanation for interviews if asked about employment gaps or resume items that don’t appear fully aligned.

Alternatives to hibernating your LinkedIn account

Rather than fully hibernating your account, here are a few alternatives worth considering:

Temporarily disable notifications: You can mute notifications within account settings instead of full hibernation. This lets you keep your profile active but eliminates pesky emails and messages.

Remove the mobile app: Deleting the LinkedIn app from your phone can remove the constant temptation to check and disengage. But you keep access via desktop.

Limit usage: Set a time limit for yourself on how long you browse LinkedIn each day or week rather than fully deactivating your presence.

Revamp your feed: Follow inspirational figures and groups instead of random connections to make your LinkedIn feed valuable again.

Try competitor platforms: Maintain a presence on alternative professional sites like Xing while limiting LinkedIn.

While hibernating can be the right call, first consider whether limiting use or optimizing your experience may be enough to achieve your goals.

Conclusion

Hibernating your LinkedIn account lets you step away from the platform when you need a break, without permanently losing your profile and connections.

Your profile and network activity will pause during hibernation. But this gives you flexibility to take a mental health break, refocus your priorities, or experiment with the impact of inactive LinkedIn presence.

To maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks, the ideal hibernation period is around 3-6 months. You can use the inactive time to build skills, work towards career goals unrelated to networking, and take a breather from LinkedIn’s constant demands.

Overall, hibernating can be a useful tool but requires thoughtfulness to strike the right balance for your situation. Take advantage of the benefits that hibernation offers, but be strategic about when and how long you deactivate your account.