DON'T DELETE LINKEDIN:

HOW NOT TO MESS UP YOUR FUTURE BY DELETING YOUR PROFILE WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR CURRENT CAREER!

OR.....How to Use LinkedIn in Your Career Pivot.

OR....The Importance of Keeping Your LinkedIn Profile

I recently spoke to a prospective client who had deleted his LinkedIn account, his profile, and all his contacts after selling his business. I understood the impulse. Sometimes, you just want to release everything associated with your old life. But I’m here to urge you: don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!

The Power of LinkedIn in Your Pivot or Career Transition

LinkedIn can be an extremely valuable tool when pivoting careers. Even if you think you're retiring, you might find yourself bored within a few weeks, months, or years.

Imagine this: a sudden wave of inspiration hits you, and you find yourself eager to dive into the world of entrepreneurship or seek an exciting new job opportunity.

But hold on a second... there's a small hiccup: your LinkedIn account is nowhere to be found. Now you'll regret losing your profile, content, and all your connections.

Crafting Your LinkedIn Profile for a Pivot

So, let’s talk about what you can do when crafting a pivot. The first step is your LinkedIn profile. This is a great place to rebrand. Do not throw it away!

Personalizing Your Profile: Image and Headline

Starting at the top, consider a new background image that reflects who you are now, or the brand you want to create.

If you're not graphically inclined, there are plenty of inexpensive resources, like Canva.com or Fiverr.com, and even AI tools to create a visually pleasing background image, sometimes for free (like the one in this post.)

Moving down, update your profile picture to reflect what you look like now. Not what you looked like when you hated life. Not what you looked like 20 years ago. Get a recent photo. (And no sunglasses, or pics of the grandkids or your midlife crisis car).

Then, use the headline section to craft a new brand statement. Who are you now? Who do you serve? What are their pain points? How do you alleviate those pain points?

Or, if you're happily retired, include that too! Especially if you're an industry expert willing to offer mentoring.

Leveraging LinkedIn's Creator Mode for Visibility

For those in thought leadership, turning on the creator mode feature can be beneficial. It changes your "connect" button to a "follow" button, and more importantly, offers added benefits like access to LinkedIn Live, audio events, and a customizable hyperlink in your intro section.

Creator mode also elevates your content in the "Featured" and "Activity" sections.

Speaking of the featured section, is there any content you want to share here? Maybe you have a portfolio that needs to see the light of day? Maybe those photographs that were a hobby, and now you want that to be your full-time job? Maybe that paranormal romance you’ve been hiding deep within the confines of your filing system in your computer? Maybe it’s time they made an appearance in your Featured section!

When I made the shift, before I had blog posts written, I added a few LinkedIn posts and Kami Guildner 's podcast I had been on!

Telling Your Story in the 'About' Section

In the 'About' section, you have 2600 characters to tell your new story.

Are you retired and finally indulging in your watercolor painting ambitions? Let people know that! (And then, of course, put an image of those paintings in your Featured section above.)

Whether you're retired and pursuing hobbies, or pivoting to a new position or business, this is the perfect place to share your journey.

If you've launched a business, focus on your ideal audience, their needs and wants, and how you can solve them.

Experience Section

Of course, don’t forget to put your new business, if you have one, in the Experience section.

Note: when you do this, you have the opportunity of turning on the announcement feature that will announce your new position to your connections. If you are starting a new business, this is a perfect opportunity to start letting people know what that new business is.

You will get many many many many many many many people congratulating you on your new job. So it’s a great place to either let them know what’s happening by dropping into their DMs. Or better yet, jump on a phone call with them!

What an awesome opportunity to get referrals for your new business! And don’t be afraid to ask for those referrals.

Speaking of referrals, my go-to expert is Joanne Black ! Jump over to her site all about No More Cold Calling (amen to that!) and sign up for Joanne’s newsletter on referral selling. You’ll also get access to her Referral IQ Quiz.

Refining Your LinkedIn Network

OK, let’s talk about your network!

Now, about your network: you won't need everyone, especially if you're making a significant 180 degree pivot.

However, don't delete everyone, either! Keep those who fit your ideal customer profile (ICP), potential vendors, or referral partners, and family members. I hihgly recommend NOT deleting your husband or wife or partner.

The reason I do recommend deleting some people is the persnickitiness of the LinkedIn algorithm.

By sharing content with a relevant network, you increase the likelihood of engagement and catching the attention of LinkedIn editors. That can help it go viral.

Having a large network of connections who are uninterested in your content can significantly hinder its visibility and potentially damage your reputation. Also, those people just suck.

Deleting some contacts can help with the LinkedIn algorithm, making your content more relevant and visible.

Content Strategy and Brand Alignment

Speaking of content – share!

As I suggested in the featured section of your profile, you should share images, quotes, articles, or documents that reflect your new business and passions!

And while I recommend not being too overly religious, political, or sexy in your content, if that’s your new life – why not go for it?

Sure you’ll piss some people off. But you don’t care about them anyway.

This is your new life!?

When sharing content, reflect on your new business and passions.

Conclusion: Embracing Your New Journey on LinkedIn

These are just a few suggestions for starting over on LinkedIn. Essentially, don't start over; start from where you are and tweak, customize, and improve.

And it just so happens I have a whole book on this with my co-author Dayna Steele . You can check out "101 Ways to Rock Change: The Successful Pivot from Executive to Entrepreneur" right here. If you are a Kindle Unlimited reader – you can actually read it for free. (Make sure to leave me a five-star review!)

Even if you aren't a Kindle Unlimited reader, it’s pretty dang cheap! You should totally check it out. And buy it. And send it to your friends.

But that's not all, folks!

If you are just starting out on your new journey – I have an online journal you can use to keep you on track! I've included a link here for the free daily pages.

And if you love the journal, I also have a digital version that includes access to the whole 90-Day template including a 90-day section with goals, BHAGs, Peopling prompts and more. There are also weekly planning pages and enough daily pages for 3 full months of tracking. You can check it out here

Finally, if you like this newsletter, please share it. I'm starting over too and trying to grow a network interested in my new business.

Thanks a lot!

You rock!