Your LinkedIn Network Is a Mirror—Are You Looking Closely Enough?

A few years ago, at an industry conference, I had a casual conversation with a senior executive who remarked, “Your network is a mirror of your professional journey.” At the time, it felt like an offhand comment. But years later, when I decided to download and analyze my LinkedIn connections, I realized how profound that statement was.

Your LinkedIn network isn’t just a list of names—it’s a living record of your career evolution, industry influence, and even your blind spots.

The Process: Analyzing My LinkedIn Network

Curious about what my network truly reflected; I started by downloading my LinkedIn connections. (If you’ve never done this before: Go to Settings & Privacy > Get a copy of your data > Select Connections.) The data includes names, job titles, company names, and connection dates.

You can also get a download of all your data, like Shares, Reactions, Recommendations, Save, and many more. LinkedIn will email you when the data is ready (usually within 10 minutes for selected data or 24 hours for full data). Download the ZIP file and extract it.

At first glance of the connections data, it seemed like just another spreadsheet. But as I dug deeper, patterns began to emerge—patterns that told a story about my professional journey, strengths, and gaps.

What the Data Revealed

My network analysis showed clear spikes in connections during key career transitions: 2015, 2021, and 2024. These weren’t random—they coincided with role changes, signaling that my networking activity was most intense when I was in transition mode. It made me wonder: Was I networking only when I needed something?

Another key finding was the concentration of connections within certain companies. My strongest network presence was within Visionet (85 connections) and Polestar (79), showing deep ties within my past and current workplaces. It could also be that these two being most recent employers, people have continued at the same place and the numbers will decline as we move forward. On the client side, I had good connections at client A, but far fewer at client B, highlighting a gap in coverage.

From a seniority perspective, my network was heavily skewed toward leadership roles like Founders, CXOs, VPs, and Directors. While this positioned me well for strategic conversations and business development, there was a noticeable lack of engagement with mid-level professionals—the people who drive execution.

Industry-wise, my network was strong in tech, consulting, and FMCG, but relatively underdeveloped in finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. This raised a question: Am I unintentionally limiting my industry exposure?

Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned

1. Your network follows your career transitions. Spikes in connections often coincide with job changes. While this is natural, it’s important to maintain networking momentum even when you’re not actively seeking a change.
2. A strong internal network doesn’t always translate to external influence. Having deep connections within your own company is valuable, but expanding client-side relationships is equally critical—something I need to improve with client B.
3. Senior leadership connections help strategy, but execution teams drive impact. While engaging with VPs and CXOs is valuable, mid-level professionals (Managers, Senior Consultants, and Project Owners) play a crucial role in making things happen. Strengthening relationships at this level can lead to better execution and stronger partnerships.
4. Industry diversification unlocks new opportunities. My network is heavily skewed toward certain industries. Expanding into finance, healthcare, and manufacturing could open doors to fresh insights and business opportunities.

Actionable Steps: How I Plan to Improve

• Maintain networking consistency beyond career transitions, engaging with peers and leaders even when I’m not actively looking for something.
• Strengthen mid-level relationships by connecting more with project owners and execution teams to enhance collaboration and delivery impact.
• Expand client-side engagement, particularly at Client B, to build deeper and broader relationships across key accounts.
• Diversify my network by actively engaging with professionals from industries outside my core areas of tech and FMCG.

Closing Thought

We often think of LinkedIn as a tool for professional visibility, but it’s also a mirror—reflecting our career choices, industry focus, and even networking blind spots.

So, what does your network reveal about you? When were your most active and dormant periods? What questions would you be interested in testing about your connections? Let’s discuss. ??