LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for networking and recruiting in the modern professional world. With over 740 million members, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform globally. As a professional looking to advance your career, having a LinkedIn profile is practically a must in order to stay visible and connected in your industry.
However, some professionals may be considering deleting their LinkedIn account due to concerns over privacy, productivity, or simply wanting to disconnect from the professional social media world. Here, we’ll look at the key pros and cons of deleting your LinkedIn account to help you decide if it’s the right move for you.
Pros of Deleting LinkedIn
Here are some potential benefits of deleting your LinkedIn account:
More Privacy & Control Over Your Data
Having a LinkedIn profile requires you to provide personal and professional details, such as your work history, education, skills, and connections. While this information is useful for networking, it also means LinkedIn has a significant trove of data about you.
Deleting your account could allow you to take back control over your data and online privacy. You’d no longer need to worry about how LinkedIn is using or possibly sharing your data. However, LinkedIn does allow you to customize your privacy settings if you wish to remain on the platform but limit data sharing.
Avoid Distractions & Stay Focused
Having constant access to a professional social network can lead some people to become distracted or addicted to checking notifications and feeds. Without LinkedIn, you’d be able to avoid getting sucked into useless scrolling during work. Deleting your account could help you stay focused on more productive tasks.
Disconnecting From The Rat Race
For some professionals, LinkedIn reinforces a relentless focus on career advancement, networking for networking’s sake, and chasing external validation. Deleting your LinkedIn could be liberating for those looking to disconnect from the often anxious, competitive culture of professional social media.
Stop Getting Irrelevant Messages & Notifications
Many LinkedIn users complain about getting spammed with irrelevant connection requests and notifications. Without a profile, you’d no longer have this problem and could avoid unwanted messages.
Cons of Deleting LinkedIn
However, there are also some downsides to be aware of if you delete your LinkedIn account:
Lose Connections & Networking Opportunities
Having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile and active presence on the platform is vital for networking in many professional circles. Deleting your account means losing connections with colleagues, peers, clients, recruiters, and more.
Profile Section | Value for Networking |
---|---|
Connections | Direct access to wider network who can provide opportunities |
Groups | Join industry/topic specific groups to meet like-minded professionals |
Feed & Notifications | Stay updated on connections’ career moves, company changes, etc. |
Losing these networking channels could significantly stifle your career progression and visibility within your industry.
Less Accessible to Recruiters & Hiring Managers
These days, it’s common for recruiters and hiring managers at companies to review LinkedIn profiles of prospective candidates. Not having an account makes you effectively invisible to these key decision-makers.
Miss Out on Job Opportunities
Many new job openings are posted directly to LinkedIn by companies or recruiters. Without a profile, you’d miss notifications about relevant opportunities that align with your experience and interests.
Appear Out of Touch or Suspicious
Since LinkedIn has become so ubiquitous, not having an account may make you appear out of touch or technologically challenged to some employers or clients. Some may even find it suspicious and wonder what you have to hide.
Questions to Consider Before Deleting LinkedIn
Before making the decision to delete your account, consider these key questions:
Is your industry heavily reliant on LinkedIn for networking & recruitment?
Industries like tech, finance, higher education, marketing, and consulting use LinkedIn extensively. Deleting your profile may significantly hurt your career prospects in these fields.
Do you have an alternate professional online presence or portfolio?
Without LinkedIn, any professional website, portfolio, or online resume will become more vital. Be sure you have an alternate way for people to find and learn about you online.
Could you achieve your goals by simply tweaking your settings?
Instead of fully deleting your account, you may be able to achieve some goals (like more privacy) simply by adjusting your LinkedIn settings to share less data and get fewer notifications.
Is your network strong enough offline that you won’t miss LinkedIn?
Those with smaller professional networks may get more value from LinkedIn. If in-person networking isn’t easy for you, deleting LinkedIn may be riskier.
Alternatives to Deleting LinkedIn Entirely
Instead of fully deleting your account, consider these intermediate alternatives:
Temporarily deactivate your account
You can deactivate your LinkedIn account for up to 12 weeks at a time while still holding your profile. This lets you take a break without losing everything.
beef up other professional profiles like Twitter
Maintain profiles on sites like Twitter, Facebook, or Quora to retain an online presence if minimizing LinkedIn.
Clean up your connections
Remove spam connections and inactive contacts to declutter your network and feed.
Use privacy settings
Adjust settings so your profile is visible only to direct connections or even just to you.
Check LinkedIn less frequently
Limit notifications and resist the urge to constantly check the app to avoid distraction.
Conclusion
Overall, for most professionals, the networking and recruitment benefits of maintaining a LinkedIn profile outweigh the reasons to delete it entirely. However, based on your specific career path and goals, deleting LinkedIn may potentially make sense.
Try evaluating the value you gain from LinkedIn, whether your industry relies heavily on the platform, and if you can build connections offline. If your use of LinkedIn is largely passive or distracting rather than actively advancing your career, deleting your account could potentially be beneficial. But proceed with caution given how vital of a networking tool LinkedIn has become.
Rather than deleting entirely, first try limiting notifications, removing inactive connections, beefing up other social profiles, and adjusting privacy settings. But if you find the cons still outweigh the pros after making these tweaks, then deleting your LinkedIn account may be the right decision for you.