Removing old LinkedIn connections
Hi, please spare me the jokes, I know this sounds like I'm overthinking but this is a genuine question.
I'm connected with some old classmates from highschool on LinkedIn who spam-add people on the app just to be as connected as humanly possible. I got into a BB now and I'm a bit concerned that they might spam-add people at the bank I work for and that it would reflect badly on me. I haven't really spoken to these people since highschool, but they have gone to the same university as me and are decently connected IRL, should I remove their connection? or is it better to err on the side of keeping their connection? (they are finance/marketing/law majors)
One time I saw that I was connected with the same recruiters as my boss on LinkedIn.. was like running into your boss buying while buying drugs.
I culled almost all the recruiters from my LinkedIn (the ones that didn't provide any edge or get me any interviews) because I didn't want any of my coworkers to think I was desperate to leave.
Randoms from high school should be fine though
Hahaha I totally get your reasoning. When I was a Freshman STEM major as soon as I got a connection with an alum at a famous HF I'm guilty of running down his contact list and spam adding folks - like a complete idiot. He messages me like a day or two later saying multiple people reached out asking who I was and asked if I'd done just that. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die of embarrassment.
I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to prune who you're connected with. If you pay for premium you can save time and just set your privacy settings so that no one can see who you're connected with except mutual connections. Delete people you don't like/don't have any meaningful connection with and don't see being a useful relationship in the future though I think makes some sense, it's LinkedIn not Facebook.
Thanks for the story and advice haha
Let's say the highschool randos spam-add my colleagues — and get accepted — is that even something to worry about?
I guess a part of it for me is that I'm scared that they would abuse me as a mutual connection and try and score a job of some sort in the industry. I know it's highly unlikely, but I wouldn't want them to do that. I feel very fortunate to have broken in, and don't want to give these people (who from highschool were quite obnoxious) a chance to feel like they can "share" my collegial network.
Also re: hiding connections, I have hidden my connections list to everyone. There's a toggle under the Visibility section which doesn't need premium to enable, thankfully. The only thing is that a quick LinkedIn search will still show mutual connections first, so technically one could still search for another's colleagues.
It's not something to worry about. Speaking from experience, it just makes them look like goofballs and likely isn't gonna happen unless they're finance to begin with. It doesn't reflect on you aside from maybe a jab at your expense from the added party. Nobody's going to be able to use a mutual connection on LinkedIn to get a job unless they ref you and that person they connected with then speaks with you to confirm it - which sounds like won't be an issue.
I think you're being a little overly paranoid and gate-keepy about this non-issue. Just toggle to private and leave it at that. If someone asks for a ref and you don't wanna give it, don't. If you want to clean up your LinkedIn and remove some folks, do it. Doesn't require more thought than that.
Quam eaque ut ad a hic aut. Ullam iusto vel consequatur nobis quo aut. Quo et delectus fugiat quibusdam enim. Quis repudiandae qui deserunt modi est laudantium. Illum consectetur rerum voluptas sed distinctio dolores error.
Numquam velit dolore fugiat blanditiis. Ea iure provident deleniti aut expedita. Iusto et quo qui minima alias neque. Dolores et esse aut rem exercitationem cumque.
Aut omnis laudantium neque impedit modi. Eum sed repellendus quasi voluptas. Laudantium vel ut quis dignissimos. Rerum quidem et exercitationem magnam laboriosam soluta molestiae. Et ipsa est nemo natus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...