Last January, I decided to start my professional new year afresh by cleaning up my LinkedIn Network. I believe that someone belongs in my network if I know them or if we share a passion. Like many of us, I was promiscuous when I started building my connections — I said yes indiscriminately. My criteria now is that I know the person and would be willing to do a 20 minute favor to help their career, and I would also reach out to them for a similar career boost.
Since I was snowed in, I got a warm cup of cocoa and went through all 1300 of my connections. If I recognized the name, face, and/or employer, I said into the air, “Hi, Gigi. I wish you career success in 2016.” This may be a little woo-woo but it felt good. Otherwise, I removed them, knowing they would not be notified.
If a remaining connection had a new job title or employer, and I had missed congratulating them, I took a few seconds to send my best wishes. If a connection made referrals to me for career counseling or coaching, I took a few minutes to review their Profile and send them a message of appreciation. Sometimes I asked if I could be of help. If seeing the photo brought an especially big smile to my face, I contacted the person to chat or have tea when the snow melted.
On January 5th I had 300 fewer connection, 10 renewed meaningful relations, and 3 cups of tea on my calendar.