Did you accidentally clone yourself and now you have more than one LinkedIn profile? It’s happened to many people. You got caught up in the social media buzz and quickly joined, even though you weren’t sure what to do with your profile.
Months or even years went by and as social recruiting became the norm, you created a new profile with more content and a larger network of connections. You’ve long forgotten about that initial profile left idling in the cobwebs of LinkedIn until someone like me comes along and says, “When I searched your name in LinkedIn, I found two profiles.”
No worries; there are ways to eliminate a duplicate profile on LinkedIn.
Step #1 – Find your duplicate LinkedIn account(s)
Enter your name in LinkedIn to find your other account. The profile with the YOU icon is the account where you are currently signed in. Any other profile that contains your information but doesn’t have the YOU icon is a duplicate account.
Step #2 – Sign in to your duplicate account(s)
If you don’t know the email address registered to the duplicate account you wish to close, go to the Contact Us page at LinkedIn’s Help Center. Send a message with the subject line “Cannot sign in to duplicate account” and give them the URL (web address) for the duplicate account. Once you receive a reply, you can follow the appropriate instructions below for closing a duplicate account.
If you know the email address registered to the duplicate account but can’t sign in, go to the Sign In page (first you will need to log out of the existing account) and click the Forgot Password link. Follow the instructions and link in the password reset email to gain access to this account, then select the appropriate instructions below for closing a duplicate account.
Step #3 – Close your duplicate LinkedIn account(s)
Option #1: If a duplicate account has 0 connections, sign in to this account, go to Privacy & Settings, click Account, and under Helpful Links select Close Your Account. Tip: If you would like to re-assign the email address you used for this account to your active account, wait 48 hours after your account is closed. Then you can edit the Contact Information tab in your profile to add or change the email addresses associated with your account.
Option #2: If a duplicate account has 1-10 connections, sign in to this account and export your connections before closing the account using the instructions listed under Option #1 above. Now sign in to your active account and re-invite the connections from your closed account using the data in your export file.
Option #3: If both accounts have 10 or more connections, contact LinkedIn from the Contact Us page at LinkedIn’s Help Center. They will help you merge your connections into one account and close the other.
With the majority of hiring influencers and recruiters using LinkedIn to vet or uncover potential future employees, it is mandatory to have a strong and compelling online presence. Don’t leave the person wondering which profile is the real you.