Wild flurries of LinkedIn activities can result in premature pink slips especially for marketing, media, and communications professionals. If your boss or colleagues see signs that you are job hunting such as connecting with recruiters, updating your profile after you got that year-end bonus, or that you are following a slew of companies then your current situation can be compromised. Yet, your professional relationships are on LinkedIn and you can’t disconnect from your bosses and colleagues because those are signs too.

So how can you use LinkedIn to facilitate a transition without raising red flags that you are job hunting? That was the #1 question asked during a LinkedIn Q&A call I hosted for the Alumni of the Ivy League Group last week. My answer is that yes you can…by hiding your activity, concealing who you are, and using my workaround to inform everyone except your boss (and potential snitches) that you want a new job.

How to hide your activity – Simply turn off your LinkedIn activity broadcasts. An activity broadcast is triggered when you connect with folks, update your profile, or follow companies. Go to your name on the upper right hand corner of your profile (i.e. your small headshot) > Select settings & privacy > Edit “visibility of your LinkedIn activity> no one. Beware, if you update your photo, header, or add a new job (or put a placeholder there featuring your b-school) then these activities cannot be hidden – in these instances apply changes slowly (maybe weeks apart) so that they are not obvious. Side note: your boss is not actively staring at your profile….the thinking here is that you are not actively notifying your contacts when you edit your profile. Make sense? Change your activity visibility simply to not alarm your current boss. If they see these edits on their own then ask yourself: might my boss be looking for a new role? Often they are.

How to conceal who you are – Hiding your identity makes sense when you want to view  profiles without  drawing attention to yourself.   Use this feature when you wish to see your boss and colleagues’ profiles for inspiration to update your own. In this case, go to your name on the upper right hand corner of your profile > Select “settings & privacy” > Choose “visibility” and turn OFF page visit visibility. However, if you want to generate interest from recruiters or prospective employers then don’t be anonymous– let them know that you were researching them.  This is a great way to get potential employers to read about you because you looked at them.

See screen shot below to see this Settings & Privacy>Privacy Control page where you can hide your activity and conceal your identity. 

How to tell everyone except your boss and potential rats that you want a new job – Export your LinkedIn contacts to excel, edit that CSV file (i.e. remove your boss/colleagues/anyone that will rat you out), and then email the list your resume, cover letter, and elevator pitch. Go to Settings & Privacy > Data Privacy > Get a copy of your data and then make your request: Use this functionality sparingly and strategically.

See screenshot of the export area

In the meantime, when have decided that you have to land a better role before you lose the one you are in then schedule a CONFIDENTIAL free-15 minute consultation.

Did this article intrigue you? Next up: find out your very own Marketing Leader Resume Score! It’ll be available for free until March 21st!  Claim yours today. What you don’t know can hurt your odds of job search success or slow your way down. My Resume Scorecard will help you make the tiny tweaks with the greatest impact. Think: way less job applications and MORE interviews!