How to audit your LinkedIn network before a job search

A useful LinkedIn network audit answers three questions: who do I already know, which target companies appear in my network, and what possible routes need checking? Use Sixgree to inspect your local network, then turn those answers into a small list of conversations you can justify.

The goal is not to maximize a connection count or collect high-scoring people. It is to understand where your existing relationships may help you learn about a role, team or company. A network score is not a job-readiness score.

1. Define the search before judging the network

Write down the type of work you're looking for, the constraints that matter and a short list of companies or teams you'd like to understand. Be specific enough that a contact can offer useful context.

“I'm interested in product operations for a small team” gives someone more to work with than “I'm looking for anything.” You can change the brief as you learn; it is a starting point, not a commitment to one employer.

LinkedIn's job-search guide treats organization and using your network as part of the search. Sixgree adds a local view of the people and recorded routes you already have. It is not a job board, an application tracker or a predictor of hiring outcomes.

2. Choose a data source you are comfortable with

Start with the invented sample if you want to learn the app without accessing LinkedIn. For your own direct connections, import the official Connections.csv. That gives you the people and company fields in the file, not their connection lists.

If you already have mapped circle data, you can also inspect people beyond your direct network and the routes recorded through your connections. Missing circle data means incomplete coverage, not a failed network.

Scanning is optional. Automating LinkedIn may breach its rules and can lead to account restrictions. You do not need to start a scan to perform a useful direct-network audit. Read the scanning guide before deciding whether you want to gather more data.

3. Review people before scores

Open the network map and inspect the people you recognize. Ask what you actually know about each relationship:

• Have we worked or studied together?
• Have we spoken recently?
• Do they know my work well enough to offer relevant context?
• Is the company or role in my data still current?

Sixgree's tier and score can help you inspect the app's model of network position. They cannot tell you whether someone will remember you, recommend you or have an open role. Use the card's information as a prompt to investigate, not as a ranking of who deserves your attention.

4. Check target-company coverage in Paths

Open Paths → Companies and inspect the companies represented in your data. Pick one from your shortlist and look at the people recorded there. Separate direct connections from people found beyond them.

If a target company is absent, check spelling, subsidiaries and whether the information is simply missing. Don't assume it is unreachable. Your map is an observed network, not a complete directory of LinkedIn or every employer.

The company-search guide explains how to combine the local view with LinkedIn's current-company and connection filters. Confirm a person's present role before sending a request based on an old export.

5. Compare possible bridges in Separation

With mapped circle data, search Separation for a person, role or company. Inspect the ways in shown for a result. If several connections appear, compare how well you know each bridge and whether your question fits their relationship with the person.

A card's only through count can identify a connection whose mapped circle contains people you haven't found through another bridge. It does not mean you should immediately ask them for introductions, or that they are your strongest personal relationship.

Don't penalize an unscanned connection for having little recorded reach. You're comparing available evidence, not the full network they have in real life. See how ways in are counted for the calculation and its limits.

6. Build a worksheet outside the score

Use a short table to turn the map into decisions. This is a planning worksheet you keep yourself, not a new Sixgree feature.

Include “no action” as a valid outcome. You might learn that you already have enough information, that the contact is not relevant, or that a direct application is more appropriate than an introduction request.

7. Make one clear request, not a broadcast

Ask for context before asking someone to advocate for you. Explain the role or team, your relevant background and the question you're trying to answer. Leave room for them to decline.

An illustrative opener: “I'm exploring roles on this team and trying to understand the work. Since you've worked in a similar area, would you be comfortable sharing your perspective? No problem if you're busy.”

If you need an introduction, use the warm-introduction templates. Replace the placeholders and write in your own voice. A mapped route is not consent, and no template guarantees an interview or a reply.

What a useful audit leaves you with

You should finish with a clearer search brief, a handful of relevant relationships, a distinction between known routes and missing data, and next steps you can explain. You do not need a perfect map or a higher score before applying for work.

Keep the audit private. If you share a real-network view, use Names Off and check for other identifying details before posting it. The local-first guide explains where the data lives and what the app contacts.

Download Sixgree to explore the sample first, then bring in the data you're comfortable using.

Sixgree is not affiliated with LinkedIn.