Edited and published with permission from Bridget Weide Brooks.
In September 2016, LinkedIn announced a redesign of its desktop (non-app) user interface. The announcement noted, “This is the largest redesign since LinkedIn’s inception.” The design update is expected to bring the desktop experience closer to what users of the LinkedIn mobile app are used to seeing.
In the past, when LinkedIn has refreshed its user interface, it has removed features or moved them to be available to paid subscription accounts only. And with a forthcoming redesign imminent, LinkedIn has already announced that the Notes and Tags feature will only be available to people with Sales Navigator. There might be more changes coming as well that could result in a loss of your data, so I recommend that you back up your LinkedIn profile right now! This exercise will take you 5-10 minutes at most.
Below is an official email from LinkedIn regarding the removal of the Notes and Tags features:
At LinkedIn, we’re always looking for ways to simplify and improve your experience helping you be more productive and successful. This sometimes means removing features that aren’t heavily used by most of our members to invest in others that members tell us offer greater value.
As such, we’re removing the Notes and Tags features on the LinkedIn profile, which allowed you to add notes and tags to your connections, to help manage your professional relationships. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, so please know that you can download this information through March 31, 2017.
As an active user of Notes and Tags, you will find similar functionality in LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator. To see if Sales Navigator is right for you, we are offering you a free three-month trial*, which will allow you to transfer and view your existing notes and tags. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a product we launched a couple of years ago and is targeted at sales professionals – it lets you keep track of your existing relationships, research your network, and find new leads with tailored recommendations.
Below you’ll find instructions on how to download and transfer your data as well as information regarding your free Sales Navigator trial.
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions.
There are two things to do:
(1) Create a PDF of your profile. This will save the content in your profile only (no photos or graphics). Here’s how:
Log into your account and click on “Edit Profile” under the “Profile” menu.
Next, hover over the arrow to the right of the blue “View profile as” button and it will show a dropdown menu.
Choose “Save to PDF” and it will immediately save a PDF of your LinkedIn profile to the default download location on your computer.
You’ll be able to open the PDF and view your content.
(2) Archive your LinkedIn data.
This will create spreadsheet files (in .csv format) of your LinkedIn account — your connections, contacts, email inbox, positions, and profile. It will also include a “Rich Media” folder with images included on your profile.
In contrast to the PDF of your LinkedIn profile, the spreadsheet files will allow you to copy and paste your data into your LinkedIn profile, should you ever need to. In addition, if LinkedIn removes sections with the user interface redesign, you will be able to add this information back into your profile.
You can find the full listing of what is included in the data archives:
https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/50191/accessing-your-account-data?lang=en
Here’s how to get your data archive.
Note: This feature is only available using the desktop version of LinkedIn, not using the mobile app. Also, because your backup may contain private information, do not download your data using a public computer.
Click on your profile photo in the upper right hand corner of your LinkedIn profile. On the drop-down menu, click on the blue “Manage” button next to “Privacy & Settings.”
Once on the “Privacy & Settings” page, scroll down to “Getting an archive of your data.” Click on that link.
That will open a drop-down menu.
You will be able to choose whether you want a “fast file,” which includes selected information from your account or the “fast file with other data,” which includes account activity and history.
Choose the option you want and click the blue “Request archive” button. I recommend getting the full archive (“Fast file plus other data).
Once you’ve made your choice, you will be prompted to enter your password. Once you’ve done that, click the blue “Done” button.
You will receive confirmation that your request has been received.
You’ll receive a notification email with a download link.
When you click the download link in your email, you will be taken back to your LinkedIn profile, where you will find a blue “Download” link. You have 72 hours to download the file. LinkedIn will send a second email when the rest of the data file is ready (within 24 hours).
Clicking the “Download” button will create a zip folder. Once you unzip it, you will see the .csv files with your connections, contacts, inbox, positions, profile, and registration information, plus a folder containing your Rich Media.
For your first-level connections, you’ll receive a file that contains First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Current Company, Current Position, and Tags.
If you get an error when trying to request your data archive, try it again using a different Internet browser, or try it again later.
If you use a premium LinkedIn Sales Navigator account, export your notes and tags to Sales Navigator. It is rumored that the notes and tags feature is going away with the user interface update.Log into your Sales Navigator account. Move your cursor over your photo in the top right corner of the Sales Navigator home page and select “Settings.”
Under “Import LinkedIn.com,” click “Import to Sales Navigator” next to “Notes & Tags.”
Now that you’ve seen how easy this is to do, make it a habit to export your data — once a quarter is probably sufficient if you don’t add a lot of new connections regularly, or once a month if you do.
