LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that allows users to connect with colleagues, peers, and potential partners from across industries. One of the key features of LinkedIn is the ability to build up your network by connecting with other users. However, as your network grows over time, it can become increasingly difficult to manage and utilize your connections effectively. Fortunately, LinkedIn provides tools to filter and organize your connections in different ways. One common question users have is whether you can filter your LinkedIn connections by most recent additions. In this article, we’ll explore the different ways to view and manage your LinkedIn connections, with a focus on filtering connections by most recent.
Viewing All Connections on LinkedIn
LinkedIn allows you to view all of your connections in your “My Network” section, which can be accessed from the top toolbar. This will display a list of all your connections in alphabetical order. There are no filtering options on this main connections page. The list will include all your 1st-degree connections as well as 2nd and 3rd-degree connections. You can also choose between viewing “Connections only” which shows 1st-degree connections, or “Connections and others” to see 2nd and 3rd-degree connections as well.
Sorting Connections by Last Name
On the “My Network” page, you can sort your connections alphabetically by last name. There is a drop-down menu at the top right of the page with sorting options. By default, this is set to alphabetical order by first name, but you can select “Last Name” to reorder your connections alphabetically by last name instead.
While this helps organize your connections list, it does not allow you to filter by most recent additions. The alphabetical sorting only applies to connections’ names.
Filtering Connections by Industry
Another useful way to filter your LinkedIn connections is by industry. You can do this via the drop-down menu at the top of your “My Network” page. This will allow you to show only those connections that work in a certain industry. For example, you may want to view only your connections in the IT industry or Healthcare industry.
This helps narrow down your connections list to certain professional categories. However, it does not filter connections based on when you connected with someone, only by their industry as noted in their profile.
Finding Your Newest Connections
To specifically view only your newest LinkedIn connections, you’ll need to use the following steps:
- Go to your profile page
- Click on the “Connections” section
- Select the dropdown menu that says “All connections”
- Choose the option for “New connections (last 90 days)”
This will display only the people you’ve connected with over the last 90 days. Currently, LinkedIn does not provide any filtering options for connections made within shorter timeframes like the past month or week.
Related Options for Filtering Connections
In addition to filtering by newest connections, LinkedIn provides some other useful options for viewing subsets of your connections, such as:
- Imported Contacts – Connections from your email contacts list
- Contacts with Recent Activity – Connections who have had profile/position changes recently
- Unanswered InMail – Connections who have not replied to your InMail messages
While these don’t filter by most recent, they provide alternative ways to segment your connections for more effective relationship management.
Tools to Manage Large Numbers of Connections
If you have an extremely large network of connections, additional tools are available to analyze your connections and identify the most valuable ones:
- Premium Account Features – Paid plans like LinkedIn Premium Career allow you to sort by recommendations, priorities, and other factors.
- LinkedIn’s Relationship Analytics – This shows your strongest connections based on engagement.
- Third-Party Browser Extensions – Extensions like LinkedSort can also analyze connections
This data can indicate connections you interact with frequently who may be worth prioritizing in your network.
Best Practices for Organizing Connections
Here are some additional tips for keeping your LinkedIn connections organized and managing a large network:
- Customize connection notifications – Turn on notifications for when key connections update their profiles or share content.
- Use tags and notes – Add tags and notes to connections to segment your network.
- Sort connections into lists – Curate lists like “Prospects” or “Classmates” to group connections.
- Remove inactive connections – Prune connections you no longer interact with regularly.
Limitations of Filtering by Recent
While filtering LinkedIn connections by most recent can be useful in some cases, there are limitations to consider:
- Recency doesn’t indicate importance – New connections aren’t necessarily the most relevant.
- You may miss older connections – Long-standing connections still add value even if you connected years ago.
- It doesn’t factor in engagement – Just because you recently connected doesn’t mean you interact regularly.
- The timeframe is limited – 90 days may not capture all your recent activity.
As a result, it’s usually better to use a combination of filters, lists, and tags to get a holistic view of your most valuable connections.
Conclusion
Filtering LinkedIn connections by most recent can be a helpful way to identify your newest connections and keep your network organized as it grows. While LinkedIn doesn’t have an explicit “sort by most recent” filter, you can filter to show connections made in the last 90 days using the steps outlined above. Additionally, leveraging other tools to manage, segment, and analyze your network based on factors like engagement and common interests can ensure you get the most value out of your LinkedIn connections.