How to Export My LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn profile is more than just an online resume, it’s a living document of your professional career, a network you’ve spent years building, and a portfolio of your skills and accomplishments. This guide provides a simple, step-by-step walkthrough for exporting your LinkedIn profile data. We’ll cover the different types of exports, why you should do it regularly, and what you can do with the data once you have it.

Why You Should Export Your LinkedIn Profile

Before getting into the how-to, it’s worth understanding why this is such a good practice for any professional. Taking a few minutes to download your data isn't just a technical exercise, it’s a strategic move to own and protect your digital professional identity.

• Create a Personal Backup: Social media platforms are not immune to glitches, lockouts, or even account deletions. Having a personal copy of your profile - every job description you’ve perfected, every recommendation you’ve earned, and every connection you’ve made - is your professional insurance policy.
• Build a Powerful Contact Database: Your LinkedIn network is one of your most valuable professional assets. Exporting your connections gives you an offline list that you can use to build a personal Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) in a simple spreadsheet, track your interactions, or organize contacts by industry or location.
• Streamline Job Applications: Instead of manually retyping your work history and skills for every job application, you can have a master document to copy and paste from. The downloaded version of your profile is a perfect source for this, saving you time and reducing errors.
• Repurpose Your Best Content: Ever spent an hour writing the perfect "About" section or crafting a compelling project description? Exporting your profile allows you to easily pull this text for use on your personal website, in your portfolio, or on other professional platforms without having to hunt it down.
• Preserve Your Professional Reputation: The recommendations you receive on LinkedIn are powerful social proof. Saving them gives you a permanent record of the praise you've earned, which can be invaluable for personal branding, presentations, or performance reviews.

Two Ways to Export Your LinkedIn Data: Which is Right for You?

LinkedIn offers two main methods for getting your data off the platform. They serve different purposes, so picking the right one depends on what you want to accomplish.

1. Save Profile as a PDF: This is the quick and easy method. It generates a clean, formatted document that looks like a traditional resume. It’s perfect for sharing, printing, or attaching to an application. Think of it as a snapshot of your profile as it appears to others.

2. Download Your Data Archive: This is the comprehensive, all-inclusive method. It gives you a complete package of your information in a series of data files (mostly CSVs, which are spreadsheet-friendly). This is the best option for backing up your network, managing contacts, or doing a deep dive into your history on the platform.

In short: use the PDF for a visual resume and the data archive for your personal records and contact management.

Method 1: How to Save Your LinkedIn Profile as a PDF

This process takes less than 30 seconds and gives you an instant, shareable version of your profile.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go to Your Profile: Log in to LinkedIn and navigate to your personal profile page by clicking your photo or the "Me" icon in the top right and selecting "View Profile."
2. Find the "More" Button: Just below your name and headline, you'll see a series of buttons. Click the one labeled "More."
3. Select "Save to PDF": A dropdown menu will appear. Click on "Save to PDF."

That’s it. Your browser will immediately download a cleanly formatted PDF of your LinkedIn profile. This document will include your summary, work experience, education, volunteer work, skills, and any recommendations you've received.

It’s an excellent, professional-looking document to have on hand. Keep a copy in your cloud storage so you can easily attach it to emails or applications whenever you need it.

Method 2: How to Download Your Full Data Archive

For a complete backup, especially of your connections, you'll need to request an archive of your data. This process is just as simple, but it can take anywhere from a few minutes to a full day for LinkedIn to prepare the files for you.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to Settings & Privacy: Click the "Me" icon in the top navigation bar and select "Settings & Privacy" from the menu.
2. Go to Data Privacy: On the left side of the screen, find and click on the "Data Privacy" section.
3. Select "Get a copy of your data": You'll see several options related to how LinkedIn uses your data. Click on the one that says "Get a copy of your data."
4. Choose What You Want to Download: LinkedIn now gives you two main choices.
   • A. Want something in particular? This option lets you download specific datasets, like just your connections, articles, or recommendations. This is the fastest method if you only need one thing.
   • B. Download larger data archive: This option bundles all of your LinkedIn data into one large download. It’s the best choice for a complete backup.

To Download a Specific Dataset (Like Your Connections):

• Check the box next to the data you want. For your network, you would check "Connections."
• Click the "Request archive" button.
• LinkedIn will take a few minutes to prepare your file. Once it's ready, you'll receive an email with a download link. You can also check back on that same page for the download button to appear.

To Download Your Full Archive:

• Select the second option for the "larger data archive."
• Click the "Request archive" button. You will be asked to enter your LinkedIn password to confirm your identity.
• Because this is a large request, LinkedIn will process it in two installments. Part one will be ready in about 10 minutes, and the complete archive can take up to 24 hours. You'll get an email when each file is ready to download.

Making Sense of Your Data Archive: What's Inside?

Once you download your archive, you'll get a ZIP file. After unzipping it, you'll find several folders and files. While it may seem overwhelming, you only need to focus on a few key files to get the most value.

Connections.csv

This is arguably the most valuable file in your export. Open it with any spreadsheet program (like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers) to see a complete list of your connections. The most useful columns include:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Company
• Position
• Connected On (The date you connected)

A Quick Note on Email Addresses: In the past, this export included the email addresses of your connections. For privacy reasons, LinkedIn has since removed this field. The export is now primarily for managing your list of contacts, not for creating an email list.

You can use this spreadsheet to sort your network by their current company, job title, or when you connected, making it a fantastic tool for rekindling professional relationships or identifying key contacts in a particular industry.

Recommendations.csv

This file contains the full text of all recommendations you've both given and received, along with who wrote them and when. This is a great way to compile all your professional testimonials in one place. You can easily copy and paste these onto your personal website, portfolio, or speaker bio.

Messages.csv

True to its name, this file contains an archive of the messages you've sent and received. While it's not the most user-friendly format for browsing conversations, it serves as a valuable backup of important discussions, job offers, or advice you've received over the years.

Best Practices for Your Exported Data

Now that you have your information, it's smart to handle it responsibly.

• Store it Securely: Your data archive contains personal and professional information. Store the file in a secure location, like an encrypted folder on your computer or a secure cloud drive, not on a public or shared computer.
• Set a Reminder: Your network and profile are constantly evolving. Make a habit of exporting your data once every quarter or twice a year to keep your backup fresh and accurate. Set a recurring calendar event so you don't forget.
• Respect Privacy: Remember that your downloaded data is for your personal use. Abide by LinkedIn's User Agreement and general professional etiquette. Don’t import your connection list into a mass-mailing tool or use the information in a way that could be perceived as spam.

Final Thoughts

Exporting your LinkedIn profile is a simple but powerful habit that helps you securely back up your professional brand, manage your valuable network, and efficiently repurpose content you've worked hard to create. Whether you need a quick PDF for a job application or a full data archive for your personal records, the tools are just a few clicks away.

Just as it's smart to have ownership of your personal brand assets from LinkedIn, it's also smart to manage your active content strategy from a single, reliable hub. We built Postbase to solve the daily chaos of juggling multiple social media platforms. By bringing your scheduling, engagement, and analytics for platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok into one visual calendar, we give you focus and clarity to grow your brand without the burnout that comes from switching between a dozen apps.