---
title: Source candidates from your LinkedIn network
slug: source-candidates-from-your-linkedin-network
icon: 👥
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-09-03T19:30:29.603Z
---

Search for candidates who are connected to you or your team on LinkedIn — and optionally use those connections as a sourcing filter when building a search.

This article covers two parts of the feature:

1. **Importing your LinkedIn connections** (Settings → LinkedIn Connections)
2. **Using connections as a sourcing filter** (Criteria List → Sourcing Preferences)

## 1. Importing Your LinkedIn Connections

Before Pin can filter by LinkedIn connections, you need to import your connections list. LinkedIn doesn't offer a direct API for this, so the import is done via a CSV export from LinkedIn's own data request tool.

**To import your connections:**

1. Go to **Settings → LinkedIn Connections**.
2. Go to the LinkedIn data download request page.
3. Request your data archive.
4. Wait for LinkedIn to email your data (this can take a few minutes to a day or more, depending on LinkedIn's processing time).
5. Once you receive the archive, locate the **Connections.csv** file inside it.
6. Back in Pin, click **Upload Connections CSV** and select that file.

Once uploaded, this panel will show a confirmation like:

:::BlockQuote
**292 LinkedIn connections imported**
:::

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/JtqPsvk-s0xQ7dgMBVpor/sMCS3tHUS4LoiAi69olIv_screenshot-2026-09-03-at-33155-pm.png)

**Updating your connections list:** Your connections list is a snapshot from the time you uploaded it — it doesn't sync automatically. To refresh it:

1. Return to **Settings → LinkedIn Connections**.
2. Click **Reupload**, and go through the LinkedIn data request steps again with a fresh export.
3. To remove your imported connections entirely, click the trash icon next to the import summary.

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note: **Each team member can upload their own LinkedIn connections. This is what powers the "Any team member" vs. specific member options in the sourcing filter below.
:::

## 2. Using LinkedIn Connections as a Sourcing Filter

Once connections are imported, you can use them inside a search's criteria to prioritize or require candidates connected to you or your team.

**To set this up:**

1. Open a search and go to **Criteria List**.
2. Select **Sourcing Preferences** from the left-hand filter list.
3. Find the **LinkedIn Connections** filter and open it.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/JtqPsvk-s0xQ7dgMBVpor/BKoMd6cO6fAJ3uxgUVolF_screenshot-2026-09-03-at-33300-pm.png)

Inside the filter panel, you can configure:

| Setting               | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Required** (toggle) | When enabled, only candidates connected on LinkedIn (per the criteria below) will be surfaced. When off, this becomes a soft preference rather than a hard requirement — see **Importance**.                   |
| **Importance**        | Controls how much weight this filter carries in ranking when it isn't marked as Required (e.g., None, Low, Medium, High).                                                                                      |
| **Connected To**      | Choose whose LinkedIn connections to check against: **Any team member**, or a specific member (e.g., a named teammate). Selecting a specific person scopes the filter to only their imported connections list. |

1. Select the scope you want under **Connected To** — for example, choose a specific team member if you only want to match against their network, or leave it on **Any team member** to match against everyone's imported connections.
2. Click away from the popup (or **Save Changes** at the bottom of the Criteria List panel) to apply it.

Once set, the filter appears as a chip (e.g., **📌 Pin Test**) so you can see at a glance who the filter is scoped to, and reopen it to adjust.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/JtqPsvk-s0xQ7dgMBVpor/6JChKXy3Ed6Fx1cnB1lny_screenshot-2026-09-03-at-33919-pm.png)

**To remove the filter:** open the LinkedIn Connections panel again and click **Remove**.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/JtqPsvk-s0xQ7dgMBVpor/IDocPM3Y96PbPFs4nyNwg_screenshot-2026-09-03-at-33947-pm.png)