After LinkedIn's updates your contact list is now a small search box, in no particular order, making it tougher for you to search in your own network. It's also a protection for you to have the list in this format. It means your connections will find it harder to scan through your list and connect to people.
Actually there's a workaround for this, in fact there are 4 ways for you to view your contacts.
- The new small search section inside your profile.
- A list in the same format as if you would be searching for a contact inside LinkedIn.
- The old fashioned way, which existed before the profile upgrade.
- Via your connections list from the top menu.
I've included a slide share below, to illustrate this further and for you to decide which method is best suited for your preference.