LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. With so many professionals on the platform, LinkedIn offers powerful search features to help you find and connect with other members. One of the search options allows you to look up LinkedIn members using an email address. Here is what you need to know about searching for people on LinkedIn using an email.
Searching by Email on LinkedIn
LinkedIn allows you to search for other members by entering their email address in the search bar. To do this:
- Go to www.linkedin.com and log into your account.
- Click on the search bar at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Type in the full email address of the person you want to find.
- Hit enter or click the search icon.
LinkedIn will search its entire database for members associated with that email address. If there is a match, the person’s LinkedIn profile should appear in the search results. If multiple people are associated with the email, you may see several profiles in the results.
Tips for Email Search on LinkedIn
- Make sure you enter the complete and correct email address, including the full domain (e.g. [email protected]). Leaving off the domain may give you inaccurate results.
- Try alternate email addresses or domains that the person may have used to sign up, such as a work vs personal email.
- If their profile doesn’t appear, they may not have a LinkedIn account associated with that email or may have it set to private.
- You can only search for an email address if you are logged into your LinkedIn account. Search is not available when logged out.
Limits of Email Search on LinkedIn
While the email search feature is useful, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- Privacy settings – If someone has set their profile to private, you won’t be able to view their full profile even if you search their email.
- Common names – Searching for [email protected] may return multiple profiles with that common name.
- Multiple accounts – People may have multiple LinkedIn accounts associated with different emails. Searching one email won’t return all their accounts.
- Outdated information – The email address on a person’s profile may be an old one they no longer use or check regularly.
Alternative Search Options
If searching by email doesn’t locate the LinkedIn profile you’re looking for, there are a few other options you can try:
Search by Name
Type the person’s full name into the main LinkedIn search bar to locate profiles associated with that name. You can also filter by location, company, school, etc. to narrow it down if multiple people share a name.
Search Connections
Go to My Network > Connections and search your list of connections by name. This works if you’re already connected with the person.
Search Company Pages
Go to a company’s LinkedIn page and browse their list of employees. You may be able to locate the person if you know where they work.
Advanced Google Search
Use Google search operators to try finding the person’s LinkedIn profile page. For example: “John Smith” site:linkedin.com.
Connecting with Someone You Found
Once you’ve located the correct LinkedIn profile for someone using their email address or another search method, you can connect by sending them an invite. Here are some tips for reaching out:
- Personalize the connection request by mentioning how you found them or why you want to connect.
- Send a follow-up message after connecting to start a conversation.
- Suggest meeting up or having a phone call to further the relationship.
- Engage with their content by liking and commenting on their posts.
Is Searching by Email Allowed on LinkedIn?
Searching for people on LinkedIn by email is permitted and intended as a feature of the platform. However, it’s important to use email search appropriately and ethically. Here are some guidelines:
- Only search for people you have a legitimate interest in connecting with, such as colleagues, clients, partners, etc.
- Respect their privacy – if someone doesn’t want to connect, don’t harass them by repeatedly searching their email.
- Don’t use email searches to collect bulk data or profiles for marketing purposes.
- Abide by LinkedIn’s User Agreement policies.
As long as you use the email lookup respectfully and for professional networking purposes, it is generally acceptable on LinkedIn.
Pro Tips for LinkedIn Email Search
Take your LinkedIn email searches to the next level with these pro tips:
- Use email formatting tricks like [email protected] to isolate search results.
- Try email searching on both mobile app and desktop to compare results.
- Combine email search with filters like location, industry, school, etc.
- Search old email addresses you may have on record for the person.
- Look for contacts associated with the company email domain.
Conclusion
Searching LinkedIn by email can be a quick way to uncover profiles when you only have someone’s email address. However, it has limitations so combining email lookup with advanced name searches, networks, and other tools is advised. Remember to use email searching ethically as you connect with other professionals on LinkedIn.
