LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn profiles contain a wealth of information including contact details that members have chosen to make public. There are several ways to get contact details from LinkedIn profiles, but it’s important to do so in an ethical manner and respect members’ privacy. This article will explore the best practices for gathering contact information from LinkedIn in accordance with their terms of service.
Searching on LinkedIn
The most straightforward way to get contact details from LinkedIn is to search for the person or company you want to connect with using the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn homepage. When you navigate to a member’s profile, some of the contact details they have made public will be displayed including:
- Full name
- Location
- Current company and position
- Email address if made public
- Websites if provided
While a lot of members choose to make their email address private, many do make it available in the contact info section of their profile. If the email is public, you can simply copy and paste it from their profile. This is the easiest way to get contact details from LinkedIn members who have chosen to make that information openly available.
Connecting on LinkedIn
If the member you want to contact hasn’t made their email public, another option is sending them an invite to connect on LinkedIn. When you send a connection request, the member will receive a notification and can choose to accept or ignore your request.
If they accept, you will be connected on LinkedIn and be able to message them directly through the LinkedIn messaging system. To start a conversation this way, go to their profile and click on the ‘Message’ button in the top right.
This will allow you to send them an initial message and engage in an ongoing conversation if they reply. Through messaging, you can request contact details or continue communicating with them directly on LinkedIn.
Downloading contact info from LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s enhanced recruitment and talent acquisition platform designed specifically for recruiters and hiring managers. One of the features included with Recruiter is the ability to export a candidate’s contact information from their LinkedIn profile into a CSV file.
This provides recruiters with a simple way to batch download contact details like name, location, company, position, and email address (if made public). The download functionality makes it easy to pull contact info for multiple prospects off LinkedIn quickly.
However, downloading through Recruiter requires a paid Recruiter license. It is against LinkedIn’s terms of service to scrape or export data without permission. Only recruiters actively engaging with prospects and using Recruiter for its intended purposes should utilize this feature.
Using an email finding tool
There are various third party tools and browser extensions that can help find email addresses associated with a LinkedIn profile. These tools scour the web and public sources looking for email formats matching the person’s name and company domain.
Some popular email finding tools include:
- Clearbit Connect
- Voila Norbert
- RocketReach
- Hunter
However, it is important to carefully vet any tools you use and ensure they align with LinkedIn’s terms of service. Automated scraping without permission is prohibited. Make sure any email finding tool you use is accessing publicly available information only and not scraping or harvesting data from LinkedIn illegally.
Asking for an introduction
If you do not already have a connection to the LinkedIn member, another option is to ask someone for an introduction. Here are the steps:
- Identify if any of your existing first-degree LinkedIn connections also share a connection with the person you want to contact.
- Reach out to your shared connection and request they introduce you. Often a friendly email or message asking for an introduction is all that’s needed.
- If they agree to make the introduction, they can connect you directly through LinkedIn’s introduction feature or over email.
- Once introduced, you can then message the person directly and request contact details or continue the conversation on LinkedIn.
Tapping into your existing network to make new connections can be more effective than cold outreach. People are often more receptive when you have been referred or introduced by a mutual contact.
InMail on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s InMail system allows you to directly contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you are not currently connected. InMail messages go to the person’s LinkedIn inbox rather than their regular email.
To start an InMail conversation you need a premium LinkedIn account. Here are the steps:
- Click on the ‘Connect’ button on a member’s profile
- Select the option to ‘Send InMail’
- Compose your message and send it
- The recipient will receive your InMail in their LinkedIn inbox
- If they reply, an ongoing InMail conversation will be started
- You can request contact details or continue communicating over InMail
This gives you a way to reach anyone on LinkedIn, even if they haven’t made their email public. Through an InMail conversation you may be able to request and receive their direct contact information.
Considering privacy and ethics
When seeking to get contact details from LinkedIn, it’s vital to act ethically and respect privacy. Avoid any tactics that could be considered scraping, harvesting, or buying and selling data without consent.
Here are some best practices:
- Only use public information members have agreed to share.
- If requesting an introduction, be transparent about your reasons for connecting.
- Make any InMail or connection requests individually, no mass messaging.
- Honor requests from members who ask you not to contact them.
- Do not use third party scrapers, bots, or automated tools to collect information.
Adhering to these principles helps ensure you get contact details in a legitimate manner consistent with LinkedIn’s policies. Transparency, honesty, and respect should be central in making any outreach.
Conclusion
There are many appropriate ways to obtain contact details from LinkedIn profiles including searching, connecting, asking for introductions, InMail, and LinkedIn Recruiter. The best approach depends on your specific circumstances and relationship with the member.
However, it’s critical that you only use public information members have agreed to share, and avoid any tactics that could constitute harvesting private data. With a combination of tools and networking techniques, you can ethically gather contact details for your outreach needs.
| Method | How it Works | Things to Consider |
|---|---|---|
| Search LinkedIn | Look for contact info directly on member profiles that is made publicly available like name, location, company, email address etc. | Only some members make their email address public. Requires desired info to already be visible on profile. |
| Connect on LinkedIn | Send connection requests to members and communicate over LinkedIn messaging if they accept. | Member has to agree to connect with you first before you can message them. |
| LinkedIn Recruiter | Recruiters can download contact details as a CSV through Recruiter platform. | Requires paid Recruiter license. For legitimate recruiting use cases only. |
| Email finding tools | Browser extensions and third party tools can find emails associated with LinkedIn profiles. | Use with caution. Tools must abide by LinkedIn’s terms of service and only use public information sources. |
| Ask for introduction | Leverage your network to request a mutual connection make an introduction. | Requires you to know someone who can directly introduce you to your desired contact. |
| InMail | Paid feature to directly message any LinkedIn member through their inbox. | Recipient has to opt-in to continue conversation after receiving initial InMail. |
Key Takeaways
– Only use contact details that members have agreed to make public, respect their privacy.
– Avoid scraping, harvesting, buying/selling data, and other non-consensual tactics.
– Leverage networking and tools ethically to connect with your desired contacts.
– Be transparent in your outreach and honor requests not to be contacted.
– Build relationships and trust to have recipients willing to engage with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions about getting contact details from LinkedIn profiles:
Is it okay to scrape or harvest email addresses from LinkedIn?
No, scraping or harvesting emails and contact details from LinkedIn without consent is strictly prohibited under LinkedIn’s terms of service. Only use public information that members have expressly made available.
What are some ethical ways to find email addresses on LinkedIn?
Ethical options include searching for publicly available email addresses, sending InMails, asking for introductions, networking on LinkedIn, using Recruiter if you have a paid account, and vetted email finding tools that use public sources.
Is it possible to export my entire network’s emails from LinkedIn?
No, there is no bulk export feature for collecting all your connections’ private email addresses at once. You can only export the limited contact details members have agreed to display publicly.
Can I purchase or rent someone’s LinkedIn network data?
No, this would be prohibited under LinkedIn’s policies. Buying, renting, or sharing private LinkedIn data without consent is not allowed.
What are my options if I don’t have any shared connections with someone on LinkedIn?
You can send them an InMail if you have a premium account. You can also explore if any 2nd degree connections may be able to facilitate an introduction. If those options still don’t work, you may need to find alternative contact details beyond LinkedIn.
In Closing
LinkedIn can provide valuable contact details for networking and outreach. But it’s essential you go about obtaining that information in an ethical way, honoring members’ preferences and LinkedIn’s terms of use. By using public data, personal networking, and LinkedIn’s intended features for connecting, you can get the details you need without crossing any lines. If in doubt, reach out to members and ask for consent before gathering any private information. With the right approach, LinkedIn can enable productive professional connections.
