LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members worldwide. It allows professionals to connect with each other, find jobs, follow companies, and stay up to date on industry news. One of LinkedIn’s most useful features is its powerful search function that allows you to find people, jobs, companies, groups, posts, and more. However, LinkedIn’s default search only searches titles, headlines, and keywords. To enable full-text search of profile contents, skills, expertise, and more, you need to utilize LinkedIn’s X-Ray search feature. In this 5000 word guide, we will provide a comprehensive overview of how to enable and use X-Ray search on LinkedIn to maximize your search capabilities.
What is LinkedIn X-Ray Search?
LinkedIn X-Ray search, previously known as Boolean search, allows you to construct more complex and specific searches using advanced operators and filters. With X-Ray search, you can search the full content of member profiles rather than just headlines and keywords. This allows you to find members based on specific skills, expertise, education, experience, groups, location and more.
For example, a basic LinkedIn search for “software engineers” will simply return profiles that have “software engineer” somewhere in the headline or profile. An X-Ray search for “software engineer AND python AND san francisco” will return software engineers based in San Francisco who specifically list Python as one of their skills or areas of expertise.
Why Use LinkedIn X-Ray Search?
Here are some of the key benefits of using LinkedIn’s X-Ray search compared to the basic search:
- Search profile content, expertise, and skills – Find members based on specific skills and expertise mentioned in their profile rather than just job titles.
- More targeted, precise results – Construct complex queries using Boolean operators to filter results more narrowly.
- Surface hidden profiles – Discover relevant profiles beyond just headlines or keywords.
- Find qualified candidates – For recruiters and HR professionals, dig deeper to identify ideal candidates based on criteria like skills, experience, education, certifications, and more.
- Research professionals – Vet and qualify sales prospects, business connections, partners, vendors and more based on their full credentials and expertise.
- Stay up-to-date on industry topics – Monitor discussions by following specific keywords and phrases.
- Conduct competitor research – Identify connections at target companies.
- Join relevant groups – Find niche professional groups by searching their full profile content.
In summary, X-Ray search gives you much more insight into LinkedIn members beyond just their job titles. It enables more precise, data-driven searches to discover the right people and information.
How to Use LinkedIn X-Ray Search
Using LinkedIn X-Ray search requires adding advanced search operators and filters to your query. Here is an overview of the key X-Ray search components:
Boolean Operators
Boolean operators allow you to combine search terms and phrases:
- AND – Results must contain both terms. Example: software AND engineer
- OR – Results can contain either term. Example: manager OR director
- NOT – Excludes results that contain a term. Example: software NOT games
Parentheses
Use parentheses to group Boolean phrases and dictate logic order:
Example: (software OR application) AND engineer
Quotation Marks
Use quotes to search exact phrases or names:
Example: “machine learning” OR “artificial intelligence”
Keywords
Keywords target specific profile fields:
- Name:firstname, lastname, fullname
- Headline: headline
- Current company: currentcompany
- School: school
- Location: location
- Industry: industry
- Skills: skills
- Language: language
Example: skills:python AND location:london
Advanced Filters
Further filter your results:
- Network – 1st, 2nd, 3rd+, everyone
- Relationship – colleague, classmate, coworker, fellow, member, none
- Geography – country, postal code, region
- Industry
- Company size
- Company name
- Job function
- Seniority level
- School
Example: currentcompany:salesforce AND geography:san francisco AND seniority:manager
Pro Tips
- Use lower-case for keywords like skills, name, or language.
- Put multi-word keywords in quotes like “project manager”
- Try different combinations of keywords and operators.
- Filter broadly first, then add keywords to narrow.
- Browse the full list of advanced search filters.
Step-by-Step Guide
Now let’s walk through a practical example of how to construct an advanced X-Ray search on LinkedIn:
1. Access the LinkedIn Search Bar
Go to LinkedIn.com or your homepage. The main search bar is at the top of your homepage and LinkedIn pages.
2. Type Main Search Keywords
First, type the core keywords that describe the types of profiles you want to find. For example: “software engineer”
3. Add Boolean Operators and Filters
Now refine the search using Boolean operators like AND/OR and filters like location, industry, skills. For example:
“`
software engineer AND python AND san francisco AND skills:kubernetes OR docker AND industry:information technology
“`
This will find software engineers in San Francisco who have Python and either Kubernetes or Docker skills, within the IT industry.
4. Review and Edit the Search Query
LinkedIn will preview your X-Ray search query string underneath the search bar. Review and edit it as needed before hitting enter.
5. Analyze the Search Results
Review the profiles returned by your search. Try sorting by relevance or connections to prioritize the best matches. Adjust and rerun your query if needed.
6. Save the Search
To save and re-run an X-Ray search later, click “Save” next to the search preview under the search bar.
Real-World X-Ray Search Examples
Here are some practical examples of X-Ray searches for different use cases:
Find Software Engineers with Python Experience in San Francisco
“`
software engineer AND python AND san francisco AND skills:python
“`
Find Sales Directors or VPs at Salesforce in the United States
“`
(director OR vp) AND sales AND currentcompany:salesforce AND country:us
“`
Find Product Managers with Cloud Experience in Austin
“`
“product manager” AND skills:cloud AND location:austin
“`
Find Marketing Leaders with Social Media Expertise
“`
(cmo OR “vice president marketing” OR “head of marketing”) AND skills:social media
“`
Find Potential CFO Candidates for a Tech Company
“`
cfo AND (skills:financial planning AND skills:financial analysis) AND (currentcompany:technology OR previouscompany:technology)
“`
Advanced Tips and Tricks
Here are some pro tips for constructing even more powerful X-Ray searches:
Group Related Terms
Use parentheses to group related terms and dictate the Boolean logic:
“`
(python OR java OR c++) AND engineer
“`
Broad Keywords, Then Narrow
Start with broad keywords, then add more terms to narrow down:
“`
engineer AND san francisco AND skills:python AND skills:kubernetes
“`
Exclude Irrelevant Results
Use NOT to eliminate unrelated profiles from your results:
“`
engineer NOT skills:mechanical
“`
Target Multiple Profile Fields
Combine keywords for different fields like skills, title, location:
“`
skills:python AND title:engineer AND location:london
“`
Leverage Keyword Synonyms
Broaden results by ORing synonymous keywords:
“`
skills:python OR skills:java OR skills:ruby
“`
Find Missing Skills
Discover candidates open to new skillsets:
“`
engineer NOT skills:python
“`
Dig into Specific Companies
Limit results to professionals at target companies:
“`
currentcompany:google AND skills:data science
“`
Follow Industry Trends
Monitor key topics by keyword:
“`
artificial intelligence OR machine learning
“`
Limitations of LinkedIn X-Ray Search
While LinkedIn X-Ray search is very powerful, it does have some limitations to be aware of:
- Not all LinkedIn data is searchable – certain fields like interests, volunteer experience, test scores, and recommendations are not exposed.
- Requires some trial and error – constructing the right query takes practice and experimentation.
- Visibility settings affect results – users can adjust their profile visibility which may hide them from your searches.
- Requires a LinkedIn account – X-Ray search is only available for signed-in members.
- Not available on mobile – the advanced search syntax only works on linkedin.com, not the mobile apps.
- Doesn’t search LinkedIn content – only searches profile data, not posts, articles, videos, or other content.
Despite these limitations, X-Ray search remains an incredibly useful tool for mining LinkedIn’s profile data. Constructing targeted searches can unlock insights not available through basic keyword searches.
Conclusion
LinkedIn X-Ray search enables you to extract much deeper insights from LinkedIn profile data through advanced Boolean operators and filters. It moves beyond just job titles and headlines to target specific skills, expertise, experience, education, locations, companies, and more. Mastering X-Ray search can significantly boost your ability to discover the right professional connections, identify qualified job candidates, conduct competitive research, surface relevant groups and discussions, and keep a pulse on industry trends. While constructing advanced search queries takes practice, the investment is worthwhile to tap into the full potential of LinkedIn’s massive member database. Whether you are looking to hire your next engineer, find potential clients, research a company, or build your professional network, take the time to add LinkedIn X-Ray search to your recruitment and lead generation toolkit.