How do you search strings in LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a powerful platform for networking and building your professional brand. With over 722 million users worldwide, it’s also a great place to find new job opportunities, business partners, and subject matter experts. However, with so many profiles on LinkedIn, searching effectively is crucial to connecting with the right people and information.

LinkedIn’s search function allows you to search for keywords, names, companies, titles, groups, and more. You can use Boolean operators and quotes to refine your search strings and get more targeted results. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to effectively search strings on LinkedIn.

Use Boolean Operators

LinkedIn’s search function supports the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. Using these operators allows you to combine keywords to narrow or broaden your search results.

For example:

• “digital marketing” AND “content creation” – Returns profiles with both terms
• “project manager” OR “program manager” – Returns profiles with either term
• marketing NOT sales – Returns marketing profiles excluding those in sales

Getting familiar with Boolean operators is key to searching efficiently on LinkedIn. Test different combinations to see which yields the most relevant results for your needs.

Use Quotes for Exact Matches

If you want to find profiles that match an exact phrase or keyword string, enclose it in double quotes. For example:

• “content marketing manager” – Returns profiles with this exact job title
• “University of Michigan” – Returns profiles of those who attended this exact institution

Quotes around search strings give you more control over the results. You’ll get profiles that match the precise keywords you’re looking for.

Search by Name

Searching for names on LinkedIn is straightforward. Just type in the first and last name of the person, such as “Mary Smith”. You can also try variations, like including or excluding the middle name or initial.

If you’re searching a common name, adding additional keywords like location or company can help narrow it down. For example, “Mary Smith Atlanta” or “Mary Smith ABC Company”.

LinkedIn’s search algorithm is quite intelligent about matching names, even if you misspell them or use an alternate spelling. Still, be as specific as you can to get the best results.

Search by Company

To find employees of a certain company, just type the company name into the search bar. For example:

• “Microsoft”
• “Johnson & Johnson”

You can also add modifiers like a location or department name to narrow your search within a company. For example:

• “Microsoft marketing Redmond”
• “Johnson & Johnson research New Brunswick”

Company searches are great for sourcing lists of professionals to potentially connect with or research a target company’s organizational structure.

Search by Title

Looking for a specific job title? Just type it into the search bar in quotes to see profiles that match. For example:

• “Vice President of Sales”
• “Digital Marketing Manager”

You can also add additional keywords like company name or location to find titles within specific organizations.

Title searches are useful for researching similar job roles to yours or identifying subject matter experts by their position.

Search Groups

LinkedIn Groups allow you to connect with like-minded professionals in your industry or with shared interests. To find relevant groups, try searching keywords related to your field or interest areas. For example:

• “marketing”
• “healthcare professionals”
• “Chicago entrepreneurs”

You can also search by group name if you already know of one you want to find. Joining active groups in your niche is a great way to establish yourself as an expert.

Search Schools

To find fellow alumni and browse alumni profiles, search for your university or school name on LinkedIn. For example:

• “Harvard University”
• “Kellogg School of Management”

You can also search within university names by adding modifiers like graduation year, degree, or major. Networking with alumni is a great way to develop valuable career connections.

Use LinkedIn’s Advanced Search

For even more customized search capabilities, use LinkedIn’s advanced search feature. To access it, click “Advanced” next to the search bar.

Some key advantages of advanced search include:

• Specify current company, past company, or school
• Filter by location, industry, title, company size, and more
• Specify relationship level (1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree connections)
• Save common searches to reuse

Here are some examples of advanced search strings:

• Current company=Microsoft AND Location=”Seattle Area” AND Title contains “product manager”
• Past company=IBM AND Graduated=Harvard
• School=Stanford AND Major=engineering

Take time to familiarize yourself with LinkedIn’s advanced search capabilities. The additional filters will help you quickly find the most targeted results.

Search Shared Connections

Finding 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn can help you expand your network through introductions. To see shared connections with a profile, click “See all X shared connections” below their profile photo.

You can also search for shared connections using LinkedIn’s advanced search. Just select the appropriate relationship level (your 2nd or 3rd degree networks).

Messaging shared connections can be a great way to request an introduction to someone you want to connect with.

Use LinkedIn Recruiter

If you frequently search LinkedIn as part of recruiting or sales prospecting, consider using LinkedIn Recruiter. This paid tool allows you to:

• Make advanced boolean searches
• Save and organize search results
• Export profiles to Excel
• Message InMail to people outside your network

Recruiter makes it easy to source, qualify, and engage candidates and prospects at scale.

Optimize Your Profile for Search

Make sure your own LinkedIn profile is fully optimized so others can find you in their searches. Tips include:

• Have a professional headshot photo
• Write an informative headline and summary
• Include relevant skills keywords
• List your experience, education, certifications, publications, and more

Proactively optimizing your profile will help you stand out in LinkedIn search results so the right people can discover and connect with you.

Follow Companies to See Updates

To stay on top of news and job postings from companies you’re interested in, follow their LinkedIn Company Pages. You’ll see their updates in your LinkedIn feed.

This allows you to monitor target employers without necessarily connecting with individual employees.

Join Industry or Interest Groups

Actively participate in LinkedIn Groups related to your professional interests or specific skills/roles. This increases your visibility as an expert in those areas.

When people search those interest areas, your profile will surface more prominently if you’re an active group member posting valuable insights.

Connect with the Right People

As your network grows, your 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn expand significantly. Connecting with influencers and subject matter experts can help you become discoverable to wider pools of relevant contacts.

Focus on connecting with professionals working in your target companies or industries, even if you don’t know them directly. This gives you access to their networks too.

Actively Engage on LinkedIn

The more active you are engaging and sharing content on LinkedIn, the more visibility you’ll gain. Comment on posts, publish your own posts, like and react to others’ activity.

This boosts your profile’s relevance in search rankings so you’re more discoverable by those searching topics you actively discuss.

Check Your Analytics

Under your LinkedIn profile photo, click “View profile” to access your profile analytics. You can see top keywords your profile ranks for and top industries/titles of your profile viewers.

These insights can inform what terms you should optimize your profile for so the right audience can find you more easily.

Conclusion

Mastering LinkedIn search techniques enables you to maximize the platform for networking, recruiting, and branding. Take advantage of Boolean search strings, quotes for exact matches, and LinkedIn’s advanced search filters.

Curate a comprehensive profile, engage actively with your network, and participate in relevant industry groups. With the right optimization and search strategies, you can build fruitful connections with your target audience.