LinkedIn advanced search filters allow you to narrow down your search results on LinkedIn to find more targeted profiles and content. Using the filters, you can search for LinkedIn members by location, company, job title, skills, interests, groups, schools, and more. The advanced filters give you greater control over your searches to help you connect with the right people and information.
Why should you use LinkedIn advanced search filters?
There are several key benefits to using the LinkedIn advanced search filters:
- Finds more relevant profiles – The filters let you zero in on profiles that match your specific criteria, such as job title or location. This surfaces better targeted profiles for connecting and recruiting.
- Saves time – Searching through hundreds or thousands of profiles is very time consuming. The filters narrow down results so you can find the right people faster.
- Discovers useful content – You can find relevant articles, posts, and other content by using keywords and filters like date range or content type.
- Gleans insights – Search filters allow you to analyze demographics and trends, such as where certain skills are most prevalent.
- Identifies influencers – You can find LinkedIn influencers in your industry by filtering for engagement metrics and keywords.
- Conducts market research – Use filters to research target companies, competitor profiles, hiring trends, salary info, and more.
In summary, LinkedIn advanced search filters transform your search experience, enabling you to quickly find the people and information that matter most to your goals.
How to use LinkedIn advanced search filters
Using the LinkedIn advanced search filters is easy. Simply follow these steps:
- Go to the LinkedIn search bar at the top of your homepage or the Search page.
- Click on “All filters” next to the search bar.
- Select the filters you want to apply from the categories.
- Enter keywords to search for into the search bar.
- Click the blue “Search” button to see your filtered results.
The key LinkedIn advanced search filters you can leverage are:
Profile filters
- 1st connections – Search only profiles that are 1st connections.
- 2nd & 3rd connections – Search your extended network.
- Group members – Find profiles who are members of specific groups.
- Non-connections – Search profiles outside of your network.
- School – Filter profiles by university or college attended.
- Companies – Search for profiles associated with target companies.
- Location – Find profiles in a selected city, state, country, or zip code.
- Industry – Search within certain industries or sectors.
- Past companies – Filter by companies people have worked for previously.
- Interests – Find profiles mentioning specific interests or hobbies.
Job filters
- Title – Search for specific job titles like “HR Manager.”
- Company – Find people working at target companies.
- Location – Search job postings by city, state, or country.
- Experience – Filter job listings by years of required experience.
- Date posted – Find jobs posted within a certain time range.
- Remote – Search for remote or location agnostic listings.
Content filters
- Included with – Find posts, articles, etc. that mention specific keywords.
- Posted by – Search content posted by certain members.
- Language – Filter content by language.
- Date posted – Search for content within a date range.
- Content type – Filter for articles, posts, videos, etc.
Using these filters in combination allows you to precisely target your LinkedIn searches by multiple parameters. Always start broad, and then narrow down your search criteria for optimal results.
Top examples of LinkedIn advanced search filters
Here are some of the most useful ways to tap into LinkedIn advanced search filters:
Search by location
Finding profiles by location is one of the most powerful LinkedIn search filters. For example, you can:
- Search “site reliability engineer” AND “San Francisco”
- Look for marketers within 50 miles of New York City
- Find developers in Brazil, India, or other countries
This allows you to easily connect with and source talent from specific geographic regions.
Search by company
Target profiles at certain companies using filters like:
- Company = “Microsoft”
- Past company = “Google”
- Company industry = “Hospitals”
Great for researching target companies, finding contacts at key accounts, and recruiting.
Search by job title
Dig into results for specific roles by filtering for job title:
- Title = “Front End Developer”
- Title = “Registered Nurse”
- Title includes words “human resources”
A go-to option for sourcing, identifying key decision makers, and viewing demographics by role.
Search by skills or interests
Target profiles mentioning key skills or interests like:
- Skills = Python
- Interests = Running
- Interests include words “photography”
Great for identifying subject matter experts, enthusiasts, or specialized talent.
Search content by keywords
Surface better content using keywords:
- Included with “UX design”
- Included with #userexperience
- Included with “mobile app trends”
This lets you quickly find articles, posts, and other content on targeted topics.
Search by date range
Find the most recent and timely content by filtering for date range:
- Date posted within 1 week
- Date posted within 90 days
- Date posted after 01/01/2020
Great for staying on top of latest news, articles, trends, and analysis.
Tips for using LinkedIn advanced search
Optimizing your LinkedIn advanced searches will yield better results. Useful tips include:
- Start broad – Use minimal filters first, then narrow down search terms.
- Use multiple filters – Combine filters like title, location, skills for powerful searching.
- Try keywords – Add relevant keywords to your basic filters.
- Check spellings – Double check spellings of companies, titles, skills, etc.
- Filter content – Search articles, posts, videos for targeted info.
- Adjust date ranges – Widen date ranges for more content results.
- Analyze search data – Note impressions, clicks, stickiness to refine searches.
- Save searches – Follow searches on topics you want to track.
Mastering these tips will help you fully leverage LinkedIn advanced search for connecting with the right profiles and uncovering valuable information.
Limitations of LinkedIn advanced search filters
Despite their powerful targeting capabilities, some limitations to note about LinkedIn advanced search filters include:
- Member activity level – Cannot filter strictly by how active profiles are.
- Member age range – No way to narrow results by age brackets.
- Member groups – Only search groups you are a member of.
- Alumni years – Cannot filter alumni by graduation year.
- Past job timeframes – No filters for previous job start/end dates.
- Job seniority level – Cannot search by seniority like Entry Level or Director.
- Follower count – Cannot filter profiles by number of followers.
Workarounds like searching titles, skills, and companies must be used to target seniority level for example. But overall the filters available provide extensive search functionality.
Using Boolean search operators
Boolean search operators like AND, OR, and NOT allow you to further refine and expand your LinkedIn searches. Here are key tips on Boolean operators:
AND
- Matches both search terms – e.g. nurse AND California
- Narrows results down more
- Use for highly targeted results
OR
- Returns results matching either term – e.g. nurse OR doctor
- Expands the search parameters
- Use for more search results
NOT
- Excludes specified term – e.g. California NOT Los Angeles
- Helps filter out unwanted results
- Use to search areas outside a location
Chaining together AND/OR/NOT allows complex searching like “software developer AND Boston NOT startup” which searches developers in Boston but excludes startups.
Advanced search filters on LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter provides additional robust search functionality beyond basic LinkedIn, including:
- Boolean search – AND, OR, NOT operators for complex queries.
- Keyword search – Search across profile details and posts.
- Experience level – Seniority filters like Manager, Director, etc.
- Company size – Filter company size from ranges like 50-200.
- Industry – Use industry filters and sub-filters to refine verticals.
- Function – Search by departments like Finance, Marketing, Engineering.
- Open to new opportunities – Target passive and active candidates.
- Location radius – Set a mile radius from zip code or city.
- Custom lists – Save and organize search queries into lists.
LinkedIn Recruiter integrates with LinkedIn to provide ultimate search precision for sourcing qualified candidates.
FAQs
What’s the best way to search current company in LinkedIn?
To search current company on LinkedIn, go to All Filters > Company > Current Companies. Then enter the target company name. You can further filter by location, title, industry etc. This surfaces employees currently at that company.
Can I search multiple companies at once in LinkedIn?
Yes, you can search multiple companies at once using a few methods:
- Add multiple companies separated by OR – company: “Amazon OR Google OR Microsoft”
- Search by industry to cover many companies
- Use Company size and Location filters to cover an area
How do I find customers using LinkedIn search?
To find customers on LinkedIn, filter by Company, Industry, Location, and Job Title to uncover your ideal customers. For example:
- Industry = Software & Location = San Francisco
- Current Company = [Customer Company Name]
- Title = Director OR Manager
You can also search content they post using keywords about your product or brand.
Conclusion
LinkedIn advanced search filters enable precise targeting of profiles and content. Key filters include location, company, job title, skills, interests, date ranges, and more. Apply multiple filters and Boolean search operators like AND and NOT to refine searches further. While some limitations exist, the capabilities transform LinkedIn searching to quickly connect with relevant professionals and uncover the most useful content.
