A LinkedIn search allows you to find other LinkedIn members, companies, jobs, groups, posts, and more. Searching on LinkedIn can help you connect with professionals in your industry, research companies you’re interested in, find job opportunities, join relevant groups, and stay up-to-date on the latest conversations happening on the platform. But what exactly goes into a LinkedIn search? What parameters and filters can you use to refine your results? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dig into the nitty-gritty details of how LinkedIn search works.
Searching for People
One of the most common uses of LinkedIn search is to find other professionals. The platform has over 740 million members, so there are tons of connections to be made. Here are some of the ways you can search for people on LinkedIn:
Name
The most basic people search is looking up someone’s name. Just type their first and last name into the main search bar at the top of your homepage. Make sure you spell it correctly – LinkedIn will not show results for typos or misspellings. You can also use quotation marks around a name to search for an exact match, like “John Smith”.
Location
Searching by location allows you to find people near you or in a certain city or country. Click the “Location” filter and start typing in a place. Choose from the dropdown options. LinkedIn will show you members who have that location listed in their profile.
Company
Want to see who works at a certain company? Select the “Company” filter and start entering a company name. Select from the options that appear. You’ll see profiles of people who currently work at that company.
School
Similar to company, you can filter by school to find fellow alumni. Click the “School” filter and start typing in a university or college. Choose from the dropdown list. You’ll see profiles of graduates from that school.
Title
Searching by title allows you to connect with people who have a specific job title. Click “Title” and start entering a title like “Marketing Manager” or “Software Engineer”. Pick from the options. This is a great way to find professionals in your field.
1st Connections
Your 1st-degree connections are people you’re directly connected with on LinkedIn. Choose this filter to only see profiles of people in your network. It will exclude anyone you’re not already connected to.
2nd Connections
Your 2nd-degree connections are people who are connected to someone in your 1st-degree network. Select this filter if you want to explore the broader connections of your connections.
Group Memberships
If you want to find people who are in the same LinkedIn groups as you, use the “Group Memberships” filter. Start entering a group name and select from the list. You’ll see members of that group.
Nonprofit Interests
You can search for people interested in the same nonprofit organizations and causes as you. Click “Nonprofit Interests”, choose a cause like “Education” or “Environment”, and pick an organization from the list.
Skills
Looking for someone with a certain skillset? Use the “Skills” filter to search based on skills that members have added to their profiles. This is great for finding professionals with in-demand abilities.
Searching for Companies
In addition to searching for people, you can also look up companies on LinkedIn. Here are some of the company filters you can use:
Name
Look up a company by name just like you would search for a person. Type the company name into the main search bar or click “Company” and start typing. Make sure to choose the correct option from the dropdown list.
Location
Filter company searches by location to find ones based in a certain city or country. Click “Location” and enter the place you want to target.
Industry
You can search by industry to find companies in a specific sector. Click “Industry” and pick from categories like “Computer Software”, “Banking”, “Higher Education”, and more.
Company Size
To filter between small, medium, and large businesses, use the “Company Size” filter. You’ll see options like “51-200 employees”, “201-500 employees”, and “10,001+ employees”.
Followers
Sort company profiles based on how many LinkedIn followers they have. For example, search for “Companies with 5,000+ followers”.
Searching for Jobs
The job search function on LinkedIn allows you to find open positions and career opportunities. Here are some of the filters you can apply:
Title
Search by job title to find openings for specific roles like “Content Marketing Manager” or “Data Analyst”. Start typing the title and select from the dropdown list.
Company
Look for jobs at a particular company by choosing the “Company” filter and selecting a specific firm. See all their current job openings in one place.
Location
Filter job searches by location if you want to find opportunities in a certain city, state, or country. Click “Location” and type in the place name.
Date Posted
Find the newest job listings by filtering by “Date Posted”. For example, select “Past week” or “Past month” to see recently added openings.
Remote
If you’re looking for remote or work-from-home jobs, use the “Remote” filter. You’ll only see job listings open to remote applicants.
Searching for Content
In addition to searching for people, companies, and jobs, LinkedIn’s robust search function also allows you to find content. Here are some of the filters you can apply:
Posts
Search through LinkedIn posts using keywords, names, companies, etc. See the latest conversations and mentions happening on the platform.
Long-form Posts
Filter specifically for long-form posts like articles vs short status updates. Often has more in-depth insights.
Influencers
Look for posts only from LinkedIn Influencers (industry experts who publish long-form content). Great for finding high-quality articles.
Hashtags
Search by hashtags to find posts about certain topics. For example, #marketing or #leadership. Hashtag search works similarly to other social networks.
Media Type
Filter posts by media type, like video, images, articles, documents, etc. Useful for finding visual content.
Advanced LinkedIn Search Operators
In addition to filters, LinkedIn also supports special operators you can use to refine searches. Here are some advanced tricks:
“Quotes”
Use quotes to search for an exact phrase or string of words, like “content marketing manager”.
AND
Search for profiles that match two criteria by using AND, like “marketing AND London”.
OR
Broaden your search with OR to find profiles matching either criteria, like “engineer OR architect”.
-Keyword
Insert a minus sign before a keyword to exclude results containing that word. For example “software -sales” excludes sales profiles.
Boolean Operators
Combine AND, OR, and NOT for complex Boolean searches. For example “software AND London NOT sales”.
Parentheses ()
Use parentheses to group logic and specify order of operations, like “(manager OR director) AND London”.
Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn Search
Now that you know all the parameters and filters available for searching on LinkedIn, here are some tips for getting great results:
– Leverage advanced search operators like quotes and Boolean logic.
– Try different keyword variations and synonyms.
– Filter broadly at first, then narrow down with more filters.
– Sort results by relevance, date posted, connections, etc.
– Personalize searches based on your own profile and network.
– Look beyond the first page of results.
– Use search alerts to get notified of new matches.
– Customize your LinkedIn feed with hashtags and keywords.
Conclusion
LinkedIn offers robust and powerful search capabilities through its platform. You can search for just about anything – people, companies, jobs, content, and more. Use the available filters and operators to customize your search and get the most relevant results. With over 740 million members and new content constantly added, there are tons of insights to uncover through LinkedIn search. Taking the time to craft targeted searches makes it much easier to connect with the right professionals, research key companies, find ideal job opportunities, and stay on the pulse of industry conversations.