LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. As the go-to platform for making business connections and searching for jobs, LinkedIn sees billions of searches every year as users look to network, recruit talent, and educate themselves.
But what exactly are people searching for on LinkedIn? Understanding the most common LinkedIn searches can provide valuable insights for job seekers, recruiters, marketers, and anyone looking to maximize their presence on the platform.
Job and Career Searches
Job and career-related searches are by far the most common on LinkedIn. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn serves as a major hub for both active and passive job seekers.
Some of the top job and career searches include:
- Job titles – People look for specific job titles they are interested in like “project manager” or “sales representative”
- Company names – Searches for company names help users find open positions and learn about a company’s culture
- Locations – Combining a job title and location like “product manager San Francisco” filters openings by geography
- “Jobs near me” – This search allows users to see relevant openings based on their location
- Industries – Browsing by industry, such as “jobs in finance” or “retail openings” focuses the job search
- Skills – People look for jobs requiring skills they possess, like “jobs for Social Media Managers”
- Job level – Entry level, mid-career, executive and other seniority filters help narrow down options
- Function – Searches for functional areas like “marketing jobs” or “engineering positions” connect users with their field
Enabling job seekers to quickly find open positions in their desired field, location, and seniority is LinkedIn’s bread and butter. The platform’s powerful search functionality and accurate targeting tools make it a go-to for recruitment on both sides of the hiring equation.
Networking and Connection Searches
In addition to job hunting, users also rely on LinkedIn to network and make professional connections. Finding and connecting with the right individuals is critical for building a strong professional network.
Some examples of networking and connection searches include:
- Names – Searching for specific people allows users to view their full profile and potentially connect
- Companies – Browsing employees at a target company to find good contacts there
- Titles – Finding others who hold a desired job title to network with and learn from
- Groups – Seeking relevant professional groups to join for discussion and community
- Schools – Connecting with fellow alumni provides an instant shared bond
- Skills/Expertise – Discovering others knowledgeable in a key area that could be beneficial connections
- Location – Connecting with professionals in a geographic target
- 2nd and 3rd connections – Users search for ways to be introduced through mutual connections
LinkedIn limits users to direct messaging with only 1st degree connections. Therefore, using search to find the right people and groups to connect and network with is crucial for building relationships and expanding your reach.
Company Research Searches
With over 55 million registered companies on LinkedIn, it is also an invaluable platform for researching employers and target clients. Users can take advantage of LinkedIn’s company data, employee insights, and news tracking capabilities.
Popular searches related to company research include:
- Company names – Learn about culture, products, leadership, size, headquarters, etc.
- Competitors – Research competing companies in your market
- Industries – Explore companies in a target industry you want to enter
- New company features – Look for product updates, features, or releases
- Leadership – Research executives and follow leadership changes
- Company size – Filter between small, medium, and large businesses
- Company culture – Read employee perspectives and reviews
- Funding and financials – Search for funding rounds and financial updates
For salespeople, marketers, entrepreneurs and other professionals, having access to in-depth company data can be extremely beneficial. LinkedIn provides a wealth of company insights unlikely to be found through basic web searches.
Industry News and Discussion Searches
Beyond networking and company research, many users also rely on LinkedIn as a source of business news and industry updates. LinkedIn’s focus on professional communities fosters discussions and amplifies news relevant to specific sectors and job functions.
Some examples of industry content searches include:
- Industry trends
- Relevant news events
- Influential thought leaders
- Conference and event updates
- Groups discussing topical issues
- Hastags for topics of interest
- Industry reports and analysis
Staying up-to-date on a target industry’s current events, innovations, concerns, and influencers provides key insights for many professionals. Tapping into the collective knowledge sharing occurring on LinkedIn can be more efficient than scouring the open web.
Educational and Skills Content
LinkedIn serves not just as a networking platform, but as an educational resource as well. Many users turn to LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn newsfeeds to pick up work-relevant skills and knowledge.
Common educational searches include:
- Online course topics – Popular searches include project management, leadership, software skills, marketing, etc.
- Hard skills tutorials – Technical skills like Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, SQL, etc.
- Soft skills development – Time management, public speaking, collaboration, etc.
- Certifications – Exploration of professional certifications
- Degree programs – Browsing online university offerings
- Industry terms – Learning vocabulary of a new field
- Influencers – Following thought leaders to learn from their posts
Investing in continuous learning is key for any professional’s career growth. LinkedIn provides ample resources to pick up valuable new skills without going back to school full time.
Brand Monitoring Searches
LinkedIn is not just used by individuals – brands and marketers also use the platform to research their target audience and monitor brand reputation.
Brand monitoring searches include:
- Brand name – Tracking mentions, news, reviews, partnerships, etc.
- Competitor brands – Research competitors’ LinkedIn activity and followers
- Industry keywords – Listen for relevant discussions on industry hot topics and pain points
- Influencers – Find and connect with influencers that align with your brand
- Lead generation – Use LinkedIn’s lead generation tools to collect prospects
- Target audience – Search for ideal customer profiles and groups to run ads
The world’s largest professional community provides a wealth of data for market research, lead generation, reputation monitoring, and staying ahead of the competition. Savvy brand managers tap into LinkedIn as a valuable business intelligence resource.
Recruitment and Talent Searches
On the other side of job hunting, LinkedIn is also filled with recruiters and hiring managers sourcing candidates for open roles. LinkedIn’s unique access to both active and passive talent makes it a top choice for recruitment.
Typical recruitment searches include:
- Candidate name – Vetting specific candidates who have applied
- Job title and skills – Finding candidates for open positions
- Schools – Targeting graduates of specific programs
- Locations – Focusing search on desirable geographic areas
- Years experience – Setting seniority filters on searches
- Companies – Finding candidates at competitors or industry leaders
- Groups – Joining niche alumni and industry groups to source members
- 2nd & 3rd connections – Reaching out through mutual connections
While job sites index applicants who are actively looking, LinkedIn opens up the entire professional world to recruiters. The ability to search both active and passive candidates makes LinkedIn an essential recruitment platform.
Conclusion
LinkedIn boasts a robust search functionality that caters to a diverse set of professional needs. Core uses like job seeking, networking, recruitment, and company research account for much of LinkedIn’s search volume. But users also rely on the platform more broadly for industry insights, skill-building, and even brand monitoring.
Understanding the types of searches conducted on LinkedIn can help you better optimize your own profile, posts, and activity on the platform. It also provides valuable perspective into how professionals across all industries leverage LinkedIn to meet their goals.
While the larger labor market continues to shift online, LinkedIn has solidified its status as the go-to platform for digital networking and recruitment. Recognizing the specific information people seek on LinkedIn today can help anyone use the tool more effectively for their own career or business objectives.
With Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, we can expect continued investment in search and artificial intelligence capabilities. This will likely only expand LinkedIn’s data resources and ability to connect professionals with the people, jobs, groups, companies, and insights they value most.