LinkedIn is an invaluable resource to find and connect with people—whether you are looking for investors for your startup or seeking new business opportunities.
Claiming 200 million American users, it is by far the most popular platform for professionals to build new connections.
The best part is, there are several techniques you can adopt to find LinkedIn users and grow your network fast. In this article, we share our favorite ones.
Use LinkedIn’s Search Bar
Similar to Facebook, X, and most other social media sites, LinkedIn has a search bar that you can use to discover its members.
You can find this by clicking the People icon on the top of LinkedIn’s homepage.
To search, type the first and last name of the relevant person and press enter. LinkedIn will display any matching profiles.
Its result page typically displays a photo, name, location, and a headline that may include a designation or a one-line bio. You might also see the current workplace and the last college or school a user has attended.
The amount of information listed will depend on the public visibility criteria the profile owner has selected. Sometimes, all you will see is a name and a headline. Certain users’ profiles might not even appear on your search results. This is because LinkedIn allows members to decide how their profiles can be viewed by others.
For instance, members can choose to display only the basic information, such as their name, region, and number of connections and followers. They can show or hide their profile photo, background image, headline, summary, activities, current and past work experience, education, and a range of other information.
Users can even prevent their profiles from appearing on public searches. If this option is enabled, you will not be able to find their profiles at all.
If the profile you are looking for is not listed under LinkedIn’s search results, it is best to search again after logging in. To create an account, click “Join now” and use your email or Google account to sign up.
Why Sign In to Use LinkedIn’s Search Bar?
There are several advantages to signing in:
- Get access to more search options: These include the ability to type various keywords, such as job title and company, alongside the person’s name. You can also apply different filters, from location and industry to company size and connection level.
- Find more profiles: Some users restrict their profile visibility to LinkedIn members. When you are logged in, you can browse their profiles in addition to the ones visible to the public.
- Search using an email address or phone number: Signed-in members have the option to search profiles with the help of a valid email address or contact number. If LinkedIn finds matches, either in member profiles or posts, it will display them on its search result page. But bear in mind that the people you could discover using this option are limited to those who have enabled the profile discovery feature for emails and phone numbers.
- Browse anonymously: If you don’t want the person in question to know that you have checked their profile, switch the “Profile viewing option” to private mode. You can find this under the Visibility menu in Settings.
- Send connection requests: Once you find the person you are searching for, connecting with them is easy when you have a LinkedIn account.
- Drop a direct message: LinkedIn’s messaging tool allows you to reach out to the relevant individual without leaving the platform. However, you can only do this if they are a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-degree connection. If you are a premium LinkedIn member, use the platform’s InMail tool to send a message to those outside your network.
Browse LinkedIn’s Recommended Connections
Being a professional networking platform, LinkedIn frequently suggests people its users can connect with based on several criteria, such as:
- Places users have worked or studied
- Their current job role, profession, or industry
- People they follow
- Their activities on the platform
This means, if the person you are attempting to locate, for instance, is a 2nd or 3rd-degree connection or has worked with you in the past, chances are their profile will appear under LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” suggestions.
The easiest way to find them is by clicking the My Network tab and browsing the recommended profiles.
You can also enable the platform to send suggested profiles via emails, push notifications, or in-app alerts. To activate this feature, go into Notifications, select “Connecting with others”, and click “New connection recommendations”.
Connect Your to LinkedIn
If you want to locate someone in your address book, sync it with your account on LinkedIn and allow the platform to automatically search and find profiles.
The syncing option is available under Account Preferences in Settings.
Search Using a Third-Party Platform
Sometimes, you can find LinkedIn members using a third-party tool.
Google is one of the most resourceful options for this. Just type [name] + LinkedIn and click search, and the search engine will retrieve all the matching profiles it has indexed. To narrow down the results, add details such as a company name, location, job title, or college.
Similar to when searching on LinkedIn, you may need to browse through several search results to identify the person you are looking for.
If you want to save time and find an accurate profile more conveniently, a people search website is a better solution. For instance, when you have a person’s full name, phone number, or even address, you can use Nuwber to discover their LinkedIn profile.
To Summarize
LinkedIn is an important resource for finding useful contacts, whether you are searching for a coworker you have lost touch with or want to reach out to a potential investor for your startup.
The platform’s search bar is an excellent tool for browsing its millions of profiles. LinkedIn also offers extra functionality when you have signed up for an account.
In addition, you can check its suggested profiles or try syncing your address book if you have the relevant person’s contact details.
Using third-party search platforms is another option you may want to consider. For instance, Google and similar search engines could help discover LinkedIn members using a range of search terms. People search websites are also effective, especially when you want to save time.
