LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 810 million members worldwide as of April 2021. With its vast database of professional profiles, LinkedIn is an invaluable tool for networking, recruiting, business development, and research. One of LinkedIn’s most useful features is the ability to search for and connect with other members based on criteria such as location, company, school, skills, and industry. But can you also search your LinkedIn connections specifically by job title? Let’s take a closer look at how to best leverage LinkedIn’s search functionality when seeking out connections.
Searching Within Your Existing Connections
LinkedIn does provide a way to search for connections within your existing network by job title. Here are the steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn homepage and click on “My Network” at the top of the page.
- This will bring you to your connections page. At the top, click on the search bar where it says “Search my network”.
- Type in the job title you are searching for, such as “Marketing Manager”, into the search bar.
- Toggle the drop down menu from “People” to “2nd Degree Connections”.
- You can further refine your search using the filters on the left side of the page, such as Location, Company, and Industry.
- LinkedIn will display a list of your 2nd degree connections that match the job title and filters you applied.
This search trick allows you to easily comb through your extended network to find contacts associated with a specific job title. The search can be helpful for seeking out subject matter experts, potential hires or partners, and qualified warm introductions.
Limitations of Title Search Within Connections
While this title search technique is useful, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- You can only search within your 1st and 2nd degree networks, so you won’t see contacts beyond those existing relationships.
- Results are restricted by the accuracy of member-entered job titles. Some members may not keep their profile titles up to date.
- You likely won’t see 100% of matches. LinkedIn search works on a relevancy algorithm so some qualified profiles may be omitted.
- Searches only scan the current title field, so those with a desired title listed only in their work experience may be missed.
For these reasons, you may not surface every connection associated with a given job title through your network search. But it remains a practical starting point when you need to find and connect with niche experts or talent based on their professional focus.
Searching All LinkedIn Members by Title
In addition to searching your connections, you can search the entire LinkedIn community by job title to discover relevant profiles beyond your network. Here is how:
- Go to the main LinkedIn search bar at the top of your homepage.
- Enter the job title you want to search into the search bar, such as “Data Scientist”.
- On the left side filter panel, check the box for “Title”.
- Apply any additional filters like Location, Company, Industry, etc.
- Hit enter and LinkedIn will display all members who have the job title in their profile and match any other filters.
This gives you access to hundreds of millions of professionals indexed by their role. You can send connection requests or InMails to relevant profiles uncovered in your broad title search. However, without any shared connections or background details, outreach may be less effective than through an introduction.
Tips for Effective Title Searching on LinkedIn
Here are some tips to make your title searching more efficient and fruitful:
- Use quotation marks around an exact job title phrase to filter out irrelevant matches. For example, searching for “Vice President of Marketing” rather than just Vice President.
- Try alternate versions of titles like Manager/Director or Engineer/Developer to broaden or narrow your results.
- Filter by Company Size or Industry to pinpoint results.
- Save frequently used title searches to easily rerun them and check for new matches.
- Browse through a few pages of results to uncover profiles that may not appear at the top.
- Refine with Location to turn up leads in your geographic radius.
Finding the Right Connections
In addition to job title, here are some other helpful profile fields you can search through your LinkedIn network:
- Skills/Expertise: Enter key skill sets like “Social Media Marketing” or “JavaScript”.
- Education: Search by university names to uncover fellow alumni.
- Companies: Find connections who work/worked at target employers.
- Groups: Discover those involved in relevant professional groups.
- Interests: Lookup hobby or activity keywords to bond over shared interests.
Combining title searching with filters like skills and companies can help zero in on the best connections for your needs. Multi-dimensional searches enable you to find partners, subject experts, potential hires and more based on multiple attributes.
Finding the Right Connections (continued)
Here are some additional tips for discovering the most valuable connections on LinkedIn:
- Tap into LinkedIn’s sidebar recommendations like “People Also Viewed” while browsing profiles.
- Check out the “Related Searches” module at the bottom of the page for intelligent prompts.
- Follow relevant Companies to see their employees and followers.
- Join targeted LinkedIn Groups to connect with engaged members.
- Follow Company Pages to be alerted when they list new jobs.
- Use advanced Boolean search operators like AND and OR to create precise queries.
- Personalize connection requests using the profile details provided.
The more specific you can be about the types of connections you want to make, the better odds you’ll surface promising leads aligned to your professional needs.
Maintaining Your Connections
Making meaningful connections is just the first step. To cultivate an engaged network on LinkedIn over time:
- Proactively communicate with connections by liking and commenting on their posts.
- Share relevant articles and resources to provide value to your network.
- Congratulate connections on work anniversaries, new jobs, promotions, etc.
- Follow up after connecting to start a dialogue.
- Send personalized InMail messages to introduce yourself and share common interests.
- Offer to make introductions between connections when appropriate.
- Continuously expand your network by regularly searching for and connecting with new contacts.
By regularly interacting with your connections, you become a trusted member of their community. You never know when one relationship might lead to a game-changing career or business opportunity down the line.
Conclusion
Searching LinkedIn connections by job title can unlock quick access to subject matter experts, potential partners, key influencers, and qualified job candidates who already have a connection to you. While title searching has some limitations, it remains a powerful starting point for targeted networking based on professional focus areas and expertise.
Combined with LinkedIn’s comprehensive profile data, advanced search filters, and additional search field options, you can pinpoint the connections that matter most for your personal and professional goals. Just be sure to nurture those relationships over time through ongoing engagement and value-driven interactions.
The ability to search connections by job title is just one of the many features that make LinkedIn an indispensable platform for amplifying your reach. By strategically finding, connecting, and communicating with the right members, you can build an expansive global network that can dramatically impact your career or business success.