LinkedIn is a great platform for networking and making professional connections. With over 800 million members, it can be overwhelming to manage your ever-growing list of connections. One way to organize your network is by filtering connections by company. This allows you to easily view the connections you’ve made at specific companies and tap into those relationships.
Why Filter Connections by Company?
There are several benefits to filtering your LinkedIn connections by company:
- Identify connections at your target companies. If you’re looking to move to a new company or industry, you can see who in your network already has connections there.
- Tap into company insights. Connect with former colleagues to get the inside scoop on their employer.
- Find new opportunities. Connections at companies you’re interested in can alert you to open positions and facilitate introductions.
- Organize your network. Group connections to easily identify the companies represented in your network.
- Engage your connections. Refresh old company relationships by liking and commenting on their updates.
Filtering by company makes it simple to identify and engage the right connections for your professional goals.
How to Filter Connections by Company on LinkedIn
LinkedIn provides a simple way to filter your list of connections by their current company, past company, school, location, industry, and more. Here are step-by-step instructions:
- Go to your Connections page on LinkedIn. This can be found under the “My Network” tab at the top of your homepage.
- Click on the “Filters” button near the top right of your connections list.
- Select “Company” from the dropdown menu.
- Start typing the name of the company you want to filter by. As you type, a dropdown will appear with suggested companies based on your connections.
- Select the company you want to filter by from the dropdown.
Once the filter is applied, you will only see the connections who currently work at or have worked at that company in their profile. To remove the filter, click the “X” next to the company name at the top of your filtered list or select “Clear all filters”.
Additional Tips for Filtering Connections
Here are some additional pointers to help you filter your LinkedIn connections by company:
- You can filter by current company to see where your connections work now, or past company to see where they have worked before.
- If someone has worked at a company multiple times, they may show up multiple times in the past company filter.
- You can combine filters, like company and location, to narrow your results even further.
- The number of connections at each company will be shown next to the company name in the filter dropdown.
- Filters will remain applied on your Connections page until you remove them, even if you navigate away and come back later.
Connecting With Filtered Contacts
Once you’ve filtered your list to the company you want to focus on, it’s time to put those connections to work!
Here are some ways to engage with filtered connections at a target company:
- Message contacts directly to catch up and ask for career advice or introductions.
- Comment on company updates to spark a discussion and stand out.
- Share relevant articles and resources to contacts who would find them useful.
- Endorse connections for relevant skills to strengthen your relationship.
- Invite connections to connect on other platforms like Twitter or Facebook.
The more you interact, the stronger your relationships will be. This will increase the chance that they will think of you for job opportunities and other professional needs in the future.
Advanced Filtering Methods
In addition to the basic filtering tool, there are a few advanced tactics for drilling down even further into your LinkedIn connections at a particular company:
Boolean Search
LinkedIn’s search bar allows you to use Boolean operators like AND, OR and NOT to combine keywords. For example:
- “Acme AND Engineer” displays Acme connections with engineer in their profile.
- “Acme NOT Intern” filters out interns from Acme connections.
- “Acme OR XYZ” shows connections from either Acme or XYZ company.
Filters by Job Title, Seniority, and Location
Narrow your filtered company list further by also applying filters by:
- Job Title – Select specific roles like Marketing Manager.
- Seniority – Filter by C-level, Manager, Director, etc.
- Location – See if you know anyone in your desired office location.
Searching Past Companies
Even if someone now works at a different company, you can still find them by searching their past company names. This works well for finding alumni connections.
Connecting with Company Followers and Employees
Follow a company’s LinkedIn page to see their employees and followers. Connect with those who work in your industry or role.
Joining Company LinkedIn Groups
Participate in LinkedIn Groups related to the target company to network with both current and former employees.
Using LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s enhanced recruitment platform designed specifically for hiring. It offers powerful filtering capabilities for targeted searching.
Key features relevant to filtering by company include:
- Boolean search operators
- Filtering by company, title, location, industry, experience, skills, and more
- Ability to save advanced searches as “Projects”
- Team collaboration on projects and pipelines
- Talent pool analysis by role, seniority, and other criteria
Recruiter provides unparalleled ability to segment and analyze your company’s talent pipeline. It is extremely useful for hiring at scale.
Conclusion
Filtering LinkedIn connections by company provides a valuable way to organize your network and identify the right contacts to help you achieve your professional goals. Whether you want to connect with past colleagues, research a target company, or find an internal referral, filtering by company is easy to do.
Start segmenting your connections today. With LinkedIn’s robust search tools and some advanced tactics, you can build focused lists of contacts at desired companies. Strengthen relationships through engagement and you’ll have a professional network ready to help you succeed.