LinkedIn is a powerful platform for networking and finding new opportunities. With over 722 million users worldwide, there is an overwhelming amount of information and profiles on LinkedIn. To cut through the noise and find what you need, using LinkedIn’s search filters is essential.
LinkedIn’s search function allows you to filter your searches by criteria like location, company, job title, skills, and more. Properly filtering your searches helps you quickly find the right people and information.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about filtering your LinkedIn searches to get the best results.
Why Use LinkedIn Search Filters
With over 722 million users, LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for business networking and recruitment. But with an ocean of profiles, groups, posts, and other content, searching on LinkedIn without filters is ineffective.
Here are some key reasons why you should be using LinkedIn’s filters to refine your searches:
- Find the right people more quickly – Filter by location, company, job title, skills, education and more.
- Discover relevant content faster – Filter posts, articles and news by keyword, date range, source and more.
- Pinpoint opportunities – Filter job listings by date posted, location, company, job function and more.
- Gain better insights – Filter company and school pages by employee count, industry, location and more for useful info.
- Stay on top of your industry – Filter by keyword, date and source to monitor emerging trends.
- Connect with niche groups – Filter groups by category, membership count and other factors to find your tribe.
The bottom line is that filtering enables you to cut through the clutter and zero in on the people, jobs, content and groups that matter most to you. Taking the time to learn LinkedIn’s filters will enable you to get much more value out of the platform.
How to Use Basic Filters
LinkedIn’s search bar at the top of the homepage is where basic filtering begins. Here are the steps to start filtering your keyword searches right from the main search bar:
- Go to the LinkedIn homepage and enter a keyword into the main search bar. For example, “marketing manager”.
- Review the default “People” filter and change it if needed. You can filter by People, Jobs, Content, Companies, Groups, Schools and more.
- To the right of the search bar, click “All Filters” to open up more options.
- Select filters like Location, Current Company, School and Time to narrow your search.
- Click the blue “Search” button to apply your filters.
- Review, refine and re-filter as needed to get closer to your goal.
Using these basic filters on the main LinkedIn search bar is a quick way to narrow any keyword search by location, company, school and other attributes. Now let’s look at more advanced filters within specific LinkedIn tabs.
How to Use Advanced People Filters
LinkedIn’s advanced filters under the People tab allow you to zero in on the right connections.
To access the People filters:
- Click on the “People” tab at the top of any LinkedIn page.
- Enter a keyword into the search bar. For example, “software engineers”.
- Click “All filters” on the right to open up the advanced options.
Here are some of the key advanced filters under the People tab and how to use them:
Location
Filter your connections by geographic location. Enter a specific city, state, country or zip code to find local contacts.
Current Company
Search by company name to discover employees of interest at target organizations. Useful for networking and recruiting.
School
Enter a school name to connect with fellow alumni. Great for tapping your shared experiences.
Industry
Focus in an industry like healthcare, finance, technology, retail and more. Helpful for connecting with your niche.
Skills
Search skills like Project Management, SQL, Accounting, etc. to find people with abilities relevant to you.
Job Title
Want to target human resources managers? Sales directors? Filter by job title to reach the right roles.
2nd Degree Connections
Expand beyond your 1st degree network by filtering potential 2nd degree connections through mutual contacts.
Experiment with combining filters like Location + Company, or Skills + Industry. The more filters applied, the more your results are refined.
How to Use Advanced Job Filters
Searching for your next opportunity? LinkedIn’s advanced job filters make finding the right openings much easier.
To access the Jobs filters:
- Click the “Jobs” tab and enter a keyword like “project manager”.
- Select your location from the filters on the right.
- Click “All filters” to open up more options.
Here are key filters to leverage under the Jobs tab:
Date Posted
Focus your search on listings posted within the last week, month or 24 hours to find the latest opportunities.
Company
Target openings at specific companies you’re interested in by name. Great for researching potential employers.
Job Type
Filter by job type like full-time, part-time, contract, commission and more.
Job Function
Open up functions like Marketing, Engineering, Operations, IT and others to home in roles.
Seniority Level
Search by seniority like intern, entry level, manager, director and beyond.
Industry
Focus your job hunt within your current industry or explore new ones.
Combine job filters together to really dial in the perfect opening. Try using Date Posted + Location or Job Function + Company to take searching to the next level.
How to Filter LinkedIn Content
Beyond networking, LinkedIn is a goldmine of professional content. But the sheer volume of posts, news and articles can be overwhelming.
Leverage these methods to filter content searches:
- Click the “Content” tab and enter any keyword – for example “small business”.
- Select “Posts” or “Articles” from the left sidebar.
- Use filters like Time Posted, Source and Interactions to narrow the results.
Here are key filters under the Content tab to refine your search:
Time Posted
Set a custom date range like “Last 90 Days” or “Last Month” to view recent content.
Source
Filter content by specific LinkedIn Groups, Companies, Schools and other sources you follow.
Content Type
Focus your search on long-form posts, articles, videos and other specific formats.
Interactions
Prioritize viral content by filtering likes, comments and other engagement metrics.
Stay on top of trends and conversations by combining Time Posted and Source filters for real-time discovery.
How to Use LinkedIn Company Filters
Researching target companies, partners or clients? LinkedIn Company Pages hold a wealth of intel – when filtered properly.
Access Company filters:
- Search any keyword from the LinkedIn homepage to pull up related Companies.
- Click a Company name to open their page.
- Select “All filters” beside the Company Page search bar.
Important Company filters include:
Company Size
Sort company pages by number of employees to research enterprises by size – for example Fortune 500 firms.
Industry
Quickly browse companies within your core industry or related verticals.
Location
Find organizations based in target regions you want to do business.
Combine these filters to identify companies that match specific criteria critical for your goals and partnerships.
Followers
Sort companies by their follower count on LinkedIn to gauge brand awareness and reach.
How to Use LinkedIn Group Filters
LinkedIn Groups make it easy to connect into niche professional communities. But with over 2 million groups, finding the best ones can be tough without filters.
Here’s how to filter Groups:
- Go to the “Groups” tab and enter any keyword – for example “marketing”.
- Select “All filters” on the right to open up the options.
- Use filters like Category, Membership and Visibility to narrow your search.
Key LinkedIn Group filters include:
Category
Browse by category to find specialized groups focused on areas like Technology, Education, Veterans, etc.
Membership
Look for “Largest groups” with 500K+ members or niche groups with under 1,000 members, depending on your needs.
Visiblity
Opt to see just “Visible” groups that are open for anyone to join.
Experiment with Category and Membership filters together to uncover targeted professional communities. Joined relevant Groups to share knowledge and further your career.
How to Filter LinkedIn School Searches
LinkedIn School Pages centralize key info, alumni and news for over 58,000 educational institutions worldwide. But wrestling through all those schools is challenging without filters.
Refine your school searches this way:
- Go to the “Schools” hub and enter any keyword – like “stanford”.
- Click on a School name to open the page.
- Select “All filters” to the right of the search bar.
Handy filters for researching schools include:
Location
Search by country, state, city or other geographic areas to find local institutions.
School Size
Look for student body size, filtering ranges like “50-100 students” or “30,000+ students”.
School Type
Target just Universities, Community Colleges, Online Schools, or other specific types.
Degree Type
Focus on Undergraduate, Graduate, Vocational/Technical and other degrees offered.
Combine Location and Degree Type filters to discover schools offering your desired program nearby. Follow Pages to engage alumni and enrollment prospects.
Pro Tips for LinkedIn Search Filters
Now that we’ve covered all the major search filters available, here are some expert tips to use them effectively:
- Start broad, then narrow – Begin with a wide keyword search, then add filters to tighten your focus.
- Layer multiple filters – Combine 2-3 filters like Seniority + Function or Date + Source for laser targeting.
- Analyze and optimize – Note which filters produce the best results, and reuse ones that work.
- Persist and experiment – Trying different filter approaches yields the best intel.
- Follow search best practices – Use precise keywords, no typos, niche long-tail phrases.
- Check “Past searches” – Revisit and refine previous searches saved by LinkedIn to optimize.
- Create Alerts – Get notified when new jobs, people or content match your filtered searches.
Mastering when and how to filter your LinkedIn searches produces much better results than a general, unfocused search. The time invested in learning these filters pays off exponentially in useful insights and connections.
Top LinkedIn Search Mistakes to Avoid
While filters are invaluable for improving LinkedIn searches, there are also some common mistakes to avoid:
- Using a single generic keyword – Too broad, tons of irrelevant results.
- No location filter – Not specifying your desired geographic area.
- Just one filter – Using multiple filters together produces precision.
- Unspecific job titles – “Manager” vs. “Social Media Manager” or “Product Marketing Manager”.
- Misspellings – Typos return zero relevant results.
- Boolean errors – Incorrect “OR” / “NOT” operators.
- Old content – Forgetting to filter content by latest date range.
- Restrictive filters – Could eliminate good results with over-filtering.
Be aware of these potential pitfalls and double check your filters to avoid them.
Conclusion
Filtering LinkedIn searches is table stakes to cut through the platform’s overwhelming volume of users, companies, jobs, content and groups. Mastering LinkedIn’s filters transforms it from an ocean of noise to a precise tool that surfaces timely, relevant results.
Take the time to explore the full range of filtering options within LinkedIn’s tabs for People, Jobs, Content, Companies, Schools and Groups. Combining multiple filters creates the best quality searches.
Bookmark useful searches and create Alerts so LinkedIn keeps working for you automatically. With the right filters applied, LinkedIn becomes an invaluable asset for networking, recruiting, research, lead gen and career advancement.