Viewing LinkedIn profiles is a common need for many professionals and job seekers. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 850 million members. With so many users, LinkedIn profiles contain a wealth of information that can be invaluable for researching companies, connecting with professionals, finding job opportunities, and much more.
There are a few different ways to view LinkedIn profiles depending on if you have a LinkedIn account, if the profile is public or private, and what information you need to access from the profile. Here is an overview of the main options for viewing LinkedIn profiles and key things to know.
Viewing Public LinkedIn Profiles
If a LinkedIn profile is public, the easiest way to view it is to simply search for the person’s name on Google or directly on LinkedIn. Public profiles can be accessed by anyone without needing to log in or connect to the user. However, some information may still be hidden on public profiles.
Here are the steps to view public LinkedIn profiles:
- Go to LinkedIn.com and use the search bar to find the person’s name.
- You can also search on Google using “[person’s name] LinkedIn” to find their public profile.
- When you land on their profile overview page, you will be able to see their profile photo, work experience, education, skills, and other information they have made public.
- To see more details, click “See contact info” which will expand sections of their profile. This allows you to view their full work history, education, volunteer experience, licenses and certifications, skills, accomplishments, interests and groups.
One limitation of public LinkedIn profiles is you often cannot view the person’s full connections list or contact information like email address and phone number. But overall, their public profile still provides a good overview of their professional background and qualifications.
Viewing Private LinkedIn Profiles
For LinkedIn members who have set their profile visibility to “Private”, their profiles can only be viewed in full by direct connections. If you try to view a private profile as an outsider, you will see limited information like their photo, name, headline and geographic location only.
Here are ways to view private LinkedIn profiles:
- If you are already connected to the person, simply search for their name and access their profile normally to see all available information.
- If you are not connected, you can send them an invitation to connect through LinkedIn messaging. If they accept, you will then have access to view their full private profile.
- Another option is to find a mutual connection who can introduce you. With an introduction through a shared connection, the user is more likely to accept your connection request.
- You can also try looking up their profile on other sites like a company website or social media to find a way to contact them and ask to connect on LinkedIn.
Having at least a basic LinkedIn account is necessary if you want to request connections to access private profiles. Always personalize connection requests and explain why you would like to connect to increase the chance they will accept.
Viewing LinkedIn Profiles When You’re Not Logged In
If you need to view a LinkedIn profile but don’t have an account or are not logged in, your options are more limited but there are still a few workarounds:
- For public profiles, search for their name directly on Google as mentioned previously.
- For private profiles, try finding the person’s email address or contact form on their company website to get in touch and request access.
- Use a website like LinkedIn Sales Navigator which compiles limited information on both public and private profiles which you can access for free on a trial basis.
- Some browser extensions like LinkedIn Viewer can bypass private setting restrictions, but use carefully as this violates LinkedIn’s terms of service.
Without having a LinkedIn account yourself, your options are much more limited for accessing private profiles. Creating even a basic free LinkedIn account can help provide access to more profiles and tools to connect with members.
Upgrading to a Premium LinkedIn Account
LinkedIn Premium accounts provide the highest level of access to view LinkedIn profiles with additional capabilities beyond free accounts. Two premium account types are available:
- LinkedIn Premium Career: Ideal for job seekers and focused on expanding visibility. Key features include seeing who viewed your profile, direct messaging with recruiters, and profile rankings compared to other applicants.
- LinkedIn Premium Business: Tailored for sales professionals and unlocking insights about prospects. Key features include expanded profile views, searching member contact info, and seeing the reach of posts.
Here are some of the top ways a Premium LinkedIn account can help with viewing profiles:
- See the full list of people who have viewed your profile which can help you expand your network.
- Use InMail messages to contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you are not connected.
- Get visibility into 2nd and 3rd degree connections so you can request introductions through shared contacts.
- Identify contacts working at target companies you want to research or approach for business.
- Access extended profile filters to precisely target your searches by job title, company, location, skills, and more.
The Premium features enhance your ability to research both public and private profiles as well as expand your visibility so others can find and connect with you more easily.
Using LinkedIn Recruiter to View Profiles
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s enhanced talent sourcing platform specifically designed for recruiters and HR professionals. Recruiter provides exclusive access to search LinkedIn profiles using very advanced filters and screening criteria.
Here are some key ways Recruiter augments profile views:
- Apply over 20 specialized filters for skills, experience, education, interests, groups, location, and more to drill down on precise candidate profiles.
- Leverage Recruiter interaction data to see profiles other recruiters are viewing and contacting at target companies.
- Access not just LinkedIn profiles but full resumes of prospects to screen for exact qualifications.
- Integrate profile searches directly with application tracking systems and HR software platforms via API.
- Stay organized with project folders, tracked prospects, and saved searches when conducting high volume recruitment research.
While premium for individuals boosts limited profile visibility, Recruiter offers the most powerful customized tools for professional recruiters to search both public and private profiles to build robust talent pipelines.
Using Profile Views Strategically
When leveraging any of the profile viewing strategies outlined above, be mindful of using the access appropriately. Keep these best practices in mind:
- Only view profiles if you have a legitimate professional purpose in connecting.
- Always customize connection requests and explain why you would like to connect.
- Be thoughtful in how you communicate if requesting access to a private profile.
- Don’t overuse premium features like InMail or abuse extensions that bypass privacy restrictions.
- Monitor your own profile’s visitor activity to understand the types of requests you receive.
Profile viewing can enable powerful networking and recruiting opportunities. But be respectful of other members’ privacy and only access information relevant to building your professional community.
Conclusion
Viewing LinkedIn profiles provides valuable insight into a person’s professional background and business connections but requires following certain access rules based on a profile’s privacy settings.
For public profiles, do a LinkedIn search or Google search to view the openly available information. To see private profiles, LinkedIn Premium account features or direct connections are needed to gain deeper access.
Use profile viewing carefully as an opportunity to build beneficial networking partnerships – not simply to extract information. With mutual trust and consideration, profile visibility can support many positive uses across recruiting, sales prospecting, market research and more.
Profile Type | Public | Private |
---|---|---|
Information Visible | – Photo – Headline – Location – Current Position – Past Work & Education |
– Limited basic info |
View Options | – Search on Google or LinkedIn while logged out | – Connect directly – Get introduction – Use Premium account – Recruiter account |
The key to viewing LinkedIn profiles is understanding the different options depending on whether a profile is public or private. Private profiles require being a direct connection or using premium account features to gain access beyond very basic information.
LinkedIn provides powerful opportunities to network, recruit, research companies, and more. But always be mindful of respecting the privacy of other users by following appropriate connection protocols. With the right approach, viewed profiles can become valuable professional assets.