LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network, making it an essential tool for recruiters, sales professionals, and anyone looking to connect with colleagues or research a new contact. But its search functionality goes far beyond just typing in a name.

This guide will teach you how to use LinkedIn's powerful search tools to find exactly who you're looking for.

1. The Basics: Name, Title, and Company

The main search bar is your starting point. You can enter a person's name, but for better results, combine it with a company or job title.

After your initial search, always click the "People" filter to narrow the results to profiles.

2. Use the "All Filters" Power-Up

The real power of LinkedIn search lies in its filters. After searching, click the "All Filters" button to open a panel of options:

  • Connections: Filter by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd+ degree connections to see how you're connected.
  • Locations: Target your search to a specific city, state, or country.
  • Current Company: Find everyone who currently works at a specific company.
  • Past Company: Locate former employees of a company.
  • Industry: Narrow your search to a specific industry, like "Computer Software" or "Marketing and Advertising."
  • School: Find alumni from a particular university.

3. Speak the Language: Boolean Search

For maximum precision, use Boolean operators directly in the search bar.

  • Quotes (""): Search for an exact phrase, like "Product Manager".
  • AND: Find profiles that include two different keywords, like "developer" AND "Google".
  • OR: Find profiles that include one of several keywords, like "recruiter" OR "talent acquisition".
  • NOT: Exclude a keyword from your search, like "engineer" NOT "software".

4. Searching Outside LinkedIn

You can use Google to find public LinkedIn profiles, which can sometimes bypass LinkedIn's own search limitations.

Go to Google and type: site:linkedin.com/in/ "John Doe" "Google"

This focuses your search on public profiles, which can be a great way to find people outside your immediate network.

The Bigger Picture: ProfileTrace

A person's professional life on LinkedIn is just one part of their digital footprint. They may use a different name or username on other platforms like Twitter, GitHub, or personal blogs.

To get a more complete view, use a tool like ProfileTrace.ai. It scans hundreds of platforms based on a username, email, or other piece of information, connecting the dots that a single-platform search can't.

Expand Your Search with ProfileTrace →