Using search filters
Once you perform a search on LinkedIn and see the search results page, you can refine your search. You can filter your search by People, Jobs, Content, Companies, Schools, and Groups. You can also filter your search results by how you are connected to a person, location, or current company. In Figure 2-2, you can see the search filters immediately below the LinkedIn search box.
If you are looking for a person with a common name like Joseph Smith, you can filter by location or by his current company to find him. If you are looking for posts that contain the name of a company, you can filter by Content. The results are posts that people broadcast through their LinkedIn feeds.
If you are looking for people who provide a certain service, you can filter by Locations so you know they are located near you. You can also filter by Connections. Choose first for people you are already connected to or second for people who have mutual connections in common with you.
Even more filters are available on the All Filters page. When recruiters search LinkedIn, they often use LinkedIn’s All Filters to find the exact candidate they seek. See what the People search filters look like in Figure 2-3.
FIGURE 2-3: People search filters.
The All People Filters search filters provide additional fields to narrow your search to exactly your target results. You can search by connections, connections of, location, current and past company, industry, profile language, school, interests, and services they offer. You can also drill in even deeper by searching by first and last names, job titles, company, or school. Premium LinkedIn members get access to even more filters such as Years of Experience, Function, Seniority Level, Company Size, and more.
Recruiters typically search by the job titles they are trying to fill and the industry. If they are looking for a candidate in a specific area, they will add the Location to make sure they are only finding people within that area.
Follow these steps to use LinkedIn’s search filters:
1 Go to LinkedIn.com.
2 From any LinkedIn page, enter your desired search terms in the LinkedIn search bar.A drop-down list appears with suggested search results.
3 Click the blue magnifying glass icon that appears to the right of the search box.The full search results page appears.
4 Click People to ensure you are only seeing people within the results and not Jobs, Content, Companies, Schools, or Groups.BOOLEAN SEARCH STRINGSWhen super users of LinkedIn, such as recruiters, use search filters, they often use Boolean search operators to limit and widen the scope of their searches so that they can find profiles that better match their target results. The Keywords, First and Last Name, Title, and Company fields support the Boolean search modifiers of quotes and parentheses, and the Boolean search operators AND, OR, and NOT.If a recruiter is looking for an account manager, encasing the words “account manager” in quotes ensures he or she finds that exact phrase and not people with simply the words “account” and “manager” in their profiles. To broaden a search so that it includes profiles with one or more specific terms, use the Boolean search operator OR. For example, Sales OR salesperson OR “Account Manager” OR “Business Development.”
5 Filter the search results by the degree of connection you'd like to appear in the search results, selected geographic area, or company.
6 To access even more filters (including industry), click All Filters.The All People Filters page appears.
Ensuring a Compelling and Attractive Search Result
Your search result listing is comprised of the following:
Your profile picture
Your name and degree of connection
Your headline
Your location
Your current or past job title and company
Names and total number of connections in common
Services you may offer or if you are currently open to new opportunities
SHOULD I PAY FOR LinkedIn?
There are two types of accounts on LinkedIn: the free and the paid version. The free account is a good starting point for most users. It allows you to do almost everything the paid version does, only in limited numbers and with limited visibility. For example, a free account can only message people within his or her first-degree network, whereas Premium users have access to InMail and the Open Profile option, which enable them to communicate with people outside their first-degree network.
There are various types of paid accounts ranging from $29.99 per month (Premium Career; https://premium.linkedin.com/jobsearch) to $825 per month (LinkedIn Recruiter; https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions). The higher the price, the more you are able to do with LinkedIn.
Although the free account is a good starting point, if you plan on using LinkedIn for prospecting, recruiting, heavy searching, or to communicate with professionals outside your first-degree network, upgrading is necessary.
Premium account members get a badge on their profiles that identifies them as paid users. This badge is a great way to signal that you are a serious LinkedIn user and someone who is responsive to opportunities.
The Premium plans have many selling points that make the monthly or annual fee reasonable. One of my favorite features of the Premium accounts is the ability to see the full 90-day list of Who’s Viewed Your Profile and insights into your audience, such as where they work and their job titles. You also get access to the Open Profile option, which enables you to freely communicate with other Premium members outside your first-degree network.
Depending on the Premium plan you choose, you may get additional search filters, more search result listings, job and applicant insights, more saved searches and unlimited profile searches, and company page business insights.
My recommendation is to start with the basic, free account. Once you start using LinkedIn more frequently, you will begin to feel restricted by the limits of the free account and upgrading will make sense.
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