Can you search LinkedIn by company?

When searching for an executive position in your industry, how can you be sure that the person you are looking for has actually worked there before? The answer lies with LinkedIn. If you're using it properly, LinkedIn gives you access to all their information about each individual user (including job history), so you'll have no problem finding out where they've been working! And if you're not quite ready to hire yet, but want to connect with them first, then LinkedIn lets you see what kind of connections they already have - which might give you some insight into whether this is going to be a good match between you as a candidate and them as a potential employer. 

But how does one narrow down their search to find only executives from certain industries? This question was recently posed to me by a client whose goal was to find candidates in her field who had either graduated from a top-tier school or were currently employed at a Fortune 500 firm. She wanted to make sure she wasn't missing anyone who fit both criteria. Here's what I told her:

First of all, let's look at a few ways to limit your results when searching for employees within a given organization.

Can you search someone's LinkedIn posts?

Yes. You can use the Advanced Search feature to pull up individuals based on keywords related to their current career path, education level, etc., or even just a simple keyword search. For example, here's a list of several different fields and skills that you could search under "Education":

You can also go through these options until you get something interesting enough to start narrowing things down. Once you land on an option that seems right, click the arrow next to it to move onto another category. Then keep clicking arrows until you find a section that sounds like what you're after. In our case above, we searched for candidates with degrees in finance or business administration. We clicked on Education & Training, and then selected Finance and Accounting. Next we clicked on Degree Type, and chose MBA/MS. Finally, we selected Graduate Programs. Our final result set looked like this:

If you don't want to sift through every single post on someone's profile page, you can always try a quick Google search for the person's full name along with any relevant keywords. Sometimes, the name alone isn't enough to find exactly what you need, but you may come across additional hits that help you hone in on the exact type of person you're looking for.

For instance, take a look at this screenshot below. My friend Sarah posted two articles on LinkedIn last year, one titled "Why Millennials Are Leaving Corporate America" and one titled "The Best Advice I Got From A Former Boss." Both titles contain words indicative of her role as a financial analyst, but neither article specifically mentions her title. However, since I'm familiar with her writing style, I knew immediately that those weren't random articles she'd written off the cuff -- they must have been published elsewhere. So I did a quick Google search for "Sarah Williams," and voila:

I found plenty of other pieces she wrote for publications outside of LinkedIn as well. It turns out that she blogs for Forbes and writes freelance copywriting projects. That means she probably works with lots of different employers, including those that would never show up in a search for her actual LinkedIn status.

So now that you know how to find people on LinkedIn via search, let's discuss how to filter companies.

How do I filter Companies on LinkedIn?

As mentioned earlier, you can choose to sort profiles according to location, company names, or employee count. But once you hit the Advanced tab, you'll notice that LinkedIn doesn't provide nearly the same amount of filtering capabilities that Facebook does. While you still won't be able to search by country or state, you can view lists of companies by industry. To learn more about how to filter Company data on LinkedIn, check out our guide here.

Once you've done that, however, you should realize that LinkedIn isn't necessarily the best place to conduct research into prospective companies. As mentioned above, many people use LinkedIn primarily as a way to stay connected with old colleagues, friends, and family members. They aren't necessarily actively seeking new opportunities, and therefore may not update their LinkedIn statuses frequently enough to reflect changes in employment. Plus, while LinkedIn provides useful metrics such as total connections and followers, it's unclear how accurate these numbers really are, especially in light of the fact that LinkedIn users can remove and add contacts without penalty.

That said, if you're trying to identify a handful of promising prospects, you might consider reaching out directly to recruiters and hiring managers in your desired industry. Many businesses rely heavily on referrals from existing customers, coworkers, and peers, and often welcome introductions from third parties. Just remember to avoid sending spammy emails asking for personal details unless you're confident that they're willing to share their contact info in return.

Can you search LinkedIn by industry?

No, unfortunately. There are numerous reasons why LinkedIn doesn't allow you to search by industry. One reason is that it takes time and effort to create an Industry Group, and LinkedIn wants to encourage its community to do so. Another is that they don't want to incentivize companies to advertise themselves on LinkedIn.

Another issue is that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly which companies fall into a specific industry. Some big tech firms, for instance, offer services that span multiple markets. Also, when you think of technology, you tend to imagine high-tech startups rather than established corporations, because Silicon Valley tends to attract younger generations of entrepreneurs. Therefore, it makes sense that you wouldn't be able to search for jobs at large tech giants like Apple or Microsoft.

Finally, LinkedIn is focused on connecting professionals with others in their network. Because of this, it's unlikely that LinkedIn will ever include a feature that allows you to search for positions in specific industries. Instead, you'll likely have to settle for viewing statistics about how many people in your target market belong to various professional associations. Of course, these stats can be misleading depending upon how active people are on the platform, so you shouldn't base your decision solely on them.

How do I find industry on LinkedIn?

There's no easy way around this one. Unless you're lucky enough to have an existing connection with someone who knows where they stand in terms of seniority or experience, you'll need to resort to relying on public records. These usually involve digging through websites for news stories mentioning the company in question. Unfortunately, you'll run into problems whenever you encounter a publication that didn't write anything negative about the company.

This brings us back to that whole "referencing your references" thing again, though. Even if you manage to dig up a positive review or endorsement, you'll still need to verify that the reviewer actually worked at the company in question. After all, even if a former colleague says he loved his job, he might not be telling the truth if he left to join a rival firm.

One solution is to ask your reference for proof regarding their past employment. If they decline to hand over documentation, you may have to turn to LinkedIn itself. On the People menu, select Find People & Groups, and then enter the name of the company in the search bar. Clicking More Options underneath Results shows a dropdown box labeled Show Only Members Connected With [Company Name], allowing you to expand your search scope beyond just direct reports.

Alternatively, you can simply browse through the directory of company pages. Since each company page contains a picture, description, and link to the company website, you can easily determine whether they appear to be a reputable operation. If you feel uncomfortable trusting LinkedIn to tell the entire story, you might opt to call the company directly to confirm that the reviewers you've found online truly worked there.

If you've ever looked up your favorite professional on LinkedIn, you may have wondered whether he would be able to tell that you were looking him up because you wanted his help with something. The answer depends on what kind of connection you're making—if it's an "introduction" type relationship, then yes, the person you're contacting probably knows why you are reaching out. But if you want to reach out in order to ask for advice about business development or marketing strategy, there might not always be any way to get around the fact that the two of you don't already know each other. 

The good news is that as long as you aren't asking for anything too personal (like contact information), it doesn't matter much if this person knows you personally or not. So even though LinkedIn allows its users to connect with anyone, many use their connections more selectively than others when searching through profiles. That means that if you're trying to locate a certain individual within a certain organization, you'd likely need to start by using some sort of filter. 

There are several ways to limit your search so that only individuals who work at a given company can appear in your list. In addition to restricting which companies show up under your profile, you can also restrict your search to those people whose jobs are listed as working for a single employer. This could include employees from different departments, but it often includes managers and executives. You'll see these filters along the top of every page when you log into LinkedIn. 

In this article we'll explain all three methods for filtering your LinkedIn search results based on where you work. We'll also take a look at another popular feature called People Searching By Name. If you haven't used it yet, we hope you give it a try!

What does it mean by industry on LinkedIn?

When you go to the Advanced Search tab on LinkedIn, one of the first things you'll notice is the ability to choose between four categories for limiting your search: Company Size, Industry, Location, and More Options. These options will make sure that your search shows only members who fall within a specified range of sizes (or industries) for example. 

With just a few clicks, you can change your default setting for whichever category you prefer. For instance, let's say you like to keep your searches focused primarily on small businesses. Under More Options, click Companies & Industries. From here, select Small Businesses using the drop-down menu next to the word Companies & Industries. Now whenever you run a new search on LinkedIn, you won't see large corporations unless you specifically turn them back on. 

You can also switch off the option for showing companies larger than 50 people, although this isn't recommended since it limits your choice of potential contacts. It's better to leave this field blank to ensure that you see everyone who works at the company regardless of size.  

Similarly, you can adjust the threshold for selecting locations. Instead of having to specify both location and zip code when you enter your query, you can instead choose to display only those who live in a certain geographic area. 

For example, let's say you wanted to see only people living near San Francisco, California. Click the box next to Location and uncheck Zip Code. Now whenever you search for someone in San Francisco, CA, only those who actually reside there will come up. 

The same goes for Industry. To restrict your search to only those who work in a particular sector, such as health care or education, check the corresponding box before typing your query. (Note that if you're not logged into LinkedIn with your account, you'll be prompted to sign in.) 

As soon as you finish, you should see a screen similar to this:

That was easy enough, right? Let's move on to the last method for narrowing down your search results.

Can you search by company size on LinkedIn?

While the above steps allow you to exclude large employers entirely, it turns out that LinkedIn has a built-in tool that helps you identify smaller businesses. All you have to do is head over to the Profile section of your own profile and scroll down until you see the heading titled Work Experience. Here, you'll see links to your resume and job history as well as various milestones throughout your career. At the bottom of the page, you'll also find links to your current employment status and details concerning the type of position you hold.

At the very bottom of that page, LinkedIn lets you add a link to your work experience summary. Just below the title of your profile, you'll see a text field labeled Work Experience Summary. Type your summary there and press Enter. Then save your changes and return to your main profile page. Your entry will now appear directly underneath the headline Job History. It looks like this:

This is a great place to put a hyperlink to your LinkedIn homepage. As you can see, it's the easiest way to point people who are interested in learning more about you to your actual website. If you decide to use a different URL, remember to update that value in the Work Experience Summary field. 

To show up in searches related to your career path, you must complete this step. Otherwise, your listing will simply disappear once you stop updating it.

How do I narrow my LinkedIn search results?

Once you've created a compelling profile and filled out your work history, you'll naturally begin getting contacted by prospective employers. Sometimes, however, you'll end up making contact with someone who doesn't currently work anywhere. Maybe you met her online, maybe she reached out to you after reading your blog post, or perhaps you bumped into her while networking at a conference. No matter how you came across each other, you may now be wondering how to figure out if this person wants to work together. 

One way to do this is to ask yourself simple questions about their background. What school did they attend? Which city do they call home? How old are they? Do they have kids? And so on. Once you've got answers to these questions, you can start digging deeper into their social media presence. 

On LinkedIn, you can learn a lot about the kinds of projects your potential colleague worked on in the past. Check out the Projects tab on her profile, and you'll see a full breakdown of everything she's done professionally. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see a series of boxes containing keywords. Some of these may relate to the types of skills you're seeking. Others describe tasks she performed during her time at XYZ Corporation. 

Depending on whom you're talking to, you may find that the best way to determine if they want to collaborate is to send them a message explaining exactly what you bring to the table. Keep in mind, however, that some organizations frown upon cold emails sent without permission. Before sending your pitch, consider checking HR policies regarding email communication. 

Another possibility is to create a quick survey that asks relevant questions. This approach would be especially helpful if you're dealing with a group rather than an individual. 

How do I do a custom search on LinkedIn?

Sometimes you may still be unable to find the exact candidate you're looking for despite following the tips outlined earlier. In this case, you can always launch a customized search. 

First, visit the Advanced Search tab on LinkedIn and select Customize Search. Next, click on the plus (+) icon next to Filters. Finally, navigate to the section labeled Categories and Companies. Select your desired criteria from the drop-down menus, including the ones discussed previously. After choosing the appropriate options, hit Filter to apply your search parameters. 

After running your search, you should receive a list of results that match what you requested. However, unlike regular searches, you won't see the names of the people who appear in your results. Instead, you'll only see their titles and positions. 

In addition to this, you won't see any additional detail about their careers beyond that basic info. Still, this is sometimes sufficient for finding candidates you can hire. Plus, if you plan on connecting with them via direct messaging anyway, you shouldn't really need to know their names anymore. 

We hope  this guide helped you understand the different ways you can search LinkedIn to find the perfect candidate for your open position. Even if you didn’t find what you needed, keep practicing and eventually you’ll become skilled at using LinkedIn effectively. 

Need more ideas on how to improve your job search? Try our free tools to discover the latest jobs available, find recruiters, and interview confidently. Or continue learning how to use LinkedIn in our beginner tutorial.

When I was first introduced to the world of social media, one thing that really stood out to me was LinkedIn. It seemed like everyone had an account, so why not mine too? And it wasn't long until I realized what a powerful tool this platform could be used for.

But I have always been interested in finding people by their employer or organization. Many times when reaching out to hiring managers about potential opportunities with them, they would say "I am looking for someone from Company X" but never actually give me any details about where they worked. So, I started searching for ways to help myself and others connect with these individuals.

As it turns out, there are several options available to us all across different areas of LinkedIn. Today we'll look at some more practical tips for using LinkedIn to your advantage.

How do you find people on LinkedIn by company?

The easiest way to start making connections on LinkedIn is simply by typing in the name of the company into the main LinkedIn search bar. You can also use keywords such as "company," "industry," etc., which brings up results based on those terms. This may take longer than just typing in the whole company name, but it does make things easier.

You can then narrow down your search further by selecting a location (such as city) or type in a keyword related to the business. For example, if you wanted to see only people working for companies in San Francisco, you would enter "san francisco." If you wanted to limit yourself to smaller businesses, try entering "small business" instead.

Once you've narrowed down your search somewhat, click Advanced Search under the dropdown menu next to People & Companies. From here you can select the type of relationship you want to build - whether you're trying to get hired, network, etc. The other option is to choose Find By Name and specify the criteria for your search. In order to do this, go back to the top of the page and select either Type Of Person Or Job title. Then scroll through the list of options until you find the field you need.

For example, if you were looking for salespeople within a certain organization, you would start with Salesperson. Next, you would add Organization, followed by City/State/Country. Finally, you'd hit Enter to save your filters and move onto the next step. To narrow it even further, you could create a custom filter by clicking Create Filter and adding additional information.

In addition to filtering by company name, you can also refine your search by Industry, Location, Size, Department, Team, and many more fields. There's no need to worry about getting stuck in endless loops because once you set up your filters, you can easily change them later without having to re-enter everything again.

If you're still running into problems narrowing your search down, you should definitely check out our article explaining how to search LinkedIn by department. We cover both general methods and specialized ones that might come in handy for your situation.

How do you find people on LinkedIn by job?

While searching by company can sometimes lead you to the right person, it doesn't guarantee anything. After all, maybe the job isn't listed anywhere online! Luckily, LinkedIn has another feature called Jobs that helps solve this problem. Just type in the job title or description you're specifically seeking after and voila -- you'll find exactly what you're looking for.

However, before you head over to the jobs section, you need to figure out what kind of position you're hunting. Do you need somebody full time, part time, seasonal, temporary, contract, internship, or something else entirely? Once you determine this, you can easily locate the correct listings.

To begin, click the link underneath Where Are All Your Opportunities located below your profile picture. Scrolling down, you'll notice three links labeled Get Started Now, Post A New Job, and Browse Careers. Click the second link to open up a new window where you can post your own ad.

Now you don't necessarily need to fill this entire form out completely. As long as you have your desired role, salary range (if applicable), and contact info, you're good to go. Be sure to include a brief introduction since you won't receive much feedback otherwise. Also, remember to keep track of your postings so you don't miss out on future opportunities.

After posting, you'll immediately receive notifications whenever anyone responds to your listing. Keep an eye out for your inboxes every day or two, especially during busy seasons when companies usually hire lots of employees.

On the flip side, you can also view existing positions that are currently open. Simply click the Employer tab (located above the Jobs section) to browse the openings. Again, you must provide detailed information including the exact job you're applying for. Don't forget to include your resume and contact information as well.

Finally, if you have access to the corporate website, you can often find more open positions directly from there. Check out our guide to finding jobs on LinkedIn if you're curious how to do this.

Can you search followers on LinkedIn company Page?

It seems obvious now, but sometimes it takes a bit of digging around to find out if someone follows a given company's page. However, thanks to LinkedIn's nifty Follow button, it's easy enough to quickly verify if the user behind the handle you're following is indeed connected to the same brand.

Click the Follow Button icon located next to each individual's profile photo in the upper right corner. On the popover that appears, you'll see the username of whoever you're following. If you hover over the username, you'll see the company logo and URL associated with it.

So, while you cannot yet follow specific users, it's certainly possible to search for accounts belonging to a specific company. Go ahead and test it out by checking out how to search for people on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Google Plus, Tumblr, Foursquare, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Spotify, Flickr, Vine, DailyMotion, and more.

Can you search a company's posts on LinkedIn?

One common question I hear is "how do I search for posts made by a company?" While it's true that you cannot search for posts by company itself, you can still use LinkedIn to discover relevant content posted by its employees and customers.

Just like when searching for profiles, you can search for keywords related to the company, industry, or topic you're interested in. For instance, let's say you're looking for content created by Microsoft. Instead of performing a regular search for the word "Microsoft," you can instead enter "microsoft" into the People & Companies box.

This will return results containing names, titles, locations, photos, and videos that mention Microsoft in some capacity. Since LinkedIn only shows publicly visible posts, however, you might end up seeing plenty of irrelevant data unless you carefully read through everything.

That said, you can easily filter by date range, language, and relevance score to ensure you're only viewing posts that meet your needs.

What about accounts owned by a company?

Another big question I'm asked regularly is "can you search for followers who belong to a company?". Unfortunately, you cannot search for followers who belong to a company themselves. But, you can use the built-in tools LinkedIn offers to find accounts belonging to a company.

Go to the Profile tab and navigate to the Account Settings dropdown menu. Under My Connections, click Manage Following. Here, you'll see a list of all the accounts that belong to the company. Each one will show up with a little arrow pointing up or down depending on whether the connection belongs to the company or not.

By default, your dashboard will display all the connections you have regardless of ownership. You can switch between public and private views by switching between Public and Private Views under View Options. These settings apply to the whole site, though, so you might also consider disabling the option Show Only Shared Activities.

In a similar vein, you can also adjust the visibility of your Activity Feeds. Head back to Account Settings and toggle off the Hide Posts With No Reactions setting. Doing so will hide any activity updates from accounts that aren't yours.

Lastly, don't overlook the ability to block unwanted connections altogether. Select Block Connection from the Account Settings dropdown menu. Now, anytime someone tries to join your Network or send you messages, you'll be notified via email.