Founded in 2002, LinkedIn is one of the most widely adopted employment services in the world. The platform combines employment functions and networking features that make it an ideal solution for job seekers as well as companies looking for the best candidates for job openings.
If you’re an employer who wants to screen potential candidates on LinkedIn, you need to know how to find resumes on this platform used by millions of professionals worldwide.
This comprehensive guide outlines how to search for and find resumes on LinkedIn, along with ways to optimize your search to find the best candidates for your company.
Can You View Resumes on LinkedIn?
Yes, anyone can view resumes on LinkedIn for free.
However, those who want to perform more advanced searches—with filters such as zip code, past companies, years of experience, etc.—must pay a fee.
LinkedIn offers three paid candidate sourcing tools:
- LinkedIn Recruiter
- LinkedIn Recruiter Lite
- LinkedIn Talent Insights
If you aren’t interested in spending money on the platform and need an alternative way to find talents on LinkedIn, then the next section is for you.
How to Find Resumes on LinkedIn?
There are three ways to find resumes:
1. Guided Search
You can begin your candidate search by simply typing the role or job title you’re hiring for in the Search by the Job Title bar. Then choose an option from the drop-down menu that best describes the role.
The next detail to add is the preferred location for your candidate. You can enter this detail in the Location bar and choose the most accurate suggestion from the drop-down menu. Or hit Tab if none of the locations suit yours.
You can follow the same process for the Skills search bar and even look for multiple skill sets.
Once you’re done, simply hit Search.
2. Advanced ‘Ideal’ Search
Do you want to find candidate profiles similar to one another? LinkedIn’s candidate sourcing tools should come in handy.
With LinkedIn Recruiter and Recruiter Lite, you can look up candidate names and get similar profiles.
Simply enter the name of the candidate in the search bar and select the ‘create search from ideal candidate’ option in the drop-down menu.
You can further narrow the search by entering the company name and limiting the results to five options.
Once you’ve entered the parameters, click Search. LinkedIn will provide relevant profiles within the filters you’ve set. You can change the filters to further refine the results.
Another advanced search tool is accessible to users with Recruiter Lite. It allows users to find resumes for the Talent pool of a project.
Users can click the Projects tab at the top of the page and look up the project title in the search bar. The results appear on the Talent pool tab and can be modified based on various filters.
3. Boolean Expressions and Operators
Boolean expressions and operators are a set of words or expressions used separately or in combination to refine search results. These expressions can be used in job titles, companies, skills, or keywords.
Boolean searches might use the following in various combinations:
- Quoted searches
- Parenthetical searches
- AND searches
- NOT searches
- OR searches
This is also the order of precedence when multiple expressions are used in a single command search.
Here’s how to use the Boolean logic to find candidates on LinkedIn:
Quoted Searches
Enclosing a phrase in quotation marks can help you find exact matches within resumes.
For example, a search for “content marketer” in quotation marks will help you find resumes that use this exact phrase. This specificity can significantly narrow down search results.
NOT Searches
Adding “NOT” before a term allows you to exclude that term from the search results.
For example: Writer (NOT marketing writer)
The above search input will give you a list of candidates for writers that excludes marketing writers.
AND Searches
AND search inputs are similar to NOT searches, except they command the tool to include the term instead of excluding it.
For example: Accountant AND finance
The above search input allows you to find resumes that include both the terms “accountant” and “finance.”
Note that AND commands aren’t necessary for search terms containing two or more words. These searches will automatically find resumes with all of those terms.
OR Searches
The OR command will help you find resumes that use one or more of the terms listed.
For example: Marketing OR sales OR advertising
This search command will generate results that include one, two, or all three terms.
Parenthetical Searches
Parentheses are useful when you want to combine commands and keep them separate.
For example, here is the command to use when you’re searching for a software engineer that knows either Java or Python: Software Engineer AND (Java OR Python)
Simple Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Candidate Search
Although LinkedIn provides all the tools necessary to find the perfect candidate, understanding how to use them and make the most out of their functionalities is easier said than done.
Here are some tips and tricks to make the best use of LinkedIn’s candidate search features:
- First, determine your requirements for an ideal candidate
- Narrow down your list of search terms
- Use advanced filters, such as experience, skills, location, and more, to get specific results
- Create a list of top-priority filters
- Try exploring ideal candidate profiles to find key terms, skills, and other details for your search terms
- Save your search results as alerts to get notifications on new resumes
The platform’s vast database ensures you can find resumes on LinkedIn with your particular search requirements. If you’re not getting the desired results, keep adjusting your search filters until you get the best potential candidates for the position.
To Sum It Up
With the right tools and knowledge to make the most of them, it becomes easier to find resumes on LinkedIn and hire the right candidate for the position.
We hope this guide will help you optimize LinkedIn’s robust search engine for your company’s benefit.
About Talentprise
Talentprise is a skill-driven AI recruiting platform for employers to find top-fit candidates, while helping job seekers land jobs they deserve.
Keren Dinkin
Keren Dinkin had seven years of work experience in digital marketing and e-commerce before shifting gears and becoming a full-time content writer. She loves words and the power they hold, which explains her passion for writing.Keren is based in California. When she is not at her desk whipping up compelling narratives and sipping on endless cups of coffee, you can find her curled up with a book, playing with her dog, or pottering about in the garden.
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