Episode 147

full
Published on:

28th Jan 2017

Advanced Search Is Back! (Sort of)

Welcome to episode 147, this week, I had planned an interview but that didn’t happen so I thought I would talk about something that I know is very important to many of you…..advanced search in the new desktop design.

But first….


New Desktop UI Design Update


LinkedIn have changed the way the data archive operates. Now you can download a smaller set of data more quickly, this is presumably meant to replace the connections download which has been deprecated in the new UI.


Update


On last weeks show  I explained that you can create a custom audience on Facebook from your downloaded LinkedIn connections. I still think this is a good idea but it is worth noting that this is against Facebooks rules.


Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week


Here are the articles I refer to in this weeks episode; LinkedIn Data Reveals the Most Promising Jobs of 2017 Human bot hybrid finds LinkedIn email, phone number-filching holes Microsoft Promotes LinkedIn's Kevin Scott to CTO


Advanced Search With The New UI


LinkedIn released anew video this week showing how you can search for people in the new UI, it’s very basic but they did go on to explain that for more advanced users they have brought back some important boolean operators.


The five operators you can use in the search field are;


firstname: Finds members based on first name


lastname: Finds members based on last name


title: Finds members based on their current title (this one is likely to be the most useful)


company: Finds members based on their current company (keyword search)


school: Finds members based on schools attended (keyword search)


Search operators complement the filters on the right-hand side of the results page and the AND, OR and NOT boolean operators.


Here’s a quick example: to search for current software engineers not named Doe, who have attended either Harvard University or Stanford University, try: title:"software engineer" NOT lastname:doe school:(harvard OR stanford)


When using search operators, remember to use quotes for multi-word search terms, and parentheses for AND, OR and NOT phrases.


If you don’t have the new UI yet, you can still start practicing this technique in the old UI by simply using the main search field at the top of thee page (rather than advanced)


Question: Can I adjust my Sales Navigator Lead builder search results so that I see someone’s headline rather than their job title?


Answer: No you can’t but don’t forget that for the vast majority of profiles, the two are the same.


It is worth noting that job seekers might want to consider making their current job titles a little more descriptive.


As you can see in this screenshot, the information highlighted is my current job title and not my headline.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Support Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users

A huge thank you to our supporters, it means a lot that you support our podcast.

If you like the podcast and want to support it, too, you can leave us a tip using the button below. We really appreciate it and it only takes a moment!
Support Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
A
We haven’t had any Tips yet :( Maybe you could be the first!
Show artwork for Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users

About the Podcast

Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
A podcast for anyone interested in LinkedIn® best practice
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)

This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
Support This Show

About your host

Profile picture for John Espirian

John Espirian

Relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn® nerd, trainer and consultant who specialises in LinkedIn best practice for individuals, small businesses and corporates. I wrote the personal branding handbook Content DNA, I founded the Espresso+ online community for small business owners and I'm the creator of the UK's original independent conference on LinkedIn best practice, UpLift Live.