How Can I Find and Contact Alumni on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the best location to discover alumni quickly. You may view hundreds of alumni profiles in minutes by using the LinkedIn alumni tool, LinkedIn groups, or LinkedIn search.

LinkedIn is excellent for connecting with alumni as it has a huge database of people who have experience in the same field. The search function makes it easy to find specific profiles, but if you want an email address it's still possible by using LinkedIn Groups and Search engines.

There are several reasons why it can be useful to look for alumni on LinkedIn:

Networking: LinkedIn is a professional networking site, and connecting with alumni from your alma mater can be a great way to expand your network and make new connections. Alumni may be able to provide you with insights and advice about your industry or even help you find job opportunities.

Career development: Alumni from your school or program may have gone on to successful careers and can offer valuable advice and mentorship. They can also help you understand what it takes to succeed in your chosen field and provide guidance on your career path.

Job search: Alumni can be a valuable resource when you're looking for a job. They may know of job openings in your field, or be able to provide a referral or recommendation to help you stand out in the hiring process.

Where Can I Find Alumni on LinkedIn?

There are three ways to find alumni on LinkedIn:

1. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool
2. Look for alumni LinkedIn groups
3. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to seek alumni

1. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool

The LinkedIn Alumni Tool is a service that provides information on school alumni and allows you to search for alumni using filters such as job titles, companies, or functions.

In order to use the LinkedIn alumni tool, navigate to a school's homepage and select the Alumni tab.

You will notice a few things:

1. The number of graduates
2. The search bar
3. Information about alumni generally

Using the search tool, you can look for a target segment of alumni:

1. Search for keywords, titles, or company names.
2. Their graduation date

I could, for instance, search for all Law alumni from Oxford.

The outcomes will be displayed at the bottom of the page.

2. Look for alumni LinkedIn groups

There are already several alumni LinkedIn groups on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Search and Sales Navigator make it quite simple to locate them.

Step#1: Go to the LinkedIn search page and select Groups.

Using boolean search, type “School Name”> AND “alumni” into the search field. 

This will seek groups that include the words "Oxford" and "Alumni" in their names.

After you receive these findings, you might join these Linkedin groups to contact alumni. Additionally, LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows group searches. Enter your boolean search (School name AND Alumni) in the Groups filter.

Choose the group in which you are interested and, if necessary, add further criteria. 

3. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to seek alumni 

The robust tool LinkedIn Sales Navigator lets you search the whole LinkedIn database. It makes it incredibly simple to locate former students or employees of a business. If you don't already have an account with Sales Navigator, it's not a problem. You may try it out for free here:

1. Discard the lead filters.
2. Check the filter for the school
3. Type the name of the desired school here.

Once you click "Search," all of the alumni will be listed on the search engine.

You only need to supplement your search with additional parameters, such as these, if you're seeking graduates in a specific location or who work for a specific business:

I'm trying to find all of the Apple employees who attended Harvard Business School and currently reside in the United States.

The procedure is the same if you wish to get in touch with business alums.

How to view a company's LinkedIn alumni:

1. Access the business filter
2. Click Past not current
3. Type the business name

And then you can see all the former employees of Apple, for example. Again, if you want to narrow down your search and find all Apple alumni who are currently serving as CEOs of their companies, all I need to do is add a Title filter to this search.

You can begin contacting alumni after you have their LinkedIn URLs and emails.

How Can I Contact Alumni on LinkedIn?

There are three ways to contact alumni on LinkedIn:

1. Form an Alumni group
2. Plan an Alumni event
3. Simply request a catch-up

1. Form an Alumni group

You can try to gather all the alumni of your school/your company into a LinkedIn group.

Example of Alumni outreach:

Hello <first name>,

I'm attempting to organize all of the <school name> alumni into a Linkedin group so that we can remain in touch and network: <Linkedin group link>

I spotted you at <school name> from <start date> to <end date>. Are you open to getting in touch with other graduates of our institution?

Best wishes, TR.

Alumni will see value in this opportunity because everyone wants to grow their network.

2. Plan an Alumni event 

You could try to plan a live or recorded event where you invite your company's or school's alumni. Simply create an event on LinkedIn, then share the link with other alumni.

Example of a networking message for alumni:

Hello, <first name>

I'm planning an event to bring together former students from <school name>:

Although there are many amazing things being done, I think we could be more interconnected. I'm confident that if we communicated more, we could easily assist one other.

This occurs at <place> and <date>. Would you like to join us?

Best wishes, TR.

3. Simply request a catch-up

Your proposition value is lower if you are unwilling to establish any associated groups or events. You might nevertheless do something similar to this.

How to contact former students on LinkedIn:

Hello, <first name>

In order to determine whether we could cooperate in business, I'm contacting former students at <school name>. Really underutilized is our alumni network. We could all gain, in my opinion, from improved communication.

I've seen that you are employed in the same field as me. We shared only a few ties from school. If you'd like to schedule some time in my calendar to discuss the good old days and how we can support one another: <school name>.

Best wishes, TR.