Get Hired
How to Use LinkedIn's Alumni Tool to Find a Warm Contact at Any Company
Referred candidates are roughly 4 times more likely to get an offer than someone applying cold. Most job seekers assume they need a close friend inside a company to get that advantage. They don't. LinkedIn has a built-in, free tool that surfaces exactly the right people, and most job seekers have never used it.
What the Alumni Tool Actually Is
Every school's LinkedIn page includes an Alumni tab, built specifically to show where graduates from that school currently work, filterable by company, role, location, and how you're connected to them.
How to Actually Use It
Open your LinkedIn profile and click your school under Education
Click "Alumni" from the school page menu
Under "Where they work," add the company you're targeting
In the search bar at the top, search "we're hiring" in quotes
That last step filters the list down to alumni at that specific company who've flagged themselves as actively recruiting, exactly the people worth messaging first.
Why This Works Better Than a Cold Application
Referral hires close roughly 10 days faster on average than every other hiring channel. Recruiters already trust the person vouching for you, which means a referral skips much of the initial screening a stranger's application has to survive. For more on how recruiter screening actually works, see What Do Recruiters Actually Search For When Filling a Sales Role?.
If You Don't Have a Strong School Network
The same approach works through LinkedIn's regular people search. Set "Current company" to your target company and "Past company" to anywhere you've previously worked. Former coworkers function the same way alumni do, someone who already knows your name and can speak to your work directly.
What to Actually Say
Reference something specific and real, an actual post, a shared connection, a real detail from your background. A generic "I'm interested in opportunities at your company" gets ignored. A message that shows you actually looked gets a response.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much more likely am I to get hired through a referral?
Referred candidates are roughly 4 times more likely to receive an offer than candidates applying cold, and referral hires typically close about 10 days faster.
How do I find alumni working at a specific company on LinkedIn?
Click your school under Education on your LinkedIn profile, select "Alumni," then filter "Where they work" by your target company.
What does searching "we're hiring" in LinkedIn's alumni tool do?
It filters the alumni list down to people at that company who've indicated they're actively recruiting, making them the strongest first contacts to reach out to.
What if I don't have alumni at the company I'm targeting?
Use LinkedIn's standard people search instead, filtering by current company and any company you've personally worked at in the past. Former coworkers provide the same warm-contact advantage as alumni.
SalesBuddy's Hit List identifies the exact contact to reach out to at every company on your target list.