Alumni on LinkedIn

Find out how to connect with alumni on LinkedIn.

The University of Edinburgh's official LinkedIn page gives you access to over 180,000 alumni worldwide, and the built-in Alumni Tool lets you see:

  • where they’re located
  • which companies they work for
  • what they do
  • what they studied
  • what they’re skilled at

All of which helps you easily do things like:

  • find people to connect with (and potentially get inside referrals) at your dream company
  • get insight on how to get a job in a field unrelated to your current job or degree
  • decide whether going back to school is worth your time and money
  • build your professional network when relocating to a new city
  • connect with high-level performers in your industry

When you have found alumni that you would like to contact, you can do so by connecting with them and sending them a direct message.

Using the LinkedIn Alumni Tool

If you're looking for alumni from the University of Edinburgh, LinkedIn has made it easy for you.

All you need to do is firstly go to the University of Edinburgh's official LinkedIn page. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool can then be used by clicking the 'Alumni' tab.

Now that you know where to find the LinkedIn Alumni Tool, it’s time to learn how to use it to your advantage.

Let’s say you’re looking for a new job. You have an idea of several companies you’d love to work for, but you’re not sure how to go about getting your foot in the door.

Utilising LinkedIn's Alumni Tool will help you find people who you already have something in common with (i.e. the University of Edinburgh), and who may be working at your dream job.

Let’s say, for example, one of the companies you want to work for is Amazon, specifically in a Product Management role. Under the “Where they work” section, you can either click Amazon or type it in after clicking “+ Add.”

LinkedIn Alumni for Amazon

Then, you’ll want to click that “Next” button under the search box, to find the “What they do” filter, where you’ll either add or select the field you want. In this example, it’s Product Management.

Amazon LinkedIn Alumni

If you want to take it a step further, you can also use the remaining filters to find alumni who have a degree in a field similar to yours (“What they studied”), lives in your desired location (“Where they live”), has skills you think are valuable (“What they’re skilled at”), and share a common LinkedIn connection (“How you are connected”).

Advice on contacting alumni

Before you contact anyone on LinkedIn, think carefully about what you want to know and how best to make use of a graduate's valuable time.

Do some background research on their role and organisation. Tell them what you already know, to help them tailor their advice to your needs.

If you’re asking to connect with them:

  • make sure you're on their full profile first
  • add a note to personalise your request
  • don’t send the default message.

Explain who you are and why you’re contacting them. If they accept your connection request, send a follow-up message thanking them and go into more detail about what you’d like to know.

Top tips

Our alumni are busy and may not be able to respond immediately. If you don’t receive a reply:

  • review your message to make sure it was appropriate
  • send a polite follow-up email after a week or so to check that they received your original message.

When you receive a reply, please acknowledge and thank the graduates for taking the time to respond. Keep in touch with them and update them with your progress. You never know when they may hear of a relevant opportunity they could recommend you for.

It can be useful to talk to others in the field. The graduate may be able to suggest other people who can help you. Get specific names and titles and ask if you can use the graduate’s name when setting up any future contact.

Example message to a graduate

Hello <name>

I found your profile in the University of Edinburgh official page. I’m studying History at Edinburgh and am really interested in a career in museum curation.

I saw that you’ve had a variety of curation roles and I’m keen to get your advice. Would you be willing to answer a few questions about your experience?

Many thanks

<Your name>

Questions to ask

You should try to get advice about a role or industry to help you in your career planning and job search. Don’t ask directly for a job or work experience.

Try to avoid asking general questions you could easily find the answer to from the company website. Use this opportunity to ask specific questions - perhaps two or three initially.

To help you get started, here are some examples:

  • What’s the typical route to get into X career?
  • What skills and experience are employers looking for in this field?
  • What did you learn in your course that has really helped you to do your job?
  • What was the recruitment process for your job?
  • Where are vacancies advertised? Are there particular recruitment agencies I could sign up with?
  • Are there things I could do to strengthen my chances? (mention any relevant activities you already do)
  • Does your organisation offer any work shadowing or project opportunities that would allow me to broaden my experience?
  • Are there other career areas that my strengths and attributes make me suitable for that I might not have thought of?
  • What is the typical career progression in this field?
  • Which parts of the field are expanding and likely to offer opportunities in the future?
  • Are there any specialist publications I should read? (mention any that you read regularly)
  • Are there any professional associations I should join?
  • Would you be willing to give some brief feedback on my CV/application?
  • Could you recommend anyone else for me to talk to?

Additional help

If you need more help with using the Alumni tool, please email us at alumni@ed.ac.uk