How to source on LinkedIn without paying for Premium

LinkedIn Premium costs $800/year. These 7 techniques give you 80% of the results for free — for LATAM recruiters.

The secret LinkedIn doesn't want you to know

Most features you use to find candidates are free if you know how to access them. LinkedIn Premium Recruiter Lite costs approximately $800 USD per year. For a small recruitment agency in LATAM, that's a significant cost — especially when the same searches can be done differently.

The 7 free techniques

1. Boolean Search in the basic search bar

You don't need Recruiter for Boolean Search. It works in the standard search: "country manager" AND (Mexico OR Colombia) AND (FMCG OR "consumer goods")

2. Hidden "People" filters

In People search, click "All filters" and you'll see options most people miss: exact location, current company, past company, university, profile language. All without Premium.

3. Google + LinkedIn (X-Ray Search)

site:linkedin.com/in "country manager" "Mexico City" "FMCG" — Google indexes public LinkedIn profiles. This finds profiles that LinkedIn itself doesn't surface in top positions.

4. Second-degree connections search

Candidates in your second degree are the easiest to contact — you have a mutual connection who can make the introduction. Filter by "2nd" and the response rate triples.

5. LinkedIn groups by industry

Join the 5 most active groups in your niche. You can see all member profiles even if you're not connected — and message them if the group allows it.

6. University alumni

Go to the university's profile (ITAM, Tec de Monterrey, UNAM, Uninorte, UBA), click "See alumni" and filter by graduation year, current company or degree. A goldmine of senior candidates.

7. Hidden "Open to Work"

Many candidates activate "Open to Work" in private mode. You can detect them indirectly: they're updating their profile frequently. Those are active job search signals.