How to find someone on LinkedIn by email address

LinkedIn is where business gets done, where credibility is checked, and where conversations start.

But sometimes you’re in a spot where you have one piece of the puzzle: an email address. And what you really want is the LinkedIn profile behind it.

Maybe it’s a lead who filled out a form.
Maybe it’s a newsletter subscriber.
Maybe it’s a prospect who replied to your cold email.

The natural next question: Can I find someone’s LinkedIn profile just by their email address?

The short answer: yes, but not directly. LinkedIn removed its built-in “search by email” feature years ago. But if you know the right workflows, you can still bridge the gap.

This article is your 2025 playbook. I’ll walk you through manual methods, automation hacks, specialized tools, common mistakes, FAQs, and even advanced workflow setups.

By the end, you’ll know exactly how to go from raw email → LinkedIn profile → meaningful connection.

How to find a LinkedIn profile using email?

Think of email as a breadcrumb. It won’t hand you the entire LinkedIn URL, but it will lead you close.

Finding a profile using an email address boils down to two approaches:

Manual: free, simple, slower. You use search engines, company websites, and social platforms.
Automated: paid, faster, scalable. You use enrichment and prospecting tools to process dozens or thousands of emails.

If you’ve got one or two emails, manual search works. If you’ve got spreadsheets full of prospects, automation is the only realistic path.

How can I find the LinkedIn profile of a person whose email I have?

Let’s break this into practical moves you can try today:

Google the email address
- Copy-paste it into Google. If it’s tied to public profiles, you’ll often see LinkedIn results in the first few hits.
Check the company’s website
- Emails with company domains (e.g., @company.com) can often be linked to leadership bios or team pages that include LinkedIn profiles.
Look on other social media platforms
- People reuse emails. Twitter, GitHub, Instagram, even personal blogs sometimes display them. Once you match the name, it’s easy to search on LinkedIn.
Use specialized prospecting tools
- Tools like OutXAI, Hunter, Lusha, or Apollo can match an email directly to a LinkedIn URL. This is the professional-grade option.

Each of these steps solves a different scenario. Used together, they’re powerful.

The best way to find a person by email: summary

If you only need a couple of profiles: Stick with Google, websites, and socials.
If you’re building pipelines: Go straight to enrichment tools.

Here’s the tradeoff:

Manual = Free, slower, requires detective work.
Automated = Paid, instant, scalable.

Choose based on the scale of your work.

How to Find Someone on LinkedIn with Email

Googling The Email Address

It’s the easiest place to start. Drop the email into Google.

If the person used the same email for LinkedIn, forums, press mentions, or public directories, you’ll see traces. Sometimes you’ll get their LinkedIn page in the top three results.

Pro tip: use quotation marks around the email (e.g., "john.doe@company.com") for exact-match results.

Pros: Free, instant.

Cons: Doesn’t always work, especially for private company emails.

Visiting the Company’s Website

When the email is tied to a corporate domain, always check the source: the company site.

Most companies have “About Us,” “Team,” or “Leadership” pages. These often include LinkedIn links or at least names + job titles you can use to cross-search.

This method is especially effective for B2B leads and executive outreach.

People often leave digital footprints across multiple platforms.

Twitter bios sometimes include LinkedIn links.
GitHub often shows the same email in commits.
Personal blogs link to LinkedIn in author bios.

Once you find a matching name and company, it’s simple to run that back through LinkedIn search.

Using a Specialized Tool to Search LinkedIn by Mail

This is the most efficient path for professionals.

Tools like OutXAI, Hunter, Apollo, or Lusha take an email and return enriched data: full name, role, company, and LinkedIn URL.

It’s accurate, fast, and built for scale.

But it usually requires a paid subscription.

For sales teams, recruiters, and agencies—this is the only practical solution.

How to use a Prospecting Tool

Let’s get tactical. Here’s how prospecting platforms help you go from raw email → LinkedIn profile.

Email Lookup

Most platforms have a single email lookup. Enter the email, get:

Full name
LinkedIn profile link
Job title
Company info

This is ideal for one-off checks.

Bulk Search: data Enrichment Tool

Upload a CSV or spreadsheet of hundreds of emails.

The enrichment engine scans them against its database and returns full profiles—names, titles, companies, and LinkedIn URLs.

This turns a cold list into a prospecting-ready database.

Google Sheets Add-On - Enrich Data In Bulk

Some tools (OutXAI included) integrate directly with Google Sheets.

That means: paste emails into a column → run the add-on → get enriched LinkedIn data right inside your spreadsheet.

No exporting, no copy-pasting. Just clean, automated enrichment.

Find a Person by Email VIA a specific Formula

Advanced users build formulas with APIs.

Example: connect Google Sheets to a data enrichment API. Every time you add a new email, the sheet auto-fills LinkedIn profile details.

It’s more technical, but once set up, it runs on autopilot.

Common Mistakes

Even with the right methods, people slip up. Avoid these traps:

Using only manual methods for scale → Searching 5 emails is fine. Searching 500 manually is a nightmare.
Assuming every email maps to LinkedIn → Not all professionals connect their work emails to their LinkedIn accounts.
Relying on black-hat scrapers → LinkedIn bans unsafe automation tools. Stick with compliant platforms.
Skipping verification → Always double-check the profile matches the person before reaching out. Wrong outreach = lost trust.

FAQ

Can I just paste the email into LinkedIn’s search bar?

No. LinkedIn removed this feature.

Is it legal to use enrichment tools?

Yes, as long as the tool operates within compliance. Avoid services that scrape LinkedIn directly.

Does this work for Gmail/Yahoo emails?

Sometimes. If the person uses that address publicly, yes. If not, results may be limited.

What’s the safest option?

Manual search is 100% safe. Tools like OutXAI add scale while staying compliant.

LinkedIn Search by Email Checklist

Before you begin, run through this list:

Search the email on Google (use quotes)
Check the company’s site for team pages
Look for the email on Twitter/GitHub/blogs
Use enrichment tools if you need scale
Always verify identity before outreach

Workflow Automation Setup

For sales and marketing teams, automation saves hours. Here’s a sample setup:

Collect emails via CRM, forms, or imports.
Sync them into Google Sheets.
Use a Sheets add-on (e.g., OutXAI) for bulk enrichment.
Auto-pull LinkedIn profiles, names, and roles.
Sync enriched data back to CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive).
Trigger outreach sequences automatically.

Now, instead of manual detective work, the workflow runs itself.

Lead Capture and Enrichment

Think about your funnel:

Newsletter sign-ups
Event registrations
Demo requests

Every one of those captures an email. If you enrich it instantly, you can identify the LinkedIn profile before you even reach out.

Example:

Someone signs up for your webinar with "alex@startup.com".
Your enrichment workflow pulls in: Alex Smith, Head of Growth, LinkedIn URL.
When you follow up, you reference their role and connect on LinkedIn directly.

That’s a stronger, warmer touchpoint than just “Hi Alex, thanks for signing up.”

Final Thoughts

Finding someone on LinkedIn by email address isn’t as straightforward as it once was. But it’s still possible and in many cases, it’s easier than you think.

For individuals, the free methods (Google, websites, socials) will get you where you need to go.

For professionals working at scale sales reps, recruiters, agencies automation is the game-changer. Tools like OutXAI not only match emails to LinkedIn profiles but also plug into your workflows, turning cold data into warm leads.

The real secret?

Start small. Build a repeatable process. Then automate the parts that slow you down.

Because the faster you can turn an email into a LinkedIn profile, the faster you can turn a stranger into a conversation.