Chapter 07. Beyond LinkedIn
How to Use This Chapter
Open this chapter when LinkedIn yields too few relevant people, or when a role is better
visible through public work, communities, events, referrals, and company ecosystems.
Remember in One Phrase
An alternative source is only useful when it delivers more facts, relevance, or trust — not just
another tab to search.
| If Your Task Is | Go to Section | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Choose sources by role type | Source selection matrix | Priority routes by function |
| Build a plan beyond LinkedIn | Multi-channel plan | A sample source sequence |
| Do not spread yourself too thin | Warning | The usefulness criterion for a source |
| Account for team context | In-house and agency features | Different rules for internal teams and agencies |
Quick Chapter Map
1. Identify where the desired work leaves a trace.
2. Pick 2–3 sources, not 10.
3. Gather facts that help with evaluation or messaging.
4. Feed the data back into the shared market map.
Minimal Start
In 30 minutes, choose one source outside LinkedIn and find 10 potential traces: talks,
projects, articles, company pages, communities, or referrals. Record what fact the source added
to the profile and whether it is worth continuing.
Principle
LinkedIn matters, but it is not the whole market. Strong sourcing combines professional traces,
company ecosystems, public work, communities, events, and referrals.
Source Selection Matrix
Role Type Sources What Facts to Look For
Engineering GitHub, forums, open-source projects, Languages, architectural topics,
engineering blogs project contributions
Data Data communities, tool ecosystems, Pipelines, BI, experiments, data
conferences governance
Product Product communities, podcasts, Product ownership, discovery,
webinars, case studies metrics, launches
Design Portfolios, design platforms, talks Process, constraints, outcomes
on design systems
Marketing Webinars, newsletters, campaigns, Channels, audience,
communities positioning
Sales Podcasts, partner ecosystems, Segment, deal cycle, buyer,
customer stories quota
Operations Associations, transformation case Processes, scale, delivery
studies of outcomes
Leadership Panels, articles, podcasts, advisory Mandate, scale, team building
pages
Multi-Channel Plan: Marketing Manager
1. LinkedIn job titles: demand generation, growth marketing, field marketing, lifecycle
marketing.
2. List of B2B SaaS companies with similar buyers.
3. Webinar pages featuring speakers on campaigns.
4. Marketing communities and newsletters.
5. Case studies from marketing tool vendors.
6. Portfolios and personal websites.
7. Question for sales and customer success: "Who at the companies we respect is running
strong campaigns?"
Warning
More tools do not mean better sourcing. A source is only useful if it improves relevance, fact
quality, personalisation, or funnel cleanliness.
In-House and Agency Features
Context In-House Team Hiring Agency
Access to internal Can quickly connect engineers and Usually limited to client referrals if
referrals managers from adjacent teams they have been agreed
Product knowledge Can use product details more deeply Need to request a safe public brief
from the client
Working with competitors Must account for internal policies Need to pre-agree restricted
and sensitive relationships companies and non-solicit
constraints
Experimentation speed Can test new pools quickly Each significant expansion should
be agreed in writing
Key Takeaways / Where to Go Next
Take away the source selection rule: it must strengthen evidence, personalisation, or market
expansion. If the source is technical, move to Chapter 8 to avoid confusing a public signal
with a technical assessment.
