How to Research Someone on LinkedIn Before a Meeting

Why LinkedIn Is Your Best Pre-Meeting Research Tool

LinkedIn has over 1 billion members as of 2026. Unlike Twitter or Instagram, it is specifically designed for professional context. Every piece of information on a LinkedIn profile, from job titles to endorsements to post activity, tells you something about how that person wants to be perceived professionally.

The mistake most people make is treating LinkedIn like a digital business card. They check the current job title and move on. But a LinkedIn profile is more like a professional autobiography if you know where to look. Here is how to read it properly.

Tactic 1: Analyse Their Recent Posts and Comments

The Activity section of a LinkedIn profile is the most underused research tool available. Click on “Activity” just below someone's headline, and you will see everything they have posted, shared, commented on, and reacted to.

Here is what to look for:

• Original posts. What topics do they write about? If a VP of Sales posts about outbound strategy three times in a month, outbound is clearly top of mind for them. Frame your conversation around that.
• Articles they share. What do they amplify? This shows what ideas they align with even if they did not write them.
• Comments and reactions. Whose posts do they engage with? This reveals their professional circle and intellectual interests. If they consistently comment on posts about AI in sales, that is a topic you can lead with.
• Posting frequency. Someone who posts daily is a thought leader at heart. They care about personal brand. Someone who never posts values privacy. Adjust your approach accordingly.

Tactic 2: Map Their Career Trajectory

Scroll down to the Experience section and read it like a story. Each career move tells you something about their motivations and priorities.

• Internal promotions. Multiple roles at the same company signal loyalty and deep domain expertise. They know their industry inside out.
• Industry pivots. If they moved from finance to tech, they bring a unique cross-industry perspective. Reference this: “I noticed you made the jump from banking to SaaS. That must give you an interesting perspective on risk management.”
• Startup vs. enterprise background. Someone who has only worked at Fortune 500 companies thinks differently than someone from the startup world. Tailor your language to match.
• Tenure in current role. Less than 6 months? They are still learning the ropes and eager to make an impact. Over 3 years? They are an established operator with deep institutional knowledge.

Tactic 3: Use Shared Connections Strategically

LinkedIn shows you mutual connections, and this is one of the most powerful rapport-building tools at your disposal. But there is an art to using them.

• Identify high-value mutuals. Not all mutual connections are equal. A shared connection who is a close colleague is more valuable than someone you both met at a conference once. Pick the strongest mutual connection.
• Ask for a warm intro. If the meeting has not happened yet, ask your mutual connection for an introduction or a quick context-setting message. This is the highest-converting way to start any business relationship.
• Mention mutuals naturally. In the meeting itself, a casual “I see we both know James at Acme. Great guy.” builds immediate trust. But do not force it if the connection is weak.

Tactic 4: Decode Their Skills and Endorsements

The Skills section on LinkedIn is not just a vanity metric. It reveals what someone wants to be known for. LinkedIn lets users reorder their top three skills, and most people put their strongest identity markers first.

If someone's top skill is “Strategic Planning” rather than “Sales,” they see themselves as a strategist first. If “Team Leadership” is at the top, they pride themselves on management. Use this to frame your conversation in their terms.

Also check the Recommendations section. Written recommendations are far more revealing than endorsements. They often include specific stories and traits that give you a more nuanced picture of the person.

Tactic 5: Check Their Education and Volunteer Work

Education and volunteer sections are icebreaker goldmines. A shared alma mater is one of the strongest rapport builders in business. A shared cause or charity creates an emotional connection that transcends the professional.

• Shared schools or programmes. “I noticed you did the MBA at Warwick too. When did you graduate?” Instant bond.
• Certifications. Relevant certifications (PMP, CFA, AWS Certified) show what they invest time in learning. If they recently got a certification, it signals a new area of focus.
• Volunteer causes. If they volunteer for a cause you also support, mention it. But be genuine. Do not pretend to care about something you do not.

Tactic 6: Look at Who Engages With Their Content

This is an advanced move, but it pays dividends. When someone posts on LinkedIn, look at who likes and comments. This reveals their professional network and the people they are closest to.

If their CEO consistently comments on their posts, they have a strong internal relationship with leadership. If industry peers engage, they are well-networked externally. If they get very few engagements, they may not be deeply embedded in the LinkedIn ecosystem, and your research should shift to other sources like Twitter or industry publications.

Tactic 7: Scan the Company Page Too

Do not research the person in isolation. Their company's LinkedIn page contains valuable context:

• Recent company posts. What is the company talking about publicly? Product launches, hires, events?
• Employee headcount changes. LinkedIn shows employee growth trends. A company that grew 30% in the last 6 months is in a different mode than one that shrank.
• Open roles. Check their jobs tab. The roles they are hiring for reveal their strategic priorities more clearly than any press release.

Briefd Automates All of This

Every tactic in this article is valuable. The problem is that doing all of them for a single person takes 10 to 15 minutes. When you have multiple meetings per day, that time adds up fast.

Briefd was built to do this research for you. Paste a LinkedIn URL or enter a name and company, and Briefd analyses the entire profile in 8 seconds. You get:

• Summary of recent posts and content themes
• Career trajectory analysis with key transitions highlighted
• Mutual connections and shared background
• Skills and expertise breakdown
• Company context including size, funding, and growth
• Suggested icebreakers based on real activity
• Tailored talking points for your specific meeting

Sales teams using Briefd report saving an average of 2 hours per day on pre-meeting research while walking into every conversation more prepared than ever. The Chrome extension even lets you generate a brief directly from any LinkedIn profile with a single click.

The Bottom Line

LinkedIn is far more than a digital CV. It is a real-time window into someone's professional priorities, network, and personality. The seven tactics above will help you extract genuine insights that transform your meetings from generic conversations into meaningful connections.

Whether you do this manually or use Briefd to automate it, the principle is the same: the person who shows up most prepared wins. For a broader research framework that goes beyond LinkedIn, read our guide on how to research someone before a meeting or the sales call prep checklist.