AIHR_Boolean Search Cheat Sheet

Boolean Search Cheat

Sheet For Recruiters

Discover the Boolean search

operators you need to know

to source the best candidates!

With tightening labor markets, changing

employee expectations, and growing skills

gaps, ﬁnding the right talent is more difﬁcult

than ever.

This makes it even more crucial that you identify

potential best-ﬁt candidates to help your

organization achieve its goals and succeed. So

how do you sift through the noise and ﬁnd the

talent your organization needs?

Boolean search is a tried and tested method that

helps you enhance your sourcing process and

reﬁne your recruitment strategy.

In this cheat sheet, you’ll ﬁnd all the basic and

advanced Boolean operators you need to get

started right away on ﬁnding candidates who not

only meet but exceed job expectations.

Let’s get started!

Identify potential best-ﬁt candidates

77% of global employers

are struggling to

ﬁnd the talent

they need.

Source

Boolean search explained

Discover what Boolean search is, how it works,

and why you should know how to use it.

Page 4.

5 basic Boolean operators

Explore ﬁve basic Boolean operators and

how you can use them.

Page 5.

7 advanced Boolean operators

Take your sourcing game to the next level with

these seven advanced Boolean operators.

Page 11.

Boolean search examples

See how Boolean operators can be

applied to search for different roles.

Page 19.

Bonus: Understanding LinkedIn’s algorithm

Discover how LinkedIn’s algorithm works

to source for the best candidates.

Page 23.

Table of Contents

Boolean search explained

Boolean search uses symbols or words (like

AND, OR, or NOT) to combine keywords and

phrases to reﬁne and ﬁlter your search results.

As a recruiter, you’ll be able to use Boolean on

the majority of candidate sourcing platforms like

LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, or your ATS.

How it works

Boolean search helps reﬁne sourcing by:

● Including multiple keywords: use the AND

operator to ensure all keywords appear in the

search results.

● Expanding the search: use the OR operator

to search for any of the listed keywords or

terms.

● Excluding speciﬁc terms: use the NOT

operator to ﬁlter out results with certain

keywords.

How Boolean helps your search for talent

Boolean search allows you to create more

precise and targeted search queries to ﬁnd

the best-ﬁt candidate faster.

Boolean search increases your candidate

quality by helping you identify those with

the right skills, experience, and qualiﬁcations.

Boolean search helps streamline your

sourcing process, saves you time, and

allows you to focus on high-value tasks.

Boolean search helps you uncover passive

candidates and untapped talent pools

others might miss.

5 basic Boolean operators

Let’s take a look at the ﬁve most basic

Boolean search operators that will help you

ﬁnd more talent in less time:

● AND

● OR

● NOT

● Parentheses ()

● Quotation marks “”

Note: AND, OR, and NOT need to be typed in

capital letters.

Tips to get it right

● Type AND between your keywords or search

terms. Make sure the AND is in capital

letters.

● Start with 2 to 3 highly relevant keywords.

Adding too many will signiﬁcantly reduce the

number of results you’ll get.

● Use space instead of AND in some search

engines like Google to speed up your search

string creation.

1. AND

What it is

The AND operator combines keywords or

search terms to generate results

containing all the speciﬁed words.

Example

You can use this query to search for candidates

who mention “planner” and “AutoCAD” in their

proﬁles:

If your ideal candidate should also have

experience in SolidWorks, add that to your string

like this:

Planner AND AutoCAD

Planner AND AutoCAD AND SolidWorks

Tips to get it right

● Avoid having too many keywords. Making

your search too broad can give you less

relevant results.

● In some search engines, like Google, you can

use the pipe symbol (|) instead of OR.

2. OR

What it is

The OR operator widens your search by

including multiple keywords or phrases. It

tells the search engine to look for results

containing any of the mentioned

keywords, rather than all of them.

Example

You can use this query to search for a candidate

who has experience in different machine types

or industries:

Planner OR industrial OR machinery

Planner | industrial | machinery

Tips to get it right

● Use NOT with vague or overly broad terms to

avoid excluding potentially qualiﬁed

candidates.

● Use NOT to avoid getting too many irrelevant

search results.

● In some search engines, you can use the

minus symbol (-) to get the same results.

3. NOT

What it is

The NOT operator allows you to exclude

speciﬁc keywords or phrases from your

search result. You will be able to narrow

down your search to focus on proﬁles

relevant to your needs.

Example

You can use this query to ﬁnd mechanical

engineers with experience in AutoCAD, but you

want to exclude those who have worked with

SolidWorks:

AutoCAD NOT SolidWorks

AutoCAD-SolidWorks

Tips to get it right

● Use parentheses when bundling synonyms

with the OR operator.

● This operator makes your search more

precise and ensures the correct order of your

keywords.

4. Parentheses ()

What it is

The parentheses () operator helps group

keywords, phrases, or other Boolean

operators together. It narrows down

search to candidates who match all or

some of your desired qualiﬁcations.

Example

You can use this query to ﬁnd a planner in

Cincinnati, your candidates might also live in

Covington or Newport (two small cities in

Kentucky):

Planner AND (Cincinnati OR Covington

OR Newport)

Tips to get it right

● Quotation marks are especially useful when

you’re looking for speciﬁc job titles,

certiﬁcations, skills, or unique phrases.

● Be cautious when using this operator as it can

exclude potential candidates who don’t use the

exact same phrasing as you.

5. Quotation marks “”

What it is

The quotation marks “” operator allows

you to search for an exact phrase or string

of words by enclosing them in quotation

marks. The search engine will only return

results matching the exact phrase you

entered, in the exact order you entered it.

Example

You can use this query to ﬁnd a software

developer with a master’s degree and have

experience with partner management:

“Software engineer”, “master’s

degree”, “partner manager”

7 advanced Boolean operators

Let’s explore advanced Boolean search

operators that you can use to take your

search to the next level.

● site:

● ﬁletype:

● Asterisk *

● inurl:

● AROUND(n)

● NEAR

● intitle:

Tips to get it right

● Specify your search on LinkedIn further by

adding /in/ to your search string. This will

show you proﬁles that match your search

string, but exclude other content such as

posts and articles.

● Using the free version of LinkedIn? The

site:operator lets you use 32 search terms

instead of just 6.

1. site:

What it is

The site: operator allows you to search

for speciﬁc skills or experience within a

target website or domain.

Example

You can use the following search queries in

Google to ﬁnd a mechanical engineer with

expertise in AutoCAD and project management

on LinkedIn:

Add /in/ to your string to only get LinkedIn

proﬁles in your results:

site:linkedin.com “Mechanical

engineer” AND AutoCAD AND “project

management”

Site:linkedin.com/in/ “Mechanical

engineer” AND AutoCAD AND “project

management”

Tips to get it right

● Always combine this operator with keywords

to make your search more speciﬁc.

● Don’t use a space between the colon and the

ﬁle extension. ‘ﬁletype:pdf’ is correct, but

‘ﬁletype: pdf’ is not.

2. ﬁletype:

What it is

The ﬁletype: operator allows you to

narrow down your search results based

on a speciﬁc ﬁle type (PDF, Word

document, or PowerPoint). You can use

this to search for potential candidates

who have uploaded their resumes,

portfolios, or other relevant documents.

Example

You can use the following search query to ﬁnd a

mechanical engineer who has experience in

AutoCAD and project management, and has

uploaded their resume in PDF format:

filetype:pdf(resume OR CV OR

“curriculum vitae”) AND “mechanical

engineer” AND AutoCAD AND “project

management”

Tips to get it right

● Use this operator to search for different

variations of a word or term. For example, if

you search for software* in the browser, the

asterisk could represent the word “engineer”

or “developer”.

● Be cautious when using the asterisk, as it can

generate a huge number of results.

3. Asterisk *

What it is

The asterisk * operator allows you to

represent any number of characters. This

operator helps you minimize the risk of

missing relevant candidates due to minor

differences in how they describe their

experience or skills.

Example

You can use the following search query to ﬁnd a

mechanical engineer:

mechanic* engineer*: the search

string will find results containing

“mechanical engineer”, mechanical

engineering”, “mechanic engineer”

Tips to get it right

● The inurl: operator is not case sensitive.

‘inurl:example’ and ‘inurl:Example’ will give

you the same results.

● Use the inurl: operator for each keyword you

want to search for. If you’re looking for

multiple keywords, you will need to use

multiple inurl: operator in a single query.

4. inurl:

What it is

The inurl: operator allows you to ﬁnd web

pages with speciﬁc terms in the URL. You

will be able to uncover hidden talent

pools or ﬁnd candidates on platforms

other than LinkedIn (like a job board or

personal blog).

Example

You can use the following query to ﬁnd a Python

developer with experience in Flask who has a

blog:

Inurl:blog “Python developer” Flask

Tips to get it right

● Use AROUND(7) to ﬁnd results where your

search terms are no more than 7 words apart.

● Make sure to place your keywords in the

order you want them to appear.

● This operator is a feature speciﬁc to Google

search. Many platforms, including Bing,

LinkedIn, job boards, and ATS systems, don’t

support the AROUND(n) operator.

5. AROUND(n) (Google only)

What it is

The AROUND(n) operator helps you

source candidates with speciﬁc skills or

qualiﬁcations closely related to each

other.

Example

You can use this query a candidate with

experience in both project management and

agile methodology, and you want these terms to

appear within ﬁve words of each other:

Project management (AROUND5) agile

Tips to get it right

● Make sure to place your keywords in the order

you want them to appear.

● This operator is a feature speciﬁc to Microsoft

search engines (such as Bing, SharePoint, or

legal research platforms). Many platforms,

including Google, LinkedIn, job boards, and

ATS systems, don’t support the NEAR

operator.

6. NEAR (Microsoft platforms only)

What it is

The NEAR operator allows you to search

for two or more qualiﬁcations mentioned

close to each other. You will get results of

candidates who excel in both areas.

Example

You can use this query to ﬁnd candidates who

have mentioned their experience in marketing

and content creation in proximity:

Marketing NEAR content

Tips to get it right

● Use the intitle: operator for each keyword you

want to search for. If you’re looking for

multiple keywords, you will need to use

multiple intitle: operators in one query.

● Avoid using very common words with intitle:

unless they are crucial to your search. This

operator works best with speciﬁc and unique

terms or phrases.

7. Intitle: (Google only)

What it is

The intitle: operator restricts search

results with a speciﬁc term in the title. It

helps you ﬁnd candidates who have

explicitly mentioned their job title and

desired location in the title section of

their proﬁles.

Example

You can use this query to ﬁnd candidates that

have software engineer in the title and include

the location:

intitle: “software engineer” San

Francisco

Boolean search examples

In this section, you’ll ﬁnd Boolean string

examples for three common roles that you

might come across:

● Software engineer

● Data scientist

● Account executive

General

Proﬁle

Experience

Criteria

Skills

Resume

Location

Software engineer: sample Boolean strings

"software engineer" OR "software developer" OR "developer" OR "programmer"

● For LinkedIn: ("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND (profile

OR bio OR about.me OR "about me") site:linkedin.com

● For GitHub: ("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND (profile OR

bio OR about.me OR "about me") site:github.com

● For Stack Overflow: ("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND

(profile OR bio OR about.me OR "about me") site:stackoverflow.com

intitle:("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND (experience OR

background OR "work history" OR portfolio) - position -"seniority level"

Search topic

("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND (skills OR "programming

languages" OR "tools and technologies") AND (Java OR Python OR "C++" OR

JavaScript OR SQL)

intitle:("software* engineer" OR "software* developer" OR "developer* resume"

OR "engineer* CV") AND (resume OR CV OR vitae) AND (filetype:pdf OR

filetype:doc OR filetype:docx)

("software engineer" OR "software developer") AND ("San Francisco" OR

"Silicon Valley" OR California OR CA)

General

Proﬁle

Experience

Criteria

Skills

Resume

Location

Data scientist: sample Boolean strings

"data scientist" OR "data science specialist" OR "data analyst"

● For LinkedIn: ("data scientist" OR "data analyst") AND (profile OR bio OR

"about me") site:linkedin.com

● For GitHub: ("data scientist" OR "data analyst") AND (profile OR bio OR

"about me") site:github.com

intitle:("data scientist" OR "data science specialist" OR "data analyst") AND

(experience OR background OR "work history" OR portfolio) -position

-"seniority level"

Search topic

("data scientist" OR "data analyst") AND (skills OR "programming languages"

OR "data tools") AND (Python OR R OR SQL OR "machine learning" OR "deep

learning" OR Hadoop OR Spark)

intitle:("data scientist" OR "data analyst" OR "scientist resume" OR "analyst

CV") AND (resume OR CV OR vitae) AND (filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc OR

filetype:docx)

("data scientist" OR "data analyst") AND ("San Francisco" OR "Silicon Valley"

OR California OR CA)

General

Experience

Criteria

Skills

Resume

Location

Account executive: sample Boolean strings

"account executive" OR "sales executive" OR "sales representative" OR

"account rep"

intitle:("account * executive" OR "sales * executive" OR "sales *

representative") AND (experience OR background OR "work history" OR "sales

record" OR achievements) -intern -"entry level"

Search topic

("account executive" OR "sales executive" OR "sales rep") AND ("CRM" OR

Salesforce OR "lead generation" OR "B2B sales" OR "B2C sales" OR "cold

calling" OR negotiation OR "client relations")

intitle:("account executive" OR "sales rep" OR "executive resume" OR "sales

CV") AND (resume OR CV OR vitae) AND (filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc OR

filetype:docx)

("account executive" OR "sales rep") AND ("New York" OR "NYC" OR "New York

City" OR NY)

Proﬁle

("account executive" OR "sales executive" OR "sales rep") AND (profile OR bio

OR about.me OR "about me") site:linkedin.com

Bonus: Understanding the LinkedIn Algorithm

Understanding how the LinkedIn algorithm works helps you interpret and reﬁne your search results to

ﬁnd the best candidates. Here are several factors that affect your search results:

Relevance

Relevance is determined by the keywords, skills, and

other attributes matching your search criteria. The

more closely a proﬁle aligns with your search, the

higher it ranks.

Proﬁle completeness

A complete proﬁle is more likely to appear higher in

search results. This includes the headline, summary,

experience, skills, endorsements, and

recommendations.

Connections

First-degree connections typically rank higher than

second-degree or third-degree connections. You can’t

search for people who are further than three degrees

from you, so expand your network as a recruiter!

Activity

Users who engage with their network, share content,

and participate in groups are more likely to rank higher

in search results. LinkedIn considers these users to be

more relevant and valuable to the platform.

Location

The algorithm may prioritize candidates who are

located in the same geographic region as the searcher.

Skills & endorsements

The number of skills listed on a candidate’s proﬁle and

their relevance, as well as the number of

endorsements received for those skills, can influence

search rankings.

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