Boolean string search examples: Ready-to-use strings for sourcing

Recruiting can seem like a numbers game.

In practice, the numbers are the problem: the right person is buried in a database of millions, and a sloppy search either returns nothing usable or ten thousand near-misses. Boolean search helps sourcers cut through countless profiles and surface the best candidates for their role. 

This article gives a guide to using Boolean operators to optimize searches on popular platforms, including a range of ready-to-try examples for in-demand positions.

What is Boolean search?

Boolean search uses operators (AND, OR, NOT), alongside keywords, to refine the results returned. By combining operators, you can broaden or narrow your search in precise ways to match the role you’re recruiting. 

Where recruiters use Boolean search

Recruiters run Boolean searches every day across the platforms where candidates leave a trail: LinkedIn, the ATS, Google X-ray, job boards like Indeed and Dice, and technical communities like GitHub and Stack Overflow. Many of these sites offer built-in advanced search filters, which are usually Boolean underneath, but each platform supports a different subset of operators. LinkedIn ignores wildcards, for instance, and Indeed can mishandle NOT. Refining your use of Boolean search for each source exponentially improves the accuracy of your results.

What Boolean search helps you do

Without using Boolean operators, simple searches can surface good candidates, but they’ll be mixed in with hundreds or thousands of irrelevant ones you then have to wade through. Boolean operators filter out the noise: instead of having to go through a thousand candidates that could be relevant, you can narrow the results down to only the most relevant one, saving yourself time.

How Boolean operators work

Core operators: AND, OR, and NOT

Three Boolean operators do most of the work in a recruiting search. Each one changes the size and shape of your results.

• AND combines the essential skills or characteristics you are looking for. For example, if you need a UX designer based in Chicago with Figma experience, you’d search: “UX designer” AND Chicago AND Figma. When you use AND to link terms, only candidates that match all of them will be included in your results, so use this for non-negotiable requirements.
• OR will return profiles that mention at least one of the terms being linked, so it can bring flexibility or widen your search. For example, the previous search would miss candidates who refer to themselves as a UX specialist or UX engineer. To surface these overlooked candidates, you’d search: “UX designer” OR “UX specialist” OR “UX engineer.” OR is useful in capturing candidates using similar terms for the same role or skill or when you have flexible criteria.
• NOT will exclude results including the terms being linked, narrowing your search. For example, when seeking a junior candidate, you could use NOT to exclude people with management experience from your query: NOT manager, NOT management, NOT director.

Syntax for control: Parentheses and quotation marks

Parentheses and quotation marks are also important for making sure your search is unambiguous. In the previous section, quotation marks were used around some of the job titles. Putting quotation marks around a phrase of more than one word means only profiles mentioning that precise set of words in that exact order will be included.

Parentheses set the order in which the operation’s elements should be read. So: (“UX designer” OR “UX specialist” OR “UX engineer”) AND Chicago NOT (manager OR management OR director) would return candidates who are either a UX designer, specialist, or engineer, that are based in Chicago, and are not a manager, management, or director. Without the parentheses, there is possible ambiguity: Management or director could be included rather than excluded, and the Chicago location might only be applied to UX engineers.

Advanced options and platform differences 

There are several other useful operators you can use with Boolean search queries, although it’s important to note that not all platforms support their use.

• The wildcard (shown by the asterisk *) can be used to build in flexibility around a search term. For example, manag* would return manage, manager, management, and managing. So it can ensure your search captures the full breadth of a specific term you’re interested in.
• Proximity operators (NEAR and WITHIN) allow you to filter results based on the proximity of one keyword to another. NEAR (Nx) will give results that contain your chosen keywords within x words of each other, regardless of order. WITHIN (Wx) gives results that contain the keywords within x words of each other in the same order. So: Python NEAR/5 developer (in Dice) would return profiles that used these words in a sentence such as “working as a Python software developer” or “utilizing languages such as Python.” These are useful in surfacing profiles which mention topics of relevance in different ways.

How to build Boolean strings

Although there is infinite variation in developing strings to search for candidates, when starting it is best to follow a reliable structure, building from the essentials. Start with variations of the title of most relevance to the role you’re looking to fill, linked by OR. Follow this with required skills or attributes. Then round off with any hard exclusions. 

Building in this order keeps the logic clean, so when a search returns too much or too little, you can see which layer caused it. From there, refine: if you're getting too few results, loosen the OR group by adding more title variants. If you're drowning, tighten with another AND term or an exclusion.

Start with a core title or skill

Say you’re looking for a senior full-stack developer adept with both React and Node and based in Austin. You might start with: “full-stack developer” AND senior AND React AND Node AND Austin.

Add variations and grouping

To make sure you’re capturing the full range of relevant candidates, you could build this out as: (“full-stack developer” or “full stack developer”) AND senior AND (React OR React.js) AND (Node OR Node.js) AND (Austin OR ATX). Using OR and parentheses, you’re capturing variation in how candidates use words to refer to their skills or location in their profile.

Adapt the string to the platform 

The same string won't behave the same way on every platform, and the differences are big enough to sink a search. To tailor this string, you’d amend as follows:

• LinkedIn has strong filters that include location, so you could use this and remove the location element of the string, which would leave: ("full-stack developer" OR "full stack developer") AND Senior AND (React OR React.js) AND (Node OR Node.js)
• Google X-Ray doesn’t need AND (spaces imply it), and you use site: to target where you’re searching. Additionally, it often returns recruiter or job profiles, so you could use NOT to exclude these. But Google X-Ray uses a minus sign rather than NOT, so your string would become: site:linkedin.com/in ("full stack developer" OR "full-stack developer") senior (React OR React.js) (Node OR Node.js) (Austin OR ATX) -recruiter -jobs
• For Indeed and Dice, the original string would work.

Notably, none of these four sites have great functionality for wildcard (*) use, and it’s usually more reliable to type out specific options using OR. Google X-Ray is the only one with site: functionality, meaning you can use it to search all pages from a specific website.

Common reasons searches fail

Having a clear idea of why searches don’t work helps make sure you write effective strings. The top three to take note of:

• Logic and syntax errors: If there’s a problem with the logic of your string, it means the results you get back won’t be accurate in capturing what you want to find. Essentially, you’ve asked the wrong question. If there’s a mistake in the syntax of your string, it means the site won’t be able to read it at all. This is like you’ve written something in the wrong language or grammar.
• Overly rigid or overly broad strings: These are specific types of logic error; in the first case you may well miss great candidates, and in the second you’ll have too many irrelevant results.
• Platform mismatches: As mentioned earlier, there are significant differences between how Boolean works on certain major platforms. Transferring a successful string from one to the other requires careful checking and edits.

Boolean string search examples for recruiters

Tech and engineering examples

To search for an AI/ML engineer on Dice: ("AI Engineer" OR "ML Engineer" OR "Machine Learning Engineer" OR "Artificial Intelligence Engineer") AND Python AND (TensorFlow OR PyTorch OR "scikit-learn" OR "Deep Learning")

To search for a cybersecurity analyst with experience on LinkedIn Recruiter: ("Cyber Security Analyst" OR "Cybersecurity Analyst" OR "Information Security Analyst" OR "InfoSec Analyst" OR "SOC Analyst") AND (SIEM OR Splunk OR "Incident Response" OR Wireshark)

To search for a data engineer using Indeed: title:("Data Engineer" OR "Big Data Engineer" OR "Data Infrastructure Engineer") AND Python AND SQL AND (ETL OR ELT) AND (Spark OR AWS OR Azure OR GCP)

Healthcare and regulated industry examples

To search for a registered ICU nurse based in San Francisco on LinkedIn Recruiter: ("Registered Nurse" OR "RN") AND ("ICU" OR "Intensive Care" OR "Critical Care") AND ("BLS" OR "ACLS") AND ("San Francisco" OR "Bay Area" OR "SFO" OR "UCSF" OR "Stanford Health" OR "Kaiser"). As LinkedIn Recruiter’s location filters are strong, you could remove the location references and set a specific location and/or radius.

To search for a clinical research associate based in New York City on Indeed: title:("Clinical Research Associate" OR "CRA" OR "Senior CRA" OR "Sr CRA") AND (Pharma OR Biotech OR CRO) AND "GCP" AND (Monitoring OR "Site Visit"), and then use Indeed’s built-in location filters.

To search for a pharma scientist using Google X-Ray: site:linkedin.com/in ("Pharma Scientist" OR "Pharmaceutical Scientist" OR "Research Scientist" OR "Senior Scientist") (Pharmaceutical OR Pharma OR Biotech) ("Drug Discovery" OR "Preclinical Research" OR "Clinical Research" OR "R&D") (Chemistry OR Biology OR Pharmacology OR "Life Sciences")

Revenue and leadership examples

To search for a high-performing enterprise sales executive on SeekOut your string should contain specific references to relevant performance markers: ("Enterprise Sales Executive" OR "Enterprise Account Executive" OR "Strategic Account Executive" OR "Enterprise Sales Director" OR "VP Sales" OR "Regional Sales Director" OR "Sales Leader") AND ("Enterprise Sales" OR "B2B Sales" OR "Complex Sales" OR "Solution Selling") AND (SaaS OR Software OR Technology OR "Cloud") AND (Quota OR "President's Club" OR "Top Performer" OR "Revenue Growth" OR ARR OR "Annual Recurring Revenue")

To search for a remote fintech product manager on HireEZ you need your string to contain a reference to location: ("Senior Product Manager" OR "Lead Product Manager" OR "Principal Product Manager" OR "Product Lead") AND (FinTech OR "Financial Technology" OR Payments OR Banking OR "Digital Banking" OR Lending OR "WealthTech") AND ("Product Strategy" OR Roadmap OR "Product Development" OR "Go To Market" OR GTM) AND (Remote OR Distributed OR "Remote First" OR "Remote Working")

Next steps for faster sourcing

Boolean logic was revolutionary in the development of precise and accurate searches, but as profiles and platforms have multiplied and got more complex, there are ever more opportunities for errors and omissions and a need to find new ways to manage these.

Use platform-native filters more effectively

We've already touched on the strong location filters in platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed, which work better than cramming location terms into a string. SeekOut offers fielded search, letting you target a term within a specific part of a profile, such as title or work experience, for more precision. On LinkedIn, "Find more people like" surfaces similar profiles once you've identified one or two strong candidates, and "Open to Work" shows who is actively looking.

Use X-Ray and platform-specific workflows

Google X-Ray can give you considerably more power and control in building strings as it supports a wider range of operators than sites allow directly. It can also give you a different ‘perspective’ on the profiles at hand. Using X-Ray means bypassing the way a search on LinkedIn will present profiles to you based on your account, use, or connections, etc. This means you may see a different set of options than you otherwise would.

Go beyond Boolean search with Juicebox

Boolean operators bring precision to your hunt for the right candidates, and learning the nuances of how this functions on different platforms boosts the flexibility and range of your searches. 

But AI-powered platforms, like Juicebox, now give you that same precision using plain language search. On Juicebox, you can type out the candidate you’re seeking, just as you would in a conversation or email, and the platform does the complex work of constructing the search. Juicebox surfaces a short-list of candidates with verified contact data and can trigger automated outreach to them.