What is LinkedIn Boolean Search?
A LinkedIn Boolean is the process of using LinkedIn to perform a detailed search, powered by a complex set of “Boolean” strings. By using Boolean strings, you’ll be able to find more relevant job titles, companies, regions, industry experience and skill sets than would normally be possible. These Boolean strings work on all fields including titles, company names, profiles, keywords, groups and more.
The purpose of this blog is to cover the basics of LinkedIn Boolean search and to show you how it is important for recruiting. We will also cover each operator in more detail as the blog progresses.
Let’s dive in.
Boolean Search Terms
To conduct a LinkedIn Boolean search, use the following 5 operators.
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Please note that these Boolean strings are only effective if you follow these key instructions:
The Boolean search operators AND, OR,and NOT must be written in uppercase. Example: content OR copywriting
If your search term is composed ofmore than one word, it needs to go under quotation marks. Example: “contentwriter” AND copywriter
If combining the Boolean search terms,use parenthesis to define your query. Example: (“content writer” OR copywriter) NOT “content manager”
AND Operator
The AND operator instructs a search engine to discover all individuals whose LinkedIn profiles contain both terms.
For example, if you type Director AND Hubspot into LinkedIn, it will look for profiles that include the word Director and Hubspot in their profiles.
OR Operator
The OR boolean includes one or more of the specified terms.
The profile will have at least one of the words typed, regardless of the sequence. The more OR you type, the more results you will get.
For example, if you search for Founder OR CEO, LinkedIn will bring back users whose profiles contain EITHER of the terms or BOTH terms.
NOT Operator
The NOT operator excludes a term from the search; simply type the term with a NOT in front of it. Profiles that contain that term will be excluded from the search. If you want to omit multiple terms, use the NOT symbol before each word.
For example, if you search for Founder NOT CEO, LinkedIn will return profiles that contain the word Founder while excluding any profiles that contain the word CEO.
Quotations “”
If you need to find a precise phrase or a multi-word title of the persons you'relooking for, use quote marks in the keyword.
For example, type “Demand Generation Manager” in a LinkedIn search field to receive a list of Demand Generation Managers.
Parenthesis ()
Do you remember your math classes? The items in parenthesis are handled together and throughout the formula. Same deal with LinkedIn!
Parentheses, like in a mathematical statement, allow you to group keywords and regulate the order in which they are searched. Keywords and Boolean operators within parentheses will be searched first, followed by keywords outside parentheses.
For example, if you search for Director AND (Product OR Design) NOT (Management OR Analytics), it will bringback results of all leads who are either Director of Product or Director of Design but will exclude all people from the same departments that has the word Management and Analytics in their profile.
LinkedIn Filters That Support Boolean Search
LinkedIn,Recruiter Lite, and Sales Navigator filters that support Boolean search are as follows:
First Name
Last Name
Job Title
Company
School
The Boolean search, which works with the Keywords filter, is perhaps the most widely used.
However, keep in mind that this search result may be quite broad and inaccurate because the search engine will include all persons whose LinkedIn profiles mention thats pecific term somewhere on their profile (in their title, headline, posts,hashtags, skills, etc).
When you perform the Boolean search in one of the precise criteria stated above, LinkedIn will apply the Boolean search just to those portions of your lead's LinkedIn profile.
When to use Boolean Operators in searching:
Research:If you want to find a competitor who is targeting the same keywords as you onthe platform, you can do so by using advanced LinkedIn searches.
Outreach or Outbound Lead Generation:with increasing competition, there is no other option than hyper targeting.Account-based marketing (ABM) relies on getting exact matches to your targetcustomer profiles.
Recruiting: Are you looking for a growth hacker whois an SEO expert and a digital marketer but not a PPC specialist? Then,advanced search with Boolean logic can help you narrow down your candidatesdirectly from the search field.
Why is Boolean searching useful in recruiting?
Here are some of the reasons why recruiters should use Boolean searching:
Opportunity: Not all online prospects are actively looking for work. When using Booleansearch, you may come across passive candidates who best meet your requirements.
Efficiency: Learning to utilize Boolean searching as a recruiter will help you locate a bignumber of results rapidly. This allows for more efficient applicant and resumesearches.
Accuracy: When you utilize particular phrases for Boolean searching, you may locateexactly what you're looking for. You may save time by utilizing Boolean searchterms to filter through results.
We hope that this short guide helped you understand the fundamentals of LinkedIn Boolean search and inspired you to create your own Boolean strings.
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