Boolean & Field-Based Search

Article author
Nick Doumlele
  • Updated

When you type words or phrases into the Keywords search box, we use the latest machine learning and search technology to bring relevant results to the top.

If you want more control over your search, you can use SeekOut's advanced Boolean search syntax.

Tip: Press Shift + Enter in the keyword box to create a line break. Press Enter to search with your terms.

Using Boolean Syntax

Summary

  • In a Boolean search, you can use the operators OR, AND, and AND NOT to control the fields which are required to be in your results
  • Operators must always be entered in all caps (e.g., advertising OR marketing, not advertising or marketing)
  • Quotation marks are used to indicate a multi-word phrase
  • Parentheses control how the Boolean operators are grouped

Examples

software AND java AND NOT recruiter

Find profiles that contains the words software and java, but does not have the word recruiter

"product support" AND (automotive OR locomotive)

Find profiles that contains the phrase product support and either term automotive or locomotive

"Bank of America"

Find profiles that contain the exact phrase "Bank of America"

For more real-world Boolean search examples see our Definitive Guide to Boolean Searches for Recruiters.

Field Search

Use the structure fieldname:searchterm to find words in a specific part of the candidate's profile. Boolean operators can be used with these field searches.

skills:java

Find profiles with Java in their skills list. 

skills:java AND cur_title:("business analyst" OR engineer)

Find profiles with Java as a skill and having a current title containing the complete phrase business analyst or engineer.

You can also use wildcard operators in field searches.

skills:java*

Find profiles with a skill starting with java (e.g., java, javascript, javabeans, etc.)

List of Field Names

  • first_name:
  • last_name:
  • full_name:
  • city:
  • country:
  • location:
  • headline:
  • url: - The unique part of the candidate's LinkedIn profile URL. For example, to search for a candidate whose LinkedIn profile URL is https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptaanoop/ , enter url:guptaanoop 
  • projects:
  • skills:
  • industry:
  • li_industry:
  • positions/description:
  • summary:
  • publications:
  • patents:
  • cur_company:
  • past_companies:
  • cur_title:
  • past_titles:
  • prev_locations:
  • schools:
  • majors:
  • degrees:
  • grad_year:
  • languages:
  • certifications:
  • volunteering:
  • groups:
  • courses:
  • interests:
  • honors_awards:

You can even combine these fields together to create highly-targeted searches, such as:

cur_title:finance AND degrees:bachelors 
AND majors:(finance OR accounting) AND NOT cur_company:SeekOut

This example displays candidates whose current job title has the word finance, who have a bachelors degree in finance or accounting, and who are not currently working at SeekOut.

The Boolean operator AND NOT can be shortened to NOT when searching within SeekOut.

Expert Search Field Names

The following field names can be used in Expert Search.

  • full_name
  • affiliations
  • categories
  • sub_categories
  • tags
  • conferences
  • conf_instances
  • journals
  • doc_types
  • publishers
  • pub_years

Advanced Boolean Search

SeekOut's search supports even more powerful searches, including proximity/near searches and wildcards.

To learn more about these power features, see the article Advanced Boolean search with SeekOut.

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