What is boolean search?
Boolean search is a way of writing a query with logical operators, to state exactly what you want to find and what you want to exclude. The name comes from Boolean algebra. In sourcing, it is the core technique for querying LinkedIn, a job board, a search engine or the candidate database in your ATS.
The essential operators:
- AND: every term must be present, for example accountant AND Sage
- OR: either one. Essential for synonyms: (accountant OR "accounting technician" OR comptable)
- NOT (or a minus sign on some engines): exclude, for example NOT intern
- Quotation marks: exact phrase, for example "payroll administration"
- Parentheses: group the ORs before combining them with AND.
Why does boolean search matter?
A plain keyword search returns either too many results or the wrong ones. Boolean search lets you cover the ways people actually describe their job: the same role is called "developer", "programmer", "software engineer" or "dev" depending on the resume. In bilingual markets like Canada, you often need to double each group in English and French, since a candidate in Montreal may have a fully French profile, and one in Ottawa a fully English one.
It also makes sourcing fairer. A query built on the role's skills, rather than on "reference" schools or employers, avoids screening out non-traditional profiles by default.
Concrete example
Brief: a bilingual payroll technician, using ADP or Ceridian Dayforce, in Ottawa, not an intern.
("payroll technician" OR "payroll specialist" OR "payroll administrator" OR "technicien en paie") AND (ADP OR Ceridian OR Dayforce) AND (bilingual OR bilingue) NOT (intern OR stagiaire)
Each line answers one precise question: the title (with its variants), the tool, the language, the exclusion. If the query returns too few results, drop the least essential line first, here the payroll tool.
Best practices
- Start from the intake meeting. Keywords come from the skills actually required, not from a copy of the job description.
- One OR group per idea, in parentheses, with synonyms and the other language.
- Test and adjust: read the first ten results, add the missing synonym, remove the term that adds noise.
- Be careful with NOT: it also excludes the candidate who wrote "I supervised interns".
- Check each tool's syntax. Engines do not all accept the same operators or query length.
- Never filter on a protected ground, such as age or origin, even indirectly.
The free tool From call notes to search generates a LinkedIn Boolean string from your intake notes. For sourcing strategies in tech, see our guide to recruiting developers.
Common mistakes
- Stacking ANDs. Each AND shrinks the pool; beyond four or five blocks, there is often nobody left.
- Forgetting spelling variants and the other language. 'Organisation' and 'organization' are different words to a search engine.
- Copying a string found online without adapting it to the role and the local market.
- Searching only job titles. Titles vary wildly between companies; skills and tools named in a profile are often a more reliable signal.
With RecruitEasy
Before searching outside, search what you already have. For each job, RecruitEasy recommends the matching candidates in your database, with the reason: skills covered and missing. Boolean search then fills the gaps instead of starting from scratch.