Searching for Candidates On Google: A Primer

BROWN BAG RECRUITER | G-Recruiter.com
Recruiting+Google: Beyond search
Searching for Candidates
on Google: A Primer

Part 1: Boolean Basics
Part 2: Syntax Basics

Part 1: Boolean Basics
Part 3: More Commands

on Google: A Primer
Part 1: Basic Boolean

BOOLEAN OPERATORS
A SOURCERS WORKSHEET

BOOLEAN OPERATORS
PREFABRICATED SEARCH

BOOLEAN OPERATORS
PREFABRICATED SEARCH
A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

“Probability is expectation
founded upon partial knowledge.”
George Boole 1815 – 1864

Building basic
search queries
AND
OR
NOT
( )
“ ”

AND
+
Narrows the search to
results that contain all of
the keywords it separates

senior AND network AND engineer
senior+network+engineer
senior network engineer
The AND Operator
[So, which one is uselessAND why?]

Broadens the search and
brings back results that
contain any of the
keywords it separates
OR
|

engineer | technician
cisco OR juniper OR Nortel
The OR Operator

Narrows the search and
returns results that do not
contain the keywords
or term following it
NOT
–
[Um, Google does not support the NOT operator, so stick with
the minus sign and it’s a good idea to keep your exclusions at
the end of your search query, capiche?]

engineer -technician
The NOT Operator
resume -submit -apply
[Stick this on the end of your searches for resumes.You’ll get better
results, reduce the noise…
-job -apply -submit -eoe -example -sample -template -wizard]

Groups words or phrases
together to show the order in
which relationships should
be considered
( )

The ( ) Modifier
(This is nesting) and it refers to enclosing things like (this OR that) in
parenthesis to help (modify OR improve) search results…]
(engineer OR technician) network
network (engineer OR technician)
[What’s the difference?]

“ ” Group keywords together
for an exact match

local area network
The “ ” Modifier
“local area network”
[Spot the difference here?]
[And here? network+local+area ]

PLAY WITH IT!
[…and ask for Help]

on Google: A Primer
Amitai Givertz
Program Leader
Phone: 561-922-7567
info@brownbagrecruiter.com

on Google: A Primer

What is Search Syntax?
Using operators, modifiers and other ‘commands’ in a
rules based system

rules based system
An ordered and systematic arrangement of keywords
and statements

rules based system
and statements
A logical expression of statements and conditions

rules based system
and statements
A logical expression of statements and conditions
An ‘unnatural’ language

Increase search results to include variables
*
~
..
JokersWild

Narrow results down to improve accuracy
*
~
..
JokersWild

Create contextual results for greater
relevance
*
~
..
JokersWild

Create contextual results for greater
relevance
A potential source of frustration
*
~
..
JokersWild

A word of caution:
CAPTCHA
Are you human?

*
A wildcard, to replace a missing
or unknown word or words
[In Google, it cannot be used where there might be alternate spellings
for a keyword… you know, like manag* or operat*. Go figure…]

cisco * * * area network
The * Operator
cisco * area network

~
Finds synonyms by
preceding the term with a
the tilde or synonym
operator

engineer ~resume
engineering ~skills | ~training
The ~ Operator

.. The NumRange operator finds
numbers within a specified range

The NumRange Operator
~resume (engineer | administrator) network 33301..33399
[Looking for resumes in and around Fort Lauderdale…]
~resume (engineer | administrator) network 1964..1966
[…for candidates who have staying power]

IT’S ALL ABOUT
THE SYNTAX
[…just keep playing with it!]

on Google: A Primer
Part 3: More Commands

Smooth Operators
Getting specific

These two return documents with the
keywords in the document title or URL
[Two is better than one! Use both separated with OR]
intitle:
inurl:

intitle:
inurl:
(intitle:resume | inurl:resume) network (engineer | technician)
[Don’t forget, stick it on the end…
-job -apply -submit -eoe -example -sample -template -wizard]

This limits results to show only
documents that match that type
filetype:
ext:

filetype:
filetype:doc MSWord
filetype:rtf RichText Format
filetype:txt Plain text document
filetype:ppt MS PowerPoint
filetype:pdf Adobe PDF
filetype:xls MS Excel

filetype:
[First bit…]
(filetype:pdf | filetype:doc)
[…next bit…]
(intitle:resume | inurl:resume)
[…last bit]
-job - sample -apply -template -example -submit
[…next bit…]
“network engineer” (cisco | juniper | nortel)

Limits results to only those
documents from a specific site
site:

site:
site:linkedin.com network (architect | designer)
site:youtube.com “video resume” engineer
site:microsoft.com network (engineer | ~admin)
site:visualcv.com “network engineer” cisco

Shows pages that point
to that URL
link:
[Oh, yeah -- you cannot combine a link: search with a
regular keyword search. Bummer.]

Shows pages that are similar to a
specified web page
related:

There are more…
…check them out!
intext:
allintext:
inanchor:
subject:
author:
source:
daterange:
phonebook:
nearby:allinanchor: location:
cache:

You’re on your own!
[Well, not really…]
Boolean Searching on the Internet
http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.html
The Essentials of Google Search
http://www.google.com/help/basics.html
GoogleTutor
http://www.googletutor.com/
Google Guide
http://www.googleguide.com/

Google for Beginners
Search Engine Fundamentals and Basic Boolean Logic
Google Hacks: 100 Industrial-StrengthTips &Tricks
Out-googling Google
Tools, References and Resources

Amitai Givertz
Program Leader
Phone: 561-922-7567
info@brownbagrecruiter.com
BROWN BAG RECRUITER
http://brownbagrecruiter.com

Searching for Candidates On Google: A Primer

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