LinkedIn Boolean Search for Recruiters: 25+ Formulas to Find Hidden Talent
Master LinkedIn Boolean search with 25+ ready-to-use formulas for finding engineers, designers, PMs, sales reps, and more. Learn advanced techniques recruiters use to source hidden talent.
PostKing Team
Finding the right candidates on LinkedIn can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. With over 900 million users, how do you cut through the noise to find that perfect software engineer, product manager, or sales executive?
The answer lies in Boolean search—a powerful technique that transforms LinkedIn's search bar into a precision talent-sourcing tool. This guide will teach you Boolean search fundamentals and give you 25+ ready-to-use formulas to find hidden talent across every role type.
What is Boolean Search?
Boolean search uses logical operators (AND, OR, NOT) to create highly specific search queries. Instead of simple keyword searches that return thousands of irrelevant results, Boolean strings let you combine, exclude, and prioritize terms to find exactly who you're looking for.
Think of it as giving LinkedIn a set of precise instructions: "Show me people who have THIS skill AND THIS experience, but NOT working at THAT company."
Boolean Search Basics: The 4 Core Operators
1. AND - Require Multiple Terms
The AND operator requires all terms to appear in a profile. LinkedIn automatically applies AND between words, but you can use it explicitly for clarity.
Example:
Python AND Machine Learning AND PhD
Finds profiles containing all three terms.
2. OR - Include Alternative Terms
OR broadens your search by finding profiles with any of the specified terms. Especially useful for synonyms, alternate titles, or similar skills.
Example:
"Software Engineer" OR "Software Developer" OR "Programmer"
Finds profiles with any of these job titles.
3. NOT - Exclude Unwanted Results
NOT removes profiles containing specific terms. Use this to filter out irrelevant results or candidates from certain companies.
Example:
"Product Manager" NOT "Project Manager"
Finds product managers while excluding project managers.
4. Parentheses ( ) - Group Complex Logic
Parentheses control the order of operations, letting you create sophisticated multi-condition searches.
Example:
("iOS Developer" OR "iPhone Developer") AND (Swift OR "Objective-C") NOT Recruiter
5. Quotation Marks " " - Exact Phrase Match
Quotes search for exact phrases rather than individual words scattered across a profile.
Example:
"Full Stack Developer" finds the exact phrase
Full Stack Developer (without quotes) finds profiles with these words anywhere
25+ Boolean Search Formulas by Role Type
Software Engineers & Developers
1. Senior Full Stack Engineer
("Full Stack" OR "Full-Stack") AND (React OR Vue OR Angular) AND (Node.js OR Python OR Ruby) AND (Senior OR Lead OR Principal) NOT Recruiter
2. Frontend Developer with Modern Stack
("Frontend Developer" OR "Front-end Developer" OR "UI Developer") AND (React OR Vue.js OR Next.js) AND (TypeScript OR JavaScript) AND ("3 years" OR "4 years" OR "5 years")
3. Backend Engineer - Microservices
("Backend Engineer" OR "Backend Developer") AND (Microservices OR "Service-Oriented Architecture") AND (Kubernetes OR Docker) AND (Go OR Java OR Python)
4. Mobile Developer - iOS
("iOS Developer" OR "iPhone Developer" OR "Mobile Engineer") AND (Swift OR "Objective-C") AND ("App Store" OR "UIKit" OR SwiftUI) NOT Android
5. Mobile Developer - Android
("Android Developer" OR "Android Engineer") AND (Kotlin OR Java) AND ("Google Play" OR Jetpack OR "Material Design") NOT iOS
6. DevOps Engineer
("DevOps Engineer" OR "Site Reliability Engineer" OR SRE) AND (AWS OR Azure OR GCP) AND (Terraform OR Ansible OR CloudFormation) AND (CI/CD OR Jenkins OR "GitHub Actions")
7. Data Engineer
("Data Engineer" OR "Analytics Engineer") AND (Spark OR Kafka OR Airflow) AND (SQL OR Python) AND ("Data Pipeline" OR ETL OR "Data Warehouse")
Product & Design
8. Senior Product Manager - B2B SaaS
("Product Manager" OR "Senior Product Manager") AND (B2B OR SaaS OR Enterprise) AND (Roadmap OR "Product Strategy") AND ("Cross-functional" OR Agile) NOT "Project Manager"
9. UX/UI Designer - Mobile Apps
("UX Designer" OR "UI Designer" OR "Product Designer") AND (Figma OR Sketch OR "Adobe XD") AND (Mobile OR iOS OR Android) AND Portfolio
10. UX Researcher
("UX Researcher" OR "User Researcher") AND ("User Testing" OR "Usability Testing") AND (Qualitative OR Quantitative) AND (Interviews OR Surveys)
11. Growth Product Manager
("Product Manager" OR "Growth PM") AND (Growth OR "User Acquisition" OR Retention) AND ("A/B Testing" OR Experimentation) AND (Metrics OR Analytics)
Sales & Business Development
12. Enterprise Sales Executive
("Account Executive" OR "Sales Executive" OR "Enterprise Sales") AND (SaaS OR "Enterprise Software") AND ("6-figure" OR "7-figure" OR "$1M+" OR Quota) AND ("Solution Selling" OR "Consultative Sales")
13. Sales Development Representative
(SDR OR "Sales Development Representative" OR BDR) AND ("Cold Calling" OR "Outbound Sales") AND (SaaS OR Technology) AND ("Lead Generation" OR Prospecting)
14. Customer Success Manager
("Customer Success Manager" OR "Client Success Manager" OR CSM) AND (SaaS OR "Software Company") AND (Retention OR "Churn Reduction") AND (Onboarding OR "Customer Experience")
15. Business Development Manager - Partnerships
("Business Development" OR "Partnerships Manager") AND (Strategic OR "Channel Partnerships") AND ("Contract Negotiation" OR "Deal Structuring") AND (B2B OR Enterprise)
Marketing & Content
16. Growth Marketing Manager
("Growth Marketing" OR "Performance Marketing") AND ("Paid Acquisition" OR "Paid Social" OR "Paid Search") AND ("ROI" OR "ROAS" OR CAC) AND (Facebook OR Google OR LinkedIn)
17. Content Marketing Manager
("Content Marketing" OR "Content Strategy") AND (SEO OR "Content Strategy") AND (Blog OR "Thought Leadership") AND (B2B OR SaaS)
18. Social Media Manager - B2B
("Social Media Manager" OR "Social Media Strategist") AND (B2B OR SaaS OR Technology) AND (LinkedIn OR Twitter) AND ("Content Calendar" OR "Social Strategy")
19. Email Marketing Specialist
("Email Marketing" OR "CRM Marketing") AND (Klaviyo OR Mailchimp OR "Marketing Automation") AND ("A/B Testing" OR Segmentation) AND ("Conversion Rate" OR "Open Rate")
Data & Analytics
20. Data Scientist - Machine Learning
("Data Scientist" OR "ML Engineer") AND ("Machine Learning" OR "Deep Learning") AND (Python OR R) AND (TensorFlow OR PyTorch OR scikit-learn)
21. Business Intelligence Analyst
("Business Intelligence" OR "BI Analyst" OR "Data Analyst") AND (Tableau OR "Power BI" OR Looker) AND SQL AND ("Data Visualization" OR Dashboard)
22. Analytics Engineer
("Analytics Engineer" OR "Data Analytics Engineer") AND (dbt OR "Data Transformation") AND (SQL OR Python) AND ("Data Modeling" OR "Data Pipeline")
Leadership & Executive
23. Engineering Manager - Startup
("Engineering Manager" OR "VP Engineering" OR "Director of Engineering") AND (Startup OR "High-growth" OR "Scale-up") AND ("Team Building" OR Hiring) AND (Agile OR Scrum)
24. Chief Product Officer
(CPO OR "Chief Product Officer" OR "VP Product") AND ("Product Strategy" OR "Product Vision") AND (B2B OR SaaS) AND ("Board-level" OR Executive)
25. Head of Sales - Series A/B
("Head of Sales" OR "VP Sales" OR "Chief Revenue Officer") AND ("Series A" OR "Series B" OR "Early-stage") AND SaaS AND ("Team Building" OR "Sales Process")
Operations & HR
26. People Operations Manager
("People Operations" OR "People Ops" OR HRBP) AND (Startup OR "High-growth") AND ("Employee Experience" OR Culture) AND (HRIS OR "HR Systems")
27. Operations Manager - Logistics
("Operations Manager" OR "Supply Chain Manager") AND (Logistics OR "Supply Chain") AND ("Process Optimization" OR "Continuous Improvement") AND (Lean OR "Six Sigma")
Advanced Boolean Search Techniques
1. Competitor Sourcing
Target talent from specific companies:
("Software Engineer" OR "Senior Engineer") AND (Google OR Meta OR Amazon OR Apple OR Microsoft) AND "Machine Learning"
Or exclude competitors to find fresh perspectives:
"Product Manager" AND SaaS NOT (Salesforce OR HubSpot OR Zendesk)
2. Adjacent Skills Sourcing
Find candidates with transferable skills:
("Customer Success" OR "Account Manager" OR "Sales Engineer") AND "Technical Background" AND (API OR Integration OR "Software Implementation")
This finds sales/CS professionals with technical chops who could transition to product or technical roles.
3. Location Variations
Account for different location formats:
"Software Engineer" AND ("San Francisco" OR "SF Bay Area" OR "Bay Area" OR "San Francisco Bay Area")
For remote roles, try:
"Full Stack Developer" AND (Remote OR "Work from Home" OR Distributed OR "Location Independent")
4. Skills Progression Search
Find candidates ready for the next level:
("Mid-level" OR "Intermediate") AND "Software Engineer" AND (React OR Node.js) AND ("3 years" OR "4 years" OR "5 years")
Great for finding individual contributors ready to become senior engineers.
5. Certification & Education Combos
"Data Scientist" AND (PhD OR Masters OR "Machine Learning") AND ("Computer Science" OR Statistics OR Mathematics)
6. Industry Crossover
Find talent from adjacent industries:
"Product Manager" AND (Fintech OR "Financial Services" OR Banking) AND SaaS
This finds PMs in finance who might want to transition to SaaS.
Common Boolean Search Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Mistake 1: Forgetting Quotation Marks for Phrases
Wrong:
Full Stack Developer
Searches for profiles with these words anywhere, not necessarily together.
Right:
"Full Stack Developer"
Searches for the exact phrase.
Mistake 2: Incorrect Parentheses Placement
Wrong:
"Software Engineer" AND Python OR Java AND AWS
LinkedIn might interpret this as: Engineers with Python, OR anyone with Java and AWS.
Right:
"Software Engineer" AND (Python OR Java) AND AWS
Clearly groups: Engineers with (Python OR Java) AND AWS.
Mistake 3: Overusing NOT
Wrong:
"Marketing Manager" NOT Agency NOT Freelance NOT Consultant NOT Contract
Too restrictive—you'll miss great candidates.
Right:
"Marketing Manager" AND ("In-house" OR "Full-time") NOT Recruiter
More targeted exclusion.
Mistake 4: Too Many OR Operators
Wrong:
Developer OR Engineer OR Programmer OR Coder OR Architect OR Designer OR Analyst
This returns way too many irrelevant results.
Right:
("Software Engineer" OR "Software Developer") AND (Python OR Java)
Keep OR groups focused and specific.
Mistake 5: Not Testing Variations
Always test different versions:
- "Machine Learning" vs "ML"
- "JavaScript" vs "JS"
- "Full Stack" vs "Full-Stack" vs "Fullstack"
Use OR to catch all variations:
("Full Stack" OR "Full-Stack" OR Fullstack)
LinkedIn Search vs LinkedIn Recruiter: What's the Difference?
LinkedIn Free Search (Basic)
- Boolean operators: Limited support
- Search filters: Basic (location, company, school)
- Results: First few pages only
- Saved searches: Not available
- InMail: Not included
Best for: Small hiring needs, budget-conscious recruiters, testing search strings
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite
- Boolean operators: Full support
- Advanced filters: 20+ filters including years of experience, company size, function
- Results: Unlimited scrolling through results
- Saved searches: Up to 10 saved searches
- InMail: 30 InMails/month
Best for: Solo recruiters, small recruiting teams, growing companies
LinkedIn Recruiter (Full)
- Boolean operators: Full advanced support
- Advanced filters: 40+ filters including current/past titles, seniority level, groups
- Results: Unlimited + advanced sorting
- Saved searches: Unlimited + automated alerts
- InMail: 150 InMails/month
- Projects: Organize candidates by role/project
- Team collaboration: Share candidate pipelines
Best for: Agency recruiters, in-house recruiting teams, enterprise hiring
Pro Tips for Recruiter Success
-
Start broad, then narrow: Begin with a simple search, then add filters one by one.
-
Save your best searches: Once you find a formula that works, save it and reuse it.
-
Test on yourself: Search for your own profile to see what keywords/titles appear. This helps you understand how candidates describe themselves.
-
Check your results: Click through the first 10-20 profiles to ensure your Boolean string is working as intended.
-
Combine with filters: Boolean search works best when combined with LinkedIn's native filters (location, company, industry).
-
Update regularly: Job titles and tech stacks evolve. Review and update your strings quarterly.
-
Create a Boolean library: Build a spreadsheet of your best-performing Boolean strings by role type.
Automating Your LinkedIn Outreach with PostKing
Once you've found your ideal candidates using Boolean search, the next challenge is reaching out at scale while keeping messages personalized. This is where PostKing's LinkedIn automation tools come in.
PostKing helps recruiters:
- Auto-personalize outreach at scale based on profile data
- Schedule connection requests with custom messages
- Track response rates across different message templates
- Follow up automatically with candidates who don't respond
- Manage multiple campaigns for different roles simultaneously
Learn more about how recruiters are using PostKing to 10x their sourcing efficiency.
FAQs
Can I use Boolean search on LinkedIn's free account?
Yes, but with limitations. Free LinkedIn accounts support basic Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, quotes, parentheses), but you'll only see limited search results and lack advanced filters available in Recruiter accounts.
What's the maximum length for a LinkedIn Boolean search?
LinkedIn doesn't publish an official character limit, but searches over 1,000 characters may produce errors. Keep your Boolean strings focused and test them in segments if needed.
Why isn't my Boolean search returning any results?
Common causes:
- Too many restrictive filters (try removing some NOT operators)
- Incorrect parentheses or quote placement
- Typos in keywords or skills
- Using niche terminology that candidates don't use in their profiles
Can I search for candidates who DON'T have a specific skill?
Yes, use the NOT operator:
"Product Manager" NOT Technical
However, this isn't recommended for skills since absence doesn't mean they lack the skill—they may just not have listed it.
How do I search for candidates with X years of experience?
Use quotes around the number:
"Software Engineer" AND ("5 years" OR "6 years" OR "7 years")
Note: This only works if candidates explicitly mention years of experience in their profiles.
Should I use title searches or skill searches?
Both! Combine them:
("Product Manager" OR "Product Lead") AND (Roadmap OR "Product Strategy") AND SaaS
This catches people with the title AND people who do PM work but might have different titles.
How often should I refresh my Boolean searches?
Review monthly. Tech stacks change, new titles emerge, and companies rebrand. Keep your searches current.
Can Boolean search find passive candidates?
Absolutely. Boolean search finds anyone matching your criteria, regardless of whether they're actively job searching. That's the power—you're finding hidden talent who aren't posting "Open to Work."
Conclusion
Boolean search transforms LinkedIn from a basic professional network into a precision talent-sourcing engine. With these 25+ formulas and advanced techniques, you now have a recruiter's toolkit for finding engineers, designers, PMs, sales reps, and executives hiding in plain sight.
Remember: The best Boolean strings are constantly evolving. Test different variations, combine operators creatively, and build your own library of proven formulas.
Ready to take your LinkedIn recruiting to the next level? Try PostKing's AI-powered LinkedIn tools to automate personalized outreach and turn your Boolean search results into actual conversations.
Related Reading:
You might also like
LinkedIn Headline Generator
Try our free linkedin headline generator to enhance your LinkedIn presence.
LinkedIn About Section Generator
Try our free linkedin about section generator to enhance your LinkedIn presence.
How to Grow on LinkedIn as a Recruiter (2026)
Tired of low InMail response rates and candidate ghosting? Learn sourcing frameworks, Boolean search, InMail templates, and employer branding strategies that actually work.
Employer Branding on LinkedIn: Content Calendar for Recruiters & TA Teams
A complete 4-pillar content framework and monthly calendar template to build your employer brand on LinkedIn and attract top talent consistently.
LinkedIn First Post Generator
Try our free linkedin first post generator to enhance your LinkedIn presence.
LinkedIn Recruiter Alternatives 2026: Free & Cheap Tools for Sourcing Candidates
LinkedIn Recruiter costs $8,500/year. Compare 8+ alternatives from free to premium, with pricing, features, ROI calculator, and hybrid approaches that actually work for recruiters.
How to Get Recruiters to Message You on LinkedIn: Job Seeker's Complete Guide (2026)
Applied to 200 jobs with no response? Learn the 7 profile changes that 3x recruiter outreach. Includes templates, examples, and proven strategies for job seekers.
more engagement with carousels
Create scroll-stopping LinkedIn carousels in under 60 seconds. No design skills needed.
Try Carousel Generator