Finding the ideal candidate for the position might be challenging work, but HR professionals and recruiting officers must put in a lot of effort. In fact, it takes the greatest time in the majority of organisations.
Many people use Boolean search in recruitment to simplify this procedure. Every employer and recruiter should be knowledgeable about boolean search.
It’s a method for finding job candidates who have the qualifications you need and those you don’t. It filters out extraneous candidates and only displays those who are qualified for the position using both of the provided criteria, OR and AND, with a Boolean operator.
This guide will explain this form of search and the fundamentals of Boolean search in recruiting if you’re not sure where to begin with it.
What is Boolean search?
A way of searching for words or phrases that may represent Boolean operators or functions is known as boolean search.
All records with the same terms or at least one term are found using a boolean search. Boolean operators and functions like AND, OR, NOT, and IS NULL are used to do a boolean search.
For instance:
searching for every worker who has been employed during the last two years AND has received a promotion AND is not still in their previous position.
What is Boolean Search in Recruitment?
Recruiters and hiring managers utilise a form of search called a boolean search to locate candidates that meet their requirements. You can use boolean searches to reduce the number of applicants you will interview based on particular keywords, abilities, experiences, and qualifications.
An experienced candidate with a bachelor’s degree in business management who is searching for job as a senior manager would be the most typical example of a Boolean search.
Recruiters can remove candidates with particular keywords or experience levels who don’t meet their requirements by employing Boolean searches. As a result, it is simpler for recruiters to concentrate on the greatest talent available rather than wasting time interviewing applicants who are unqualified for the position.
The Foundational Boolean Operators
The boolean search identifies the desired information using keywords or phrases and returns the top results.
The fundamental Boolean operators are AND, OR, NOT, quotes, and parentheses (). They are combined to help you focus your search and get results that are pertinent.
The AND operator is used to determine whether two requirements have been satisfied. For instance, if a person was promoted after working for a company for two years, that person will be regarded as having worked there for two years (and therefore eligible).
Similar to the AND operator, the OR operator lets you choose between two options within your query string (for example, “has worked” versus “was promoted”). Use this operator sparingly as it can make it difficult to narrow down your results when there are many possibilities available, so be careful while using it!
When there are several alternatives accessible in your query string, the NOT operator can be useful. People commonly use this operator when they don’t want to see any results in their search results.
Quotation Marks “” – To get better search results while looking for a specific term, users put question marks around the phrase.
Parentheses () – Using parentheses allows you to separate the terms so that the ones you have specified will be given preference.
How Do You Recruit Using Boolean Search Techniques?
The recruitment team uses a search method called boolean search, which can locate names, email addresses, and phone numbers. To identify persons who meet specific requirements, they employ Boolean searches. For instance, you would perform a Boolean search to find all employees in your database who had the title “director” or “manager.”
Boolean searches can be used by recruiters to find candidates who fit particular requirements, such as geography and job type. Additionally, they can use Boolean searches to find individuals who could share the same qualifications or background as those already employed.
For instance,
Create a Boolean search with the terms “accountant” and “10 years” as your criteria if you’re looking for an accountant with those qualifications.
The results could then be reduced by geography (for example, Atlanta) or job category (e.g., accounts payable).
What Advantages Does Boolean Recruitment Offer?
Finding the ideal applicant for your available position can be done very effectively using boolean searches. The key advantage of employing Boolean recruitment is that it makes it easier and faster to locate candidates than other approaches. With traditional recruitment methods, you must go through thousands of applicants before locating someone who meets your requirements. This workload will be greatly reduced by a straightforward boolean search, which will make it simpler for you to begin working on your next job. The following are additional advantages of doing a Boolean search:
Conclusion
The advanced search settings are where you’ll find the Boolean Search options. And the reason for that is possibly because recruiters are afraid to use them. The majority of recruiters believe Boolean Search falls short of the efficiency and potency of the regular search tool. But the truth is that every recruiter out there should use boolean search. Since someone else will use it if you don’t, leaving them with your candidate. I sincerely hope our comprehensive guide has helped you understand how to get the most out of boolean searches.