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LinkedIn guide

LinkedIn Boolean search: how recruiters use it, with examples

Recruiters join keywords with AND, OR, and NOT, put exact phrases in quotes, and group terms with parentheses. LinkedIn says the operators must be typed in uppercase letters for the search to work correctly.[1]

By Justin M., founder of BespokeJobs. Updated .

Sources last reviewed .

Numbered citations point to the sources listed below. Lines marked "Our advice" are BespokeJobs recommendations.

The operators LinkedIn documents

  • AND narrows a search and OR broadens it. NOT excludes a term.[1]
  • Quotation marks match an exact phrase.[1]
  • Parentheses are the only grouping symbols LinkedIn recognizes.[1]
  • Wildcards such as an asterisk are not supported. LinkedIn also says + and - are not officially supported, so use AND and NOT.[1]

LinkedIn evaluates quotes first, then parentheses, NOT, AND, and OR.[1]

That order is why parentheses matter. In the example "VP NOT (assistant OR SVP)", the words inside the parentheses are grouped before NOT removes them, and phrase matching happens before any Boolean logic is applied.[1]

Examples

accountant AND finance AND CPA
LinkedIn's example: profiles with all three words.[1]
sales OR marketing OR advertising
LinkedIn's example: profiles with any of the three.[1]
VP NOT (assistant OR SVP)
LinkedIn's example: VP, but not assistant or SVP.[1]
("product manager" OR "program manager") AND (SQL OR Python) NOT intern
Our example, built from the documented syntax: either title, either skill, no interns.

How Recruiter uses it

LinkedIn Recruiter supports AND, OR, NOT, and parentheses, and quoted searches work in its Job titles, Companies, and Keywords filters. Its "must have" option works like AND, "can have" like OR, and "doesn't have" like NOT.[2]

Recruiter ignores stop words in the Keywords field, and LinkedIn warns that too many facets in one Boolean query can cause a search result issue.[2]

Our advice

Our advice: write job titles and skills the way a recruiter would type them, as exact phrases. "Product manager" matches a quoted search for it, and a clever variation may not.

Our advice: with no wildcards, spell out variants you want to be found for, such as both "manager" and "management," where they honestly describe your work.

Our advice: keep skills in the Skills section and your roles in Experience, where filters look for them. Boolean search finds only words that are on your profile.

Common questions

Does LinkedIn Boolean search support wildcards?

No. LinkedIn says its Boolean search does not support wildcards such as asterisks, so you cannot search for part of a word.[1]

Do the operators have to be capitalized?

Yes. LinkedIn says AND, OR, and NOT must be typed in uppercase letters for the search to work correctly.[1]

Check your LinkedIn profile

Read the full LinkedIn guide for every profile section, the limits LinkedIn documents, and a before and after example.

Check your LinkedIn profile

This page answers one question from the LinkedIn guide. Read the full guide for the rest.

Sources

  1. 1
    LinkedIn Help: Boolean search on LinkedIn

    AND, OR, and NOT in capitals, quotes for phrases, parentheses for grouping, an order of precedence, and no wildcards.

  2. 2
    LinkedIn Recruiter Help: search filters

    Can have, must have, and does not have filters, Boolean support in keyword and title fields, and limits on long queries.

Sources last reviewed .