X-Ray Search

What is an X-Ray Search?

X-Ray Search is the process of conducting a search using conjunctions like AND, OR, and NOT to find relevant results from any information database. It can be used to include or exclude particular keywords or phrases for a more filtered search. X-Ray Search is also known as Boolean Search.

X-Ray Search includes the basic Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT, and AND NOT to highlight more productive results. It saves time and effort for the searcher and filters and scans information more effectively.

X-Ray Search of Boolean Search is an efficient tool for recruiters for candidate sourcing and filtering. It can refine the search, yielding a restricted set of outcomes, and identify individuals possessing the desired qualifications and skills.

Boolean Search Operators for Recruiters:

• AND
• OR
• NOT

What are the different X-Ray Search Tools for Recruitment?

X-Ray Search tools in recruitment filter candidate profiles and facilitate the sourcing of candidates for hiring managers and recruiters. It reduces the time to search for candidates and allows for a more controlled candidate screening process.

Here are some ways how X-Ray search or boolean search helps recruiters and HR:

• Reduce time-to-hire
• Omits irrelevant candidate profiles
• Defines candidate variables like skills, education level, experience, location, etc.
• Customizes the search according to requirements
• Gives a competitive advantage

Here are 4 free X-Ray Search Tools for recruitment:

TGC LinkedIn Search

The TGC Search Tool focuses on the relevant skills required by the recruiter and screens candidates according to that. As inputs, it takes the location and the skills of the candidate required. It is a free tool enhanced by Google Search.

Recruit’em X-Ray Search

The Recruit’em tool allows to you search for candidates based on location, job title, education, and current employer on LinkedIn. Furthermore, it has a filter to include and exclude keywords using a boolean search. It is an efficient way of pre-screening candidates on LinkedIn.

Recruitment Geek LinkedIn X-Ray Search

This X-Ray tool enables you to seek out a candidate’s profile by inputting desired skills and location into the search bar with boolean search operators. It can be used in simplicity by just clicking on the search button after entering the location and skills required. It is a LinkedIn X-Ray search tool that aids in making your search more targeted and impactful.

Lisearcher X-Ray Search

Lisearcher, a no-cost LinkedIn X-Ray search tool, assists in locating public profiles of candidates and B2B prospects using job titles, keywords, and locations. The site allows excluding unwanted keywords and including additional ones for improved search outcomes.

Google X-Ray Search

Out of many things, Google is a search engine technology that has a massive information database live on the internet. Google X-Ray Search browses through this knowledge base using different parameters like keywords, conjunctions, articles, and symbols like brackets. These parameters make the search filtered and refined.

In recruitment, Google X-Ray Search can browse through candidate profiles present in various job portals and candidate websites. Since Google has access to information from around the world, on any website, an X-Ray search for recruiters becomes a key to candidate sourcing.

Boolean Search Modifiers:

• Parentheses ()
• Asterisk *
• Quotes “ “

Recruiters can make use of boolean search parameters to find candidates customized to their exact requirements. Here are some common ones:

• AND: Combine skills. E.g., “data science AND machine learning” will find candidates skilled in both areas.
• OR: Expand candidate options. E.g., “Java OR Python developer” will show candidates proficient in either language.
• NOT: Exclude certain skills. E.g., “software engineer NOT web development” will filter out candidates focused on web development.
• Quotes ” “: Search for an exact candidate profile. E.g., “experienced project manager” will display results matching that precise phrase.
• Asterisk *: Find variations of a skill. E.g., “experienced * developer” will yield results for various experienced developers.
• Parentheses (): Combine different roles. E.g., “(data analyst OR business analyst) AND SQL” will find candidates skilled in SQL for both roles.
• site: Search within a specific job board. E.g., “site:monster.com data scientist” will show data scientist profiles on LinkedIn.
• filetype: Search for specific resume formats. E.g., “filetype:pdf software engineer resume” will display PDF resumes for software engineers.

Examples of X-Ray Search Queries for Google:

• site:linkedin.com “marketing manager” inurl:candidate
• site:twitter.com “business analyst”
• site:facebook.com “graphic designer” experience: 2 years
• site:linkedin.com “content writer” OR “content marketer” inurl:candidate
• site:linkedin.com “sales head” NOT “sales executive”

LinkedIn X-Ray Search

LinkedIn is a social media platform focussed on employment and career-oriented knowledge. It forms a network of professional individuals of employees, companies, and recruiters.

LinkedIn X-Ray Search is a powerful tool for recruiters as profiles on LinkedIn have all the information they require. The LinkedIn profile is like a candidate card in itself. Recruiters can browse through people’s profiles using a simple search and can further refine the search using boolean operators.

Some common Boolean Operators to use on LinkedIn X-Ray Search are:

• Type: using Type:Profile on LinkedIn will filter out only people’s profiles and avoid showing pages, posts, groups, companies, etc in the results.
• Quotes “ “: Using “ “ shows the exact results as the included phrase under quotation.
• AND: This operator joins two different queries or terms and shows results that contain both.
• OR: This operator broadens the search by joining similar or synonymous terms. The results contain either one of the terms or both.
• NOT: This operator is used to exclude a term or a query from the search.
• Parentheses ( ): This operator is used for more complex search results to combine terms and more than one operator.

Examples of X-Ray Seach Queries for LinkedIn

• type:Profiles “content writer” AND “content marketer”
• type:Profiles (“project manager” OR PM) AND budgeting
• type:Profiles (“graphic designer” OR “UI/UX designer”) AND (Adobe Illustrator OR Figma)
• type:Profiles (“software engineer” AND Java) OR (“backend developer” AND Python)
• type:Profiles (“sales manager” AND “B2B” AND NOT “retail”)

Are these tools free to use for recruitment?

Yes, boolean search and X-ray search tools are free to use. The candidate profiles available on LinkedIn and other platforms are free to look for. These tools act as search modifiers and save time on screening through regular search results.

Boolean Search Commands:

• site:
• filetype:
• intitle:
• inurl:
• location:

What are the different boolean search strings?

Boolean search strings are combinations of keywords and operators used to refine and customize online searches.

Boolean search is crucial in recruitment for creating specific candidate search queries. It helps recruiters find suitable employee profiles efficiently by filtering out irrelevant profiles and tailoring searches to job requirements.

Here are some common boolean search or x-ray search strings and operators:

• AND: Narrows down your search by requiring all specified keywords to appear in the results. Example: “project manager” AND “budgeting” will show results containing both terms.
• OR: Broadens your search by allowing any of the specified keywords to appear in the results. Example: “software engineer” OR “developer” will show results containing either term.
• NOT: Excludes specific keywords from the search results. Example: “marketing” NOT “social media” will show results related to marketing but exclude those mentioning social media.
• Quotes (” “): Searches for an exact phrase or sequence of words. Example: “content writer” will search for that exact phrase.
• Parentheses ( ): Group terms together to control the order of operations. Example: (“project manager” OR PM) AND budgeting will show results containing either “project manager” or “PM” along with “budgeting.”
• * (Asterisk): Used as a wildcard to represent any word or character. Example: market* will search for “market,” “marketing,” “markets,” etc.
• site: Limits results to a specific website or domain. Example: site:linkedin.com “data analyst” will show results from LinkedIn containing “data analyst.”
• filetype: Filters results to a specific file type. Example: “annual report” filetype:pdf will show PDF files containing “annual report.”
• intitle: Searches for a specific keyword in the title of a webpage or document. Example: intitle:”resume tips” will show results with “resume tips” in the title.
• inurl: Searches for a specific keyword in the URL of a webpage. Example: inurl:jobs “software engineer” will show URLs containing “jobs” and “software engineer.”
• before/after: Restricts results to a specific date range. Example: “tech trends” before:2023 will show results mentioning “tech trends” before the year 2023.
• location: Used to specify a geographic location. Example: “marketing manager” location:New York will show results for marketing managers in New York.

Can I use a boolean search string during recruitment?

Yes, you can use boolean search strings during recruitment to enhance your candidate search process and save time. By combining keywords and operators like AND, OR, and NOT, you can target specific skills, job titles, and locations, resulting in more relevant and efficient candidate matches.

Is it necessary to use an X-Ray search?

No, using X-Ray search isn’t mandatory, but it streamlines searches for specific candidates by providing focused results from indexed web sources. This method, often using one Boolean string, helps recruiters swiftly locate tailored candidate information. Furthermore, it can help improve several hiring metrics by reducing time-to-hire and cost-of-hire.