The first item on our list of must haves, was the job title…a software developer.
I could search for exactly that: software developer.
But that isn’t the only possible title that candidates and firms use.
There are other terms I should be including as a potential title that we could consider interchangeable.
Here are some examples of similar titles for a software developer skill-set:
- Programmer
- Web Developer
- Application Developer
- Software Engineer
I would consider these to essentially be interchangeable.
So now I am going to bring in two more boolean search concepts (sorry if this is basic for some, but I want to make sure everyone follows…and trust me, we’ll get ramped up quickly if this appears basic to you):
These boolean search concepts are:
- Searching for an exact phrase: By enclosing multiple words in quotes “”
- Searching for one term or another: By using an OR statement
Searching for an exact phrase by using quotes ” “
In this case, look at my job titles and notice that they contain multiple words that I am going to search for: web developer, application developer and software engineer. If I did not include the exact job title phrase in quotes, I would get other pages in my search results that weren’t relevant.
Take for instance, the title: web developer. What other titles could I get if I didn’t include that term in quotes?
Maybe a Real Estate Developer, Business Developer, Project Developer…you catch my drift? I don’t want to see those people! Same thing for an engineer…there are different types of engineers, right?
Ok, so for my phrases, I’m going to include those in quotes: “web developer” and “application developer” and “software engineer”.
Searching for all possible items by using the OR operator
Ok, I want to case a wide net for the job titles, because they are interchangeable. I want to see a web page where the phrase “web developer” is on it. I also want to see a page that has “software engineer” on it. If I didn’t use the OR statement, and just listed out the titles in my search, I would be seeking a page that had every single item on one single page! We obviously don’t want that.
So here is how I will structure my search using the OR operator:
(“software developer” OR “application developer” OR programmer OR “software engineer”)
So right off the bat, notice that I enclosed my various search terms in a parentheses ( ) statement. Also, notice that I CAPITALIZED the OR. This is what Google (or Bing) and most other search engines (but not all) use. You can also use the | bar…which is typically under the “backspace” key on your keyboard.
Let’s keep building on our search…
Part 4 – Searching for the word “resume” in the page/browser title
I hope I am helping you with some actionable value here with this free mini-course.
Perhaps you can help me…
I am currently developing a very comprehensive PAID course, where I share all of my 16 years of knowledge as a sourcing recruiter. Right now, I am developing a list of those interested getting free access to the course when it launches. All I ask in return is your valuable feedback to help me refine aspects of the course. Also, if you do enjoy the course and find it helpful, I would welcome any testimonials, which will help the course reach a wider audience.