Searching for Candidates
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      Best Practices for Boolean Searching

      Here are our top tips on how to use Boolean searches within your Firefish CRM

      Contents

      1. Overview
      2. Using AND
      3. Using OR
      4. Using NOT
      5. Brackets & Quotations


      Overview

      Boolean searching is a powerful technique that allows you to refine and optimise your candidate searches within Firefish CRM. By using Boolean operators—AND, OR, and NOT—you can streamline your search results and ensure you find the most relevant candidates. It is essential to always write AND, OR, and NOT in uppercase; otherwise, the search may not function correctly.

      Boolean searches help accurately filter and narrow down candidate lists. Below are key best practices for effectively using Boolean searches.

       

      Using AND

      You should use the AND operator when you need to find candidates with experience in multiple areas.

      Example:

      Recruitment AND HR

      This search will return candidates whose profiles or CVs include both "Recruitment" and "HR."

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      Using OR

      The OR operator broadens your search by including candidates who have at least one of the specified keywords in their profiles.

      Example:

      Recruitment OR Recruiting

      This ensures that candidates with either "Recruitment" or "Recruiting" in their profiles or CVs appear in the search results. OR is useful for covering synonymous terms and avoiding missed opportunities.

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      Using NOT

      The NOT operator excludes specific terms from your search, helping to filter out irrelevant candidates.

      Example:

      Recruitment NOT HR

      This search will return candidates with "Recruitment" experience but exclude those who also have "HR" mentioned in their profile.

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      Brackets & Quotations

      Using brackets and quotation marks allows for more complex Boolean searches.

      Brackets

      Brackets help group terms and define the priority of operations within a search.

      Example:

      (talent OR HR) AND recruitment

      This search finds candidates who have either "talent" or "HR" experience, but they must also have "recruitment" experience.

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      If you use OR incorrectly, it may change the search intent. For example:

      talent OR (HR AND recruitment)

      This search will return candidates with "talent" or those who have both "HR" and "recruitment."

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      Quotation Marks

      You should use quotation marks when searching for an exact phrase or a specific combination of words.

      Example:

      "Human Resources"

      This ensures the search returns only candidates with the exact phrase "Human Resources" in their profile.

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      Another example using both brackets and quotation marks:

      (HR OR "Human Resources") AND recruitment

      This search returns candidates who have either "HR" or "Human Resources" in their profiles, along with "recruitment."

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