In the sourcing world, it seems like there are as many search options as there are stars in the sky. If we are being honest, we all know that delivering an A+ level candidate from a tool no one else knows about is completely gratifying. However, sometimes you need to go the same pool that everyone else does to be effective and provide value to your organization.
When it comes to mainstream search tools, Indeed’s Resume Search is hard to beat. Its free to search, fast and easy to use, supports Boolean, and is very flexible. While most of us in recruiting and sourcing are already using it, many don’t know the simple hacks that shave time off of finding the right results.
Like most resume search sites, it offers an advanced search function that simplifies the process and allows you to dig down to what you really want. They take it a step further and offer search operators that allow the same search capacity from the main search box – the screenshot below highlights those options and the corresponding operator that will work throughout Indeed.
With the advanced search operators, it’s easy to get to exactly what you are searching for.
- Need to find a software engineer that came from XYZ company? Got you covered.
- Have a hiring manager that refuses to hire anyone from a college that beat his alma mater in football? You can eliminate those schools without problem.
- Need to find someone who has a degree in (you fill in the blank)? No problems at all.
Below are a couple of simple examples of what the search strings look like once assembled and the results they bring. With Indeed, you can use what seems to be an unlimited number of characters in your search. While the default is to bring back the most relevant results on top, you can also sort them by date.
For those that refuse to use the search function within a resume database you can rejoice in the fact that you can use your favorite search engine to find Indeed resumes using the site: command. While you won’t be able to search using the operators shown above, you can still be effective in finding people without getting your hands too dirty.
Indeed doesn’t offer quite the same gratification that finding a solid candidate on the deep end of the web does. However, using Indeed coupled with a little know how and creativity you will find some great (and sometimes surprising) candidates, get some quick wins, and a have a great (no cost) search resource.