/ Recruiting

The Boolean Architect

Stop fighting syntax. Build complex, error-free recruiting search strings in seconds.

A LinkedIn Boolean search generator turns plain lists of titles, skills, and exclusions into one search string using the operators AND, OR, and NOT. AND requires every term, OR accepts any term in a group, and NOT removes profiles that match a term. Quotes keep multi-word phrases together and parentheses group each clause, so (Founder OR CEO) AND (SaaS) AND NOT (Intern) finds founders or CEOs in SaaS while filtering out interns.

How the Boolean string is built

The tool groups your inputs into three clauses:

  • Titles are joined with OR inside parentheses, so any one of them can match: (Founder OR CEO).
  • Required keywords are joined with AND, so every one must appear: (SaaS AND B2B).
  • Exclusions go in a NOT group to remove unwanted profiles: NOT (Intern OR Assistant).
  • Any term with a space is wrapped in quotes, like "Product Manager", so the phrase stays intact.

Reference examples

Titles Keywords Exclude Boolean string
Founder, CEO SaaS, B2B Intern, Assistant (Founder OR CEO) AND (SaaS AND B2B) AND NOT (Intern OR Assistant)
Product Manager, Growth Lead Fintech - ("Product Manager" OR "Growth Lead") AND (Fintech)
Recruiter - Agency, Staffing (Recruiter) AND NOT (Agency OR Staffing)
- Python, Django - (Python AND Django)

How it works

Enter job titles (comma separated) for the OR group.

Enter keywords/skills (comma separated) for the AND group.

Enter exclusions (comma separated) for the NOT group.

Add an optional location.

The tool generates two search strings: LinkedIn Native and Google X-Ray.

Click "LAUNCH SEARCH" to open the query in a new tab.

Why it matters

LinkedIn's search bar is powerful, but unforgiving. One missing parenthesis and your results are garbage. This tool handles the nesting logic for you. It also generates an 'X-Ray' string, allowing you to search LinkedIn profiles via Google - bypassing the commercial use limit and finding candidates outside your network.

Example

Titles: Founder, CEO
Keywords: SaaS, B2B
Exclusions: Intern, Assistant
Result: (Founder OR CEO) AND (SaaS AND B2B) NOT (Intern OR Assistant)

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Questions people ask

What is a Boolean search on LinkedIn?

A Boolean search combines your terms with the operators AND, OR, and NOT so LinkedIn matches exactly the profiles you want. AND requires every term, OR accepts any term in a group, and NOT excludes a term. Wrap multi-word phrases in quotes and group each clause in parentheses so the logic stays unambiguous.

When should I use AND, OR, and NOT?

Use OR for interchangeable job titles or synonyms, like (Founder OR CEO OR Owner). Use AND to require every skill or keyword, like (SaaS AND B2B). Use NOT to drop noise, like NOT (Intern OR Assistant). Group each clause in its own parentheses so LinkedIn evaluates the operators in the order you intend.

What is the difference between LinkedIn native and Google X-Ray search?

The native string runs inside LinkedIn's own people search and respects your account's commercial-use limit. The X-Ray string uses site:linkedin.com/in/ with intitle: on Google, so you can find public profiles from outside LinkedIn without hitting that limit. This tool builds both from the same titles, keywords, and exclusions.