How Boolean search works
Boolean search is a search engine technique that can help you throughout the recruiting and hiring process. As you look for candidates, Boolean search narrows down your results so you can find candidates with the skills and background you’re looking for. Narrowing your search is as simple as incorporating the operative words AND, NOT and OR. These operative words combine with your chosen keywords to pinpoint quality candidates for your open roles.
The operative word AND instructs the search engine to only present resumes with both keywords, for example, “mechanic AND electrical.” NOT tells the search engine to exclude unwanted keywords, as in “mechanic NOT carpenter.” And OR gives the search engine the option to include either keyword, such as “HVAC repair OR installation.”
Parentheses can be used to connect keywords, while quotation marks signal that multiple words should be taken as a single search term. Using multiple operative words and symbols helps you craft more complex searches, such as:
- industrial AND (mechanic OR technician): A search like this would present resumes containing the keywords “industrial mechanic” or “industrial technician.”
- (“hydraulic mechanic” OR “hydraulic technician”) AND maintenance: This search would present candidates specialized in hydraulic-powered systems.
- (“HVAC maintenance” OR “HVAC repair”) NOT installation AND (“Salt Lake City”): This search would present HVAC repair technicians in the Salt Lake City area.
Did you know? You can use Boolean search on Indeed Smart Sourcing to proactively find qualified candidates from our pool of 245 million resumes. Gain a competitive edge in your recruitment process and quickly pinpoint candidates who meet your specific requirements. Indeed’s matching engine also learns from your resume searches to deliver quality matches. Start your search with a 14-day free trial.
How to search for maintenance candidates by location
Boolean search can also help you find maintenance candidates in specific locations, including cities, states and metro areas. Simply add the name of your location to the search. Be mindful that Boolean search may present candidates who’ve previously worked in the area but no longer live there. You can bypass this by putting “lives in” before the name of the location, but this might hide results that don’t contain the exact phrase.
Some examples of location-based search strings for finding maintenance industry candidates include:
- (“maintenance mechanic” OR “maintenance technician”) AND (“New York City” OR NYC): This will show you mechanics in the New York City area.
- carpenter AND (Newark OR “New Jersey”) NOT “New York”: With this search, you’ll find carpenters who operate in New Jersey but not New York.
- (electrician OR “commercial electrician”) AND (“lives in San Francisco” OR “lives in the Bay Area”): This will show you electricians who live in the San Francisco area.
How to search for maintenance candidates by skills and experience
Conducting Boolean searches can also help you find maintenance candidates with specific skills and experience. This includes skills like problem-solving, time management and leadership. For repairs and installation of specialized equipment, you can also include terms like HVAC or hydraulics.
Be specific when creating skills-based search strings. The operative field “skill:” can narrow your search to the skills portion of a resume to highlight candidates who might be the right fit. Some examples of skills-based maintenance search strings include:
- “maintenance supervisor” AND skill: communication OR management: This search string will present candidates with experience as maintenance supervisors who are particularly skilled in communication or management.
- (“industrial mechanic” OR “industrial technician”) AND skill: hydraulics: This will show you mechanics with a specific focus on industrial hydraulic equipment.
- (“welder” OR “fabricator”) AND skill: TIG: A search like this will present welding professionals specialized in TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding.
How to search for maintenance candidates by education
Boolean search for maintenance candidates can help you find resumes that list specific educational information. This can be a certain degree, certification or license, such as a maintenance and reliability technician certificate (CMRT).
Educational fields can be entered on their own or with unique operative phrases. You can use “fieldofstudy:” or “school:” to narrow your search to specific sections of a resume. Some examples of education-based search strings for maintenance candidates include:
- “maintenance engineer” AND fieldofstudy: “mechanical engineering”
- mechanic AND fieldofstudy: “hydraulic technologies”
- (“maintenance mechanic” OR “maintenance technician”) AND (CMRT OR “Certified Maintenance and Reliability Technician”)
Ready to search for maintenance and repair candidates? Try Indeed Smart Sourcing for free for 14 days.
How to combine search criteria
Now that you know the basics of Boolean search, you can start using it to combine location, skills and education criteria to find qualified maintenance industry candidates. Be specific and wary of typos when you craft your search string, as they can eliminate relevant candidates.
A few examples of combined search strings for maintenance candidates include:
- “Mechanic” AND “ASE Certification” AND skill: (tire OR lube) AND Boston: This search will present mechanics who have an ASE Certification, skills in tire or lube and live in Boston.
- (“maintenance mechanic” OR “maintenance technician”) AND CMRT AND skill: (hydraulic NOT pneumatic) AND “Salt Lake City”: A search string like this will find Salt Lake City maintenance candidates with CMRT certifications who specialize in hydraulic equipment.
- “HVAC technician” AND (maintenance OR repair) AND skill: “time management” AND “lives in Las Vegas”: This search will find Las Vegas HVAC repair technicians who may be particularly skilled in time management.
Get started with Boolean search on Indeed
Boolean search can help you narrow your maintenance candidate search to find candidates your company is looking for. By streamlining the hiring and recruiting processes, Boolean search strings can help your hiring managers save time and be more productive. Try using Boolean search today to find the repair, maintenance and installation candidates who meet your needs.
Start your Boolean search for maintenance candidates with Indeed Smart Sourcing’s 14-day free trial. Our advanced search filters and support for Boolean search means you can quickly narrow in on the right candidates from our pool of 245M resumes.Not only that but Indeed’s matching engine learns from your resume searches and candidate activity on Indeed to deliver quality matches.