Find exactly the right contacts with Boolean search #OR #AND #NOT
How do you find exactly the people you are looking for on LinkedIn? The answer may lie in Boolean search, a method that uses special operators such as AND, NOT and OR.
Quotation marks for exact matches
If you are looking for a specific phrase, use quotation marks. For example, entering "Product Manager" helps you find that exact title in the search results. Make sure to use standard quotation marks (" "), as special symbols or typographic quotation marks („“) are not supported. Also avoid filler words such as "at", "in" or "with" to optimise your search.
NOT search: Exclude terms
Sometimes you want to exclude certain terms from your search. You do this by placing NOT (in uppercase) directly before the unwanted search term. For example, "Programmer NOT Manager" displays profiles of people who work as programmers but not as managers.
OR search: Expand your options
If you want to keep your search flexible, the OR operator helps. Entering "Sales OR Marketing OR Advertising" displays profiles that contain at least one of these terms. This gives you more options.
AND search: Combine multiple criteria
If you want to find people who meet several specific criteria, use AND. For example, entering "Accountant AND Finance AND Auditor" returns results that contain all of these terms.
Searching with parentheses: For complex requirements
For more complex search queries, you can place terms in parentheses. For example, if you are looking for VPs but want to exclude assistant positions and SVPs, enter: "VP NOT (Assistant OR SVP)".
Operator precedence
The order of execution in Boolean search is as follows: quotation marks, parentheses, NOT, AND and OR. Note that the "+" and "-" operators are not supported, and wildcard searches using "*" are also excluded.
Where can you use Boolean search?
Boolean search can be used not only in the general keyword field on LinkedIn.com, but also in the dedicated "Company", "Title" and "Keyword" fields in LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
Alternative / Another idea
Enter the keyword in the relevant filter and press Enter. For example, after entering Agency, you can choose to "Include or Exclude" it.
