{"id":5622,"date":"2014-11-06T08:16:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T16:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=5622"},"modified":"2023-05-15T10:34:18","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:34:18","slug":"finding-candidates-on-google-picking-which-keywords-to-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/finding-candidates-on-google-picking-which-keywords-to-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Candidates on Google: Picking Which Keywords to Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture this: You\u2019re trying to attract the best talent and find candidates in not-so-traditional ways. You hop on Google to look for the right fit, but your search only turns up the same old LinkedIn profiles. Wait a minute, you think. I thought Google was supposed to be the magic bullet here. Why am I relying on a search engine that serves up the same result over and over and over again?<\/p>\n

Good news: The issue is probably you, not Google. And, ultimately, that\u2019s a great thing. Google can be an excellent tool for folks\u00a0who know how to construct the right search. It all comes down to finding the right keywords and creating a search that leads you to the right candidate. The process can help you narrow down exactly what makes an ideal candidate for the position you\u2019re trying to fill. Follow these five easy steps, and you\u2019ll find the best untapped talent in no time.<\/p>\n

1. Figure out your basic keywords<\/h3>\n

Always start with the basics; luckily, this step is easy to get out of the way and is a great place to let your job description be our guide. Look for basics like skills, past positions, location, and education to help find your ideal candidate.<\/p>\n

2. Figure out what your ideal candidate may\u00a0have done<\/h3>\n

Okay, you\u2019ve imagined your ideal candidate\u2019s qualifications, but what would they have done to get those qualifications? This is where you drill down to the specific skills that make your search worthwhile. Examples include writing papers or blog posts, attending certain conferences or belonging to associations or groups that pertain to the job in question.<\/p>\n

3. Figure out what to exclude<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t forget to think about things from the other perspective, and decide what qualifications and characteristics you DON\u2019T want in a candidate. For example, if you\u2019re looking for a growth hacker, you\u2019ll want to exclude candidates who have attended black-hat conferences for real hackers. Sometimes, deciding what you don\u2019t want can narrow down your results even better than keywords relating to what you do want.<\/p>\n

4. Construct your Boolean search<\/h3>\n

Using the keywords you discovered above, construct your Boolean search<\/a>. Let\u2019s use the growth hacker example again. If you\u2019re looking for a growth hacker in the Maryland area who doesn\u2019t attend black-hat conferences but does blog and did attend the Growthathon conference in Silicon Valley, your searches might look something like this:<\/p>\n