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Boolean Search Generator
How do I write a Boolean string to find candidates on LinkedIn, Google and Indeed?
Matched "Accountant" — pick synonyms below.
Comma-separated, e.g. internal or company-specific titles.
Comma-separated. Keep it to 1–3: every extra AND shrinks the results.
Comma-separated alternatives, e.g. tools or certifications.
Add a skill for Accountant
Words that signal the wrong profile, e.g. intern, student, recruiter.
Cities and country names as people write them on profiles. Comma-separated.
LinkedIn search (keywords box)
(Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant" OR "Staff Accountant") AND IFRS AND (SAP OR Oracle) NOT (intern OR trainee)
- Put the location in LinkedIn's Locations filter, not in the keywords — location words in keywords also match people who only mention the city.
- AND, OR and NOT must be in capitals. LinkedIn doesn't support the * wildcard.
Google X-ray (LinkedIn profiles)
site:linkedin.com/in (Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant" OR "Staff Accountant") IFRS (SAP OR Oracle) (Dubai OR "Abu Dhabi" OR UAE) -intern -trainee -intitle:jobs -inurl:jobs -inurl:dir -inurl:posts
- Google only shows public profiles it has indexed, so results are a sample — not every LinkedIn member.
- Open results in a private window if LinkedIn asks you to sign in.
Indeed (title: field)
title:(Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant" OR "Staff Accountant") AND IFRS AND (SAP OR Oracle) NOT (intern OR trainee)
- title: limits the job-title words to the title field. Paste it into Indeed's search box and set the location there.
ATS / CV database (with location)
(Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant" OR "Staff Accountant") AND IFRS AND (SAP OR Oracle) AND (Dubai OR "Abu Dhabi" OR UAE) NOT (intern OR trainee)
- Works in most ATS and CV-database keyword boxes that accept AND / OR / NOT.
Search and post at the same time
Sourcing finds people who aren't looking. A free job post on MenaJobs lets the ones who are looking find you.
Every string above in one email — paste them into LinkedIn, Google or your ATS later.
How the Boolean string is built
The tool puts your job title and the synonyms you tick into one bracketed OR group, because the same job goes by several names in the GCC. Each must-have skill is joined with AND, nice-to-have skills form a second OR group, and exclusions go after NOT. Multi-word phrases are wrapped in quotes so they match exactly. From the same inputs it writes four versions: LinkedIn (location left to the filter), a Google X-ray of LinkedIn profiles (location in the string, minus signs instead of NOT), Indeed (title: field) and a generic ATS/CV-database string with the location included. Each one is checked for unbalanced brackets and quotes, and the Google version for the 32-word limit.
- AND
- Every term must appear. In Google a space does the same job.
- OR
- Any one of the terms. Always in capitals and inside brackets.
- NOT
- Exclude a term. Google uses a minus sign (-intern) instead.
- "Quotes"
- An exact phrase, e.g. "site engineer".
Boolean string examples for GCC roles
The LinkedIn and Indeed versions for five Gulf hires. Every skill here is a real GCC requirement — swap in your own.
| Role | Indeed | |
|---|---|---|
| Accountant | (Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant") AND IFRS AND (VAT OR "corporate tax") NOT intern | title:(Accountant OR "Senior Accountant" OR "General Accountant") AND IFRS AND (VAT OR "corporate tax") NOT intern |
| PRO / Government Relations Officer | (PRO OR "Public Relations Officer" OR "Government Relations Officer") AND (MOHRE OR ICP OR Tasheel) | title:(PRO OR "Public Relations Officer" OR "Government Relations Officer") AND (MOHRE OR ICP OR Tasheel) |
| Registered Nurse | ("Registered Nurse" OR "Staff Nurse" OR RN) AND DHA AND (ICU OR ER) NOT student | title:("Registered Nurse" OR "Staff Nurse" OR RN) AND DHA AND (ICU OR ER) NOT student |
| HR Manager | ("HR Manager" OR "Human Resources Manager" OR "HR Business Partner") AND Qiwa AND (GOSI OR Mudad) | title:("HR Manager" OR "Human Resources Manager" OR "HR Business Partner") AND Qiwa AND (GOSI OR Mudad) |
| Real Estate Agent | ("Real Estate Agent" OR "Property Consultant" OR "Real Estate Broker") AND RERA AND ("off-plan" OR "secondary market") | title:("Real Estate Agent" OR "Property Consultant" OR "Real Estate Broker") AND RERA AND ("off-plan" OR "secondary market") |
PRO = government relations officer (visa and labour paperwork). Qiwa, GOSI and Mudad are Saudi HR platforms; RERA licenses Dubai brokers.
Things a search string can't do
- It only matches the words people wrote. Strong candidates with thin profiles won't appear — combine searching with referrals and a job post.
- LinkedIn's free search shows limited results outside your network; the Google X-ray version helps there.
- Don't use nationality, gender or age words to filter people out. For nationalisation roles, see our nationality search strings.
Data Sources
More sourcing tools
Have a job description already? Paste it into Boolean from job description. For public LinkedIn profiles use the LinkedIn X-ray search; for every operator in one place, see the Boolean search cheat sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Boolean search string?
A search using the words AND, OR and NOT plus quotes and brackets to combine keywords precisely. (Accountant OR "General Accountant") AND IFRS NOT intern finds people with either title who mention IFRS, and drops interns. LinkedIn, most ATS and CV databases, and Indeed all understand it.
Why do AND, OR and NOT have to be in capitals?
LinkedIn only treats them as operators in capitals; in lower case they're searched as ordinary words. LinkedIn also reads a string in a fixed order — quotes, then brackets, then NOT, then AND, then OR — which is why every OR list should sit in brackets. The generator does both for you.
How many must-have skills should I add?
One to three. Each AND removes everyone who didn't type that exact word on their profile, and good candidates often describe skills differently. Put the rest in 'nice-to-have', which becomes an OR group — any one of them is enough.
Should I put the city in the Boolean string?
On LinkedIn, no — use the Locations filter, because a city in the keywords also matches people who only mention it (a past job or a trip). In Google X-ray searches and CV databases without a location filter, the city words are useful, so the X-ray and ATS versions include them.
Can I search Arabic job titles?
Yes. For any title in our list, tick 'Include Arabic titles' to add the Arabic versions (for example محاسب or مهندس مدني) to the title group. That helps with profiles and CVs written in Arabic, common for Saudi and other GCC nationals.
Does the Indeed version work for CV search?
The title: field limits words to the job-title field, which Indeed's search supports. Paste the string into the search box and set the location in Indeed's own location field. Many GCC CV databases accept the same AND / OR / NOT syntax — use the ATS version there.
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