Google and other search engines are a staple of everyday life. Long gone are the days of sifting through an encyclopaedia to find the answer to your random question; now the term ‘just Google it’ is the answer most people give when given an unanswerable query! But are we using Google to its full potential, and how can we use it to find a candidate or job?
Number Range Search
Looking for a job but need a specific salary? Using a number range search in Google will turn up results containing the range of figures specified by the user. Typing two full stops between numbers will give you pages containing those figures, i.e., £25,000..£30,000. This can help you easily find job advertisements offering you your desired salary straight away.
In-site Search
If you are searching for a job with a particular company that may have a large website with a job page that is not easy to find, Google can help. For instance, if you would like to work for Sky, type in ‘jobs site:sky.com’ to be directed immediately to their careers page. This is a handy tool for those wanting to apply quickly and easily to companies with large websites.
Exact Phrase Search
If you are a recruiter looking for candidates, an exact phrase search can be a handy way of finding someone with specific skills or experience. Using inverted commas, i.e., “web developer back end” will give you jobseekers’ profiles with that specific data. The same can be used for those looking for work in order to define their skills and find job advertisements that immediately suit them.
URL Search
For those looking for websites offering jobs or candidates in particular fields, a URL search can help narrow down the search to companies offering such information within their URL. Searching for ‘allinurl:marketing recruitment’ will give users websites containing those words in the website URL therefore defining results in a more useful way.
Title Words Search
For recruiters and candidates alike, typing ‘allintitle:telecom jobs’, or any other specific suffix, will turn up articles, advertisements or posts containing only those words. This is a useful technique when searching for candidates whose profiles contain the desired skill set or qualifications.
Google is full of handy shortcuts that can be of use to candidates and recruiters alike. With so much recruiting done online, it is important to implement as many useful techniques as possible to ensure your search results are suited to your needs. Sifting through endless pages of results hoping to find what you are looking for does not need to be part of the process; streamlining these results using search operators can lead to you finding the job or candidate of your dreams THAT much quicker.
Jamie Mistlin find me on Google+.
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