Use Boolean Search in LinkedIn

Use Boolean Search in LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s job search can be noisy: irrelevant roles, the wrong seniority level, and the same consultancy over and over again. Boolean search is the quickest way to clean that up.

By combining a few simple operators with LinkedIn’s own filters, you can turn the generic Jobs page into a targeted search tool that behaves much closer to what IT professionals expect from a query language.

LinkedIn officially supports Boolean search operators.

  • AND : both terms are required
  • OR : any of the terms is acceptable
  • NOT : exclude a term
  • ” ” : quotation marks for exact phrases
  • ( ) : parentheses to group parts of the search

Operators should be written in UPPERCASE. Lowercase words like and are treated as normal text.

The Theory

AND

The first example returns roles that mention Data Analyst and also Python. The second expects both VMware and PowerShell somewhere in the description.

On LinkedIn, a simple space often behaves like AND, but keeping AND explicit makes longer searches easier to read. Results must include all terms connected with AND.

A AND B

Examples:

"Data Analyst" AND Python
"Systems Administrator" AND (VMware AND PowerShell)

OR

This is useful when different companies name the same function differently. Results can contain one, the other, or both.

A OR B

Typical use case: synonyms or similar job titles.

Examples:

("Data Analyst" OR "Business Intelligence Analyst")
("DevOps Engineer" OR "Site Reliability Engineer" OR SRE)
("Helpdesk Technician" OR "Service Desk Technician")

Parentheses

Parentheses are essential when combining multiple ORs and NOTs; without them, the order in which LinkedIn evaluates the terms may not match expectations. Treat the contents as a single logical block.

A AND (B OR C)
A NOT (B OR C)

Think of this like brackets in programming or maths.

Examples:

("Data Analyst" OR "Business Analyst") AND (Python OR SQL)
("Backend Engineer" OR "Software Engineer") AND (Java OR Kotlin OR Spring)
"Software Engineer" NOT ("Company1" OR "Company3" OR "Company4")

NOT

Each NOT acts as a filter: if the word or phrase appears, the result is discarded.Results must not contain that term.

NOT A
NOT "multi word phrase"

Typical uses:

  • Remove internships if targeting full‑time
  • Remove “senior” if targeting junior roles (or the opposite)
  • Remove agencies or specific companies

Examples:

"Data Analyst" NOT internship NOT junior
"Software Engineer" NOT "call center"
"System Administrator" NOT "Company1" NOT "Company2"

Quotation marks

The simplest way to find stings with multiple words. The words must appear together and in that order.

"multi word phrase"

Use quotes for:

  • Job titles: "Data Scientist", "Product Manager", "Customer Success Manager"
  • Company names: "Company1", "Company2", "Company3", "Company4", "Company5"
  • Compound skills: "machine learning", "active directory"

Without quotes, LinkedIn can split the words and interpret them separately.

Examples:

"Data Analyst" AND (Python OR SQL)
"Customer Success Manager" NOT "call center"
"Network Engineer" AND "Cisco ASA"


Putting it together with a simple search recipe

A practical way to build a clean LinkedIn Jobs search:

Step 1 : Start with the exact role

Use quotes around the title.

"Data Analyst"
"DevOps Engineer"
"System Administrator"

Step 2 : Add must‑have skills with AND

"Data Analyst" AND (Python OR SQL)
"DevOps Engineer" AND (AWS OR "Google Cloud" OR GCP)
"System Administrator" AND (Linux OR "Windows Server")

Step 3 : Exclude junk with NOT

Remove internships, the wrong seniority, or keywords that signal irrelevant roles.

"Data Analyst" AND (Python OR SQL) NOT internship NOT junior
"DevOps Engineer" AND (AWS OR GCP) NOT internship NOT "support technician"

Step 4 : Exclude unwanted companies

Chain multiple NOT clauses. Use quotes for multi‑word company names.

"Software Engineer"
NOT "Company1"
NOT "Company3"
NOT "Company4"

Everything can be combined into one line:

"Software Engineer" AND (Java OR Kotlin)
NOT internship NOT junior
NOT "Company1" NOT "Company3" NOT "Company4"

Step 5 : Add LinkedIn’s own filters

After pressing search, refine using the interface:

  • Location (e.g. Madrid, Spain, Remote)
  • Date posted (Past 24 hours, Past week, etc.)
  • Experience level (Entry, Associate, Mid-Senior…)
  • Job type (Full-time, Contract, Internship)
  • Workplace type (On-site, Hybrid, Remote)

Boolean handles the text, filters handle the metadata (location, date, experience).

Rules of thumb

A few shortcuts that quickly improve results:

Always use quotes for multi‑word titles and companies.

Use OR for lists, AND for requirements

("DevOps Engineer" OR SRE OR "Site Reliability Engineer") AND (AWS OR GCP OR Azure)

Use NOT as a “trash filter”

NOT internship
NOT junior

When aiming at mid-level and block known agencies or consultancies with NOT “CompanyX”

Keep operators in UPPERCASE

AND, OR, NOT – not and, or, not.

Start simple, then iterate

Begin with the title and one or two skills. If results are noisy, add more NOT terms or refine with filters.

Maintain a reusable NOT blocklist

Store a line like:

NOT "Company1" NOT "Company2" NOT "Company3" NOT "Company5"

Paste it at the end of any new search string.

What not to do?

Avoid these common pitfalls for guaranteed results.

Using lowercase operators

"Data Analyst" and Python  ❌
"Data Analyst" AND Python  ✅

Lowercase may be treated as normal words instead of logic.

Skipping quotes for phrases

Data Analyst NOT Company1        ❌ (ambiguous)
"Data Analyst" NOT "Company1"    ✅

Without quotes, LinkedIn may match data and analyst separately.

Mixing AND/OR/NOT without parentheses

"Developer" OR "Engineer" AND Java        ❌
("Developer" OR "Engineer") AND Java      ✅

Parentheses ensure Java applies to both titles.

Using only NOT terms

LinkedIn expects at least one positive keyword. Use:

"Data Analyst" NOT "Company1" NOT "Company3"   ✅
NOT "Company1" NOT "Company3"                  ❌

Building unusably long strings

Huge chains of NOTs become hard to debug. Better approach:

  • Keep a master list in a text file or note.
  • Periodically clean it up.
  • Paste only what is really needed for a given search.

Relying on wildcards

Standard wildcards like dev* are not officially supported in normal LinkedIn Jobs searches, so relying on them can produce inconsistent results. Use OR with full words instead:

(developer OR development OR "software engineer")

Example templates to adapt

These patterns can be adapted to almost any IT role.

Mid‑level data roles:

("Data Analyst" OR "BI Analyst")
AND (SQL OR Python)
NOT internship NOT junior

DevOps / SRE:

("DevOps Engineer" OR "Site Reliability Engineer" OR SRE)
AND (AWS OR "Google Cloud" OR GCP OR Azure)
NOT internship NOT "support technician"

Customer-facing technical roles (no call centers):

("Customer Success Manager" OR "Account Manager")
AND (SaaS OR "B2B")
NOT "call center" NOT "telemarketing"

Software engineer, avoiding agencies:

"Software Engineer" AND (Java OR Kotlin OR Spring)
NOT internship NOT junior
NOT "Company1" NOT "Company2" NOT "Company3" NOT "Company5"

Used well, Boolean search plus LinkedIn’s filters turns the Jobs page from a generic listing into a targeted query engine. For anyone used to search operators, it feels much closer to running well-structured commands than scrolling through endless noise.