X-Ray Search — an effective sourcing tool
How to use it?
Introduction
To move on to discuss the technique by which a Sourcer is able to search Google to find candidates, it is necessary to start with the definition of the term direct search, the foundation of which is the use of Internet resources through appropriate techniques, while the goal is to catch so-called passive candidates (i.e. those who have not applied, but may be the talent sought by the company). Direct search is therefore a set of activities that allow the most accurate targeting of all recruitment needs, and thus finding the right people in the mass of potential candidates.
The most important operators of X-Ray Search
The basic piece of information worth noting in the context of using X-Ray Search is that the tool provides a search of page data without entering it directly, so you can get information from specific types of subpages (such as user profiles). How it works? Google provides searches using the appropriate search operators if you correctly specify what you are looking for. These operators construct a string of characters that becomes the so-called search code and leads us to the desired results.
The basic operators are:
· intitle: — allows you to browse pages by title based on the words they contain
· intext: — provides the ability to search pages based on their content
An example of the use of the above operators, can be, for example, typing in Google search term intitle:Software Developer, thanks to which we will get a list of pages on which the specified phrase appears. The intext operator will also work in exactly the same way, but in this case, after typing intext:Software Developer, we will find the content of the subpages, not the titles.
It is worth noting that the use of the above commands leads to a search of the entire Google index, which can be favorable when looking for new channels for sourcing candidates, but if we want to narrow our search significantly, we should be interested in other operators.
Operators such as:
KEY
· site: — which allows us to browse through the entire content of a website to find information that is important to us, e.g. site:github.com C# programmer. After typing such a command, we get the results of specific subpages that present the words C# programmer.
· inurl: — this operator allows us to search for words of value to us in the hyperlink itself. For example, after typing inurl:programmer in the search engine, we will get the results of pages that have the word programmer in their hyperlink.
OTHER
· filetype: — thanks to this operator we are able to collect data in the formats we expect. For example, after typing the phrase filetype:pdf ranking of IT companies, we will get a list of pdf formats with the subject we specified in the command.
· related: — here we are dealing with an operator that ensures finding results of related pages to the page we specify in the keyword. This can look like the following: related:wp.pl — where the search engine will show us pages with similar topics.
· “” — after typing the command “Java Developer” we will get only results from pages where the given wording appears in such a string without a variable order.
· * — thanks to this tag we can search for information that contains, for example, the phrase best programmer — best programmer *.
OR, AND, NOT and () as support operators
Among the logical operators we can include such commands as OR, AND, NOT and (), which provide the creation of more advanced queries for the search engine.
() — the two-sided bracket narrows the information to a well-defined set.
NOT — this operator excludes the selected word from the search results, e.g. site:linkedin.com/in Ruby Programmer NOT Senior, so you get results with links to profile pages of Ruby programmers who do not have the word Senior specified in the post.
AND — an example would be typing site:linkedin.com/in Java AND Developer, so you get results with profiles of developers with a Java specialization.
OR — the OR operator combines the search terms we are looking for, e.g. by typing site:linkedin.com/in C++ OR C# we will get results with either the phrase C++ or the phrase C# or links to profiles of specialists in both ranges at the same time.
Using X-Ray Search is thus a way to expand one’s ability to source the right and matching candidates, especially when dealing with the many variables present in the field of job requirements. The correct use of operators is not an easy task, especially since you have to keep in mind the ever-changing ways of searching — it is worth keeping an eye on in the context of using as many synonyms as possible. Using keywords and operators with X-ray Search in a thoughtful way is a technique that certainly pays off, and creates further options for growth as a Sourcer.
Words by Kinga Kuśnierz, Content Writer at Altimetrik Poland
Big thanks to Weronika Grzeszcz — TA Analyst at Altimetrik Poland for sharing with me such an interesting knowledge.
