Tech Sourcing Course 

https://courses.amazinghiring.com/  

Boolean Strings & X-Ray: Q&A With 

Kim and Gordon Lokenberg 
 

How is AI going to affect the Recruitment Industry 

 
In my opinion: AI is no way there yet. The population feeding AI products are not big enough.
You need thousands of entries instead of ⅚ to make AI work. On the other hand, you see that
machines are actually learning. So just sit tight and let’s see what will happen in the future, but
this is not in the next few years.
On the other hand, don’t be afraid of new tech coming out, embrace it, and use it to your
advantage.  

Any Boolean / x-rays for finding product managers and UK 

researchers 
 
Use the same commands and operators in any way you like, but make sure you change your
keywords to what you are looking for. E.g. inurl:resume “product manager” -jobs or try
site:linkedin.com/in “UX researcher”

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How/Where do I find very junior people so Graduates? They 

usually don't have many keywords on their profiles.

There are many roads leading to Rome, however, one of the ways is on LinkedIn and we will
show this in the next session on Tuesday, May 5th.
You can find them for instance through the alumni search. Try going to a university page on
LinkedIn, you will find an alumni section. You can find them here.

Does LinkedIn translate boolean strings? In other words, would I 

need to account for the alternative forms of "Engineer" in 
different languages when searching? 
 
These are 2 separate questions. LinkedIn does not translate boolean strings. But LinkedIn does
semantic search nowadays (something we not necessarily should be happy with, but we will talk
about it on the next session), so you do not need to type developer OR engineer, this will not
always give you better results.
As discussed, sometimes job titles are mostly in your own language. Depending on where you
live you need to put in the translation. For example, The Netherlands is such a small country we
do not have a Dutch LinkedIn, nor the translations.

How do you manage hiring managers expectations, when they are 

not willing to change/expand their requirement an that if they are 
looking for a unicorn 
 
It all starts with a thorough intake. Be prepared for the intake and it helps if you already did
some research, so you can immediately explain when they are, for example, searching for a
Unicorn. After the intake talks and engage with them, keep them in the loop and show them the
data. Data can prove them either wrong or right and you can go from there. Communication is
key here!

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Can you explain regarding web search again 

 
Roughly said the web is divided into three layers: Surfaced Web, Deep Web, Dark Web
Surfaced Web, all info gathered and indexed by search engines Deep Web, not indexed by
search engines, accessible behind login Dark Web, don’t go there unless you know what to do,
e.g. use a virtual machine, VPN, and again know where to go to.

What is OSINT 
 
OSINT stands for Open Source Intelligence, a way of approaching the web to gather the
information that leads to intelligence reports. OSINT makes use of a lot of tools, extensions, and
strategies to get the intel as thorough and fast as possible. A lot of the OSINT tools are also
applicable to online talent sourcing activities.

I have a question regarding a profile that doesn't have 

information about his responsibilities for my role that I'm looking 
for. What is the solution for this? How can I find out that he has a 
suitable profile for my ​Java​ role, for example? 
 
Talk to him or her!

Is there really a difference in the result of a search between 

Google and Bing 
 
Google and Bing are 2 different databases, one is filled by Google, the other by Bing.
Like your local library, it contains different books than the one in the other city.
In both, you’ll find books about English literature, but not always the same books in both.
Or try the milk a refrigerator, in mine, it could contain milk as well in yours. In mine it could be
cow milk, in yours it could be milk from a goat or we both have milk made of soja.

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can you do filetype:doc? or use filetype:doc|docx if looking for doc 

or docx files? 
One at the time will work best, on the other hand, Google uses semantics, so it will probably
give you both.

Can we use the file type search on linkedin site to get resumes? 
No, will not work

Is there a page where we can find Boolean strings, that we can 

copy and use 
 
As already mentioned yesterday during the session, we never recommend using a boolean
builder. It is better to understand how to build the strings to your own needs. You want to be in
control of what you are after right? Sourcing is mostly about the mindset and you are being
helped by tools and tricks. You can create your own file where you save the basic strings that
work for you.
We actually discussed this with Irina Shameeva after the session and she has written a blog
about the subject with a very clear explanation. You can find it here: ​booleanstrings.com/
For everyone, subscribe to the newsletter!!!!!

Can inurl, intitle, intext and site command be used in one string 
 
Yes, you can, though, if you know all that information, you probably know where to go directly.
So no need to search :)
 
How to find synonyms for job titles 
 
Start asking your hiring manager, it is part of the briefing. What are other companies calling this
position, what are the synonyms, etc. You can also search for jobs, but then only look for the
requirements, you will then see different job titles for the same skill set, for example: inurl:job
java spring sql.
Also, you can add Glossary tech in the Chrome Store. It is a brilliant tool to get you started in
tech sourcing.

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Why boolean works on chrome and not on firefox 

 
I think there is a misunderstanding here.
Both Chrome and Firefox are browsers.
Google is the search engine. So the operators should work on both.
Firefox is not a search engine.

What is the *, the asterisk 

 
Using the asterisk will allow Google to serve you the word you know is there, but can’t think of.
We call it the wildcard, try this if you are looking for whatever kind of senior developer:
“senior * developer”.

Could we use boolean for cv’s in specific regions 

 
Yes, you can, by choosing, for example, the local language in your search. Or by using the site:
command as in site:nl or simply add the name of the place you’re aiming for in your search.

Can we use a cheat sheet on Linkedin also? 

Only the first part. But bare in mind you need to use the AND, OR, and NOT. It will not make
any sense to use the commands site: inurl: etc. We will show you how in the next session!

Is there a tool or app a new sourcer can use to develop their 

boolean search skills? 

Oh wow, there are so many. Google is your best friend, but there are other sources. For one
thing, we recommend to subscribe to the newsletter from Irina Shameeva via
booleanstrings.com/​, you can also sign up for the community ​booleanstrings.ning.com/​.
Social Talent has a lot of content on sourcing. Follow thought leaders in the community on
Twitter etc. etc.
Also, keep in mind that you can reach out to us any time when you have questions. We are here
for you. We can train you whenever you want in person!

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Is there a way to filter gender diversity on x-ray - thoughts and 

ideas appreciated...​.
There are many ways but always will take some time. Some examples are put she|her in your
search or use female and female job titles in your search eg. stewardess instead of the steward.
Try image search on Google, although it is not working as well anymore.
Or as some other sourcers do: type all the female first names in your string.

Can you differentiate a bit more what the difference between inurl 
and site is? 
Ok, two completely different things here.
Inurl: you are searching in the URL no matter what domain.
Site: you are searching with a specific domain.

X-Ray searching can be time consuming. At what point does it 

become more efficient to put down sourcing on platforms like 
Linkedin, and pick up x-ray sourcing on google. 
Sourcing can be simple, but it will always take time. Why would x-ray searching be more time
consuming than searching on LInkedIn?
The pro for Google X-Ray over searching in LinkedIn is that you get further into the system. I
will come back to this in our next session.

Will you share some search string examples with job descriptions 
and search results? 
If you send me a job description or 2, I will send you some examples. ​kim@thelokenbergs.com

Xray searching resumes by location always seems inaccurate. 

Have you got any tips on this? 

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A bit of a misunderstanding here. X-Ray is for specific domains. Resume search is a Google
search.
You need to be very specific about what you want to find. For instance, I would never put my
contact details on my resume and put it on the web. But you will see that most of my positions
were in Amsterdam, so I might turn up in a search for Amsterdam.
It is always trial and error.

How would you do an x-ray search when your string needs to be a 

mix of domain with tech skillset? Say Trading Systems with 
Python​, C++? 
site:linkedin.com/in “trading systems” python “c++”

Irina Shamaeva recently suggested there is no longer a need to 

use OR search on Google, do you agree with her and why? 
We do agree to a certain point. Do not use OR in a search like: developer OR engineer. This will
not make sense since Google uses semantics and this will be noise in your search. However,
you can use OR for example when searching for more than one location or completely different
skills. It is all about not using it for synonyms.

Please cover Data mining/scraping from a website 

We will show you in the next sessions.

Please explain CSE and how does it help, how can we create it? 
You can create a Custom Search Engine with Google. It will help you, amongst others, not to
type in the same query every day. Hopefully, we will have time to show some more information
about this.
In the meantime, check out cse.google.com.

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What is the link to your 5/6 training session? Where do we 

register? 
All sessions will be with the same link, but we first will have 3 and 4.

Best bar in Amsterdam 

 
Well, they depend on your planned night out! ​Amsterdam​ counts more than 1,100 bars
and pubs. You can imagine that there is basically one on each corner of the street
around the city. AND by the way, we are in Lockdown as most of you are as well. When
in the future you are in Amsterdam, give us a call and we will meet you in one of them.

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