Hints and Tips
We have included some hints and tips below to help you get the most from your searches in
iProfile Recruiter Account. You do not need to read the whole of this section before you
start using iProfile Recruiter Account but taking the time to go through some of the tips
may help you greatly improve the accuracy of your searches and enhance the relevancy of the
candidates returned in your search results.
Save your searches
If you are working the same markets and recruiting for the same roles often it is a good idea
to use the Save Searches function available on iProfile Recruiter Account. This way you can
save your favourite search criteria and run them whenever you want without having to retype the
search.
You can also set alerts to your saved searches. An alert pop-up will appear whenever you are
in iProfile Recruiter Account to notify you of relevant candidates as soon as they become
available for your saved searches.
Use Boolean Logic to refine your searches
What is Boolean Logic?
Boolean logic is a decision making technique that can be used on iProfile recruiter Account
to help you limit and refine a search. The table below will introduce you to the key
operators.
| Boolean Operators |
Example |
Description |
| And |
manager and analyst |
-
Using this operator between search entities means that both words must
be contained in the returned results.
-
All returned results must score 100.
|
| Or |
manager or analyst |
-
Using this operator between search entities means that either word must be
contained within the results.
-
If 2 search entities are used and only 1 is contained in the returned results,
the score will be 100. If both are returned the score will also be 100.
|
| Not |
manager not analyst |
-
Using this operator between search entities means that the first entity entered
in the search is the main entity searched on. However, search results containing
the second entity will also be returned albeit with a lower score.
-
All results with manager but no analyst in the returned results will score 100.
-
Results with manager and analyst will return with a score of 50.
-
Results that do not contain manager or analyst will also be returned with
a score of 50.
|
| And Not |
manager and not analyst |
-
Using this operator between search entities means that the returned results
should only contain the first search entity and not the second.
-
The returned results should only contain results with manager with a score
of 100.
|
| Or Not |
manager or not analyst |
-
Using this operator between search entities means that the returned results
should only contain the first search entity and all other results that do
not contain analyst.
-
All returned results should score 100.
|
| + |
+manager analyst |
-
This operator is used in front of a search entity to indicate the entity is
a 'must have' when the search includes several entities.
-
Results returned must include the 'must have' entity. Each entity is weighed
equally.
|
| - |
-manager analyst |
-
This operator is used in front of a search entity to indicate the entity is
a 'must not have' when the search includes several entities.
-
Results returned must not include the indicated 'must not have' entity. All
other returned search entities are weighed equally.
|
Quotation marks
"" |
"project manager"
"business analyst" |
-
This operator is used to define phrases. This is to ensure that the words are searched together rather than separately.
*this operator is not supported in the Tags search box
|
Brackets
() |
manager and ("business analyst" or "business consultant") |
-
This operator is used to cluster parts of a search string together.
-
Other Boolean operators can be used with all entities located within a set
of brackets.
*this operator is not supported in the Tags search box
|
| Wildcard |
develop*
*bank*
"project manag*"
"business * analyst"
|
-
Wildcards are used as a substitute for any other character or characters in a
phrase or string
-
A wildcard can be used as truncation - to expand a search entity to include
all forms of a root word, for example: develop* - is used, the returned
results should contain all variances of the entity used in the search
including - developers, development, develop, etc.
-
A double wildcard can also be used, for example: *bank*. The results will
contain variances that contain the word bank, including banking, Bank of
Lapland, Royal Bank of Windrush Islands, The Banking Institute, etc.
Double wildcards are particularly useful for using in the Employer search
field.
-
A wildcard can also be used on phrases, for example: "project manag*". The
returned results will contain all variances of the entity used including
"project manager", "project management", "project managing", etc.
-
Wildcards can also be used to substitute a whole word rather, for example:
"business * analyst". The returned results will contain phrases that contain
the search entity such as "business systems analyst", "business process
analysts", etc.
*this operator is not supported in the Tags search box
|
-
You can also use a variety of special characters in your searches, such as @ # $ % / &.
These characters are not Boolean operators but can be used in search strings in which
you have also included Boolean logic.
-
Examples of the use of special characters feature heavily in skills, for example C# and C++.
Other uses of special characters include "Life & Pensions", "Application/Architecture
Analysis & Design", etc.
-
Please note that you cannot search on full stops, for example: .Net. You can search for
this skill and results will be returned but the search engine will have ignored the full
stop which you entered as part of the search entity. This will not greatly impact the
relevancy of the results returned as Net is usually found in the context of .Net.
Remove 'Exact Match Only' setting
If you're having trouble searching for a good candidate, it may be because your searches are
too narrow with the 'Exact Match Only' setting turned on. Try turning it off for non-essential
sections, for example: Location.
Searching for candidates in a niche role
Whilst you will probably carry out many of your searches with the Time Range set to 'Within
Last 1 Job' (it is the default setting for all searches) when searching on work history, it may
be the wrong setting if you are looking to make a placement for a niche role. Try setting the
time range back - 'Within Last 2 Jobs' or 'Within Last 3 Years' - and you will find a larger
set of returned results that may contain the perfect candidate for the role you are looking to
fill.
You might also find it useful to remove the 'Exact Match Only' setting or try increasing the
radius. Remember you are searching on the candidates' home location and could be missing out
on people who might be willing to relocate.
Check the iProfile
Exploit the most up to date information available to you by checking the candidates' iProfiles.
We recommend you check the candidates' iProfiles because the copy of the CV that your agency
holds may not be the most up to date. As your agency is part of the iProfile Exchange, you
will obtain updates to your database of candidates when their information is updated with
another agency. However, that updated information is only available to you on the iProfile
and not the copy of the CV you hold.
Also keep in mind that when you include Keyword (the only search field in iProfile Recruiter
Account that searches on the candidate's CV) as part of your search criteria, the search is
carried out against the current CV held in the iProfile Exchange not the copy held by your
agency. This means that certain returned results may look like they do not fit your criteria
but they do according to the information available on their latest CV, which is available
on the iProfile.
How the candidate can help to improve your searches
No matter how good technology is, the most up to date and accurate information about
candidates can only come from them. When you speak to candidates make sure you tell them that
you're looking at their iProfile and encourage them to keep it up to date. The more candidates
engage with their iProfiles, the more reliable your search results will be.
Shortcut keys save time
When you're looking through a candidate's iProfile and don't have time to look for the
highlighted words, you can use Ctrl + F to quickly lookup words exactly like you would
in any Microsoft Word document.