Paste any boolean string. Get every syntax error that silently breaks a search, a plain-English reading of how it groups, and the same query rewritten for eight platforms with their documented limits checked. No sign-up.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)A curly quote is an ordinary character to a search engine, so the phrase is not treated as a phrase and the search silently widens.
Unbalanced brackets change how the groups combine, so the query runs but matches a different set of people than you intended.
Without brackets, platforms read left to right, so developer OR engineer AND python can return every developer regardless of Python.
Brackets decide who you get back. This is the grouping the platform will apply, in plain English.
AND and OR mixed without brackets, so this reads left to right
└ the exact phrase "software engineer"
└ the exact phrase "backend engineer"
└ python
└ but not: recruiter
AND, OR and NOT must be in capitals. LinkedIn states it does not support the * wildcard, and that the + and - operators are not officially supported, so exclusions are written as NOT. LinkedIn states positively that Recruiter and Recruiter Lite have no operator limit.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)
Wildcard: documented as not supported
LinkedIn Recruiter documentationSame syntax as Recruiter, but Sales Navigator documents a maximum of about 15 boolean operators in one query. It also warns that curly quotation marks are not supported, only straight ones.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)
Wildcard: documented as not supported. Operator limit: 15
LinkedIn Sales Navigator documentationA space already means AND, so the keyword is dropped. OR must be capitalised. Exclusions use a leading minus with no space after it. Google documents no length limit on its own search box.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" python -recruiter)
Wildcard: not documented
Google X-ray documentationBing documents AND, OR, NOT and parentheses, and requires NOT and OR in capitals. It processes only the first 10 terms of a query, so long strings are silently truncated.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)
Wildcard: not documented. Processes the first 10 terms only
Bing documentationIndeed documents AND, OR and quotes, and documents exclusion only as a leading minus, with no NOT keyword and no wildcard. Multi-word terms should be quoted.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python -recruiter)
Wildcard: not documented
Indeed documentationGreenhouse documents AND, OR, NOT, quotes, parentheses and the * wildcard, so Java* matches Java and JavaScript. Full Text Search must be switched on. Smart quotes pasted from a document break the query.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)
Wildcard: documented as supported
Greenhouse documentationIn Workable's boolean mode AND is the default between terms and NOT is written as a prefix. Fuzzy matching is on by default, so results include near-spellings. Its basic search box behaves as OR instead, which changes the same string's meaning entirely.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python NOT recruiter)
Wildcard: documented as supported
Workable documentationAshby documents that the word NOT does not work and that exclusion is written as ! or -. Operators do not need capitals, square brackets group as well as parentheses, and * is documented as a leading modifier only, so *script matches javascript and typescript.
("software engineer" OR "backend engineer" AND python !recruiter)
Wildcard: documented as supported
Ashby documentationMost boolean searches that return nothing, or the wrong people, fail on syntax rather than logic. Paste your string and the checker repairs the usual suspects and lists every change it made:
), and empty () groups.“ ”) pasted from Word or Google Docs that search engines do not read as quotes.and / or / not, a string that starts or ends with an operator, doubled operators like AND OR, and commas used as separators.AND and OR mixed at the same level without brackets, which platforms read left to right.AND, OR and NOT in capitals, supports brackets and quotes, and does not support the * wildcard.AND, only understands OR in capitals, and excludes with a leading dash: -recruiter instead of NOT recruiter.AND, OR and quotes, but documents exclusion only as a leading minus. It documents no NOT keyword and no * wildcard.Pick the platform under Format for and copy the rewritten string. Build a new string from scratch with the Boolean Search String Builder, widen it with the Synonym Expander, or point it at public profiles with the X-ray Search Builder.
A corrected string still only searches the platform you paste it into, one at a time, with no contact details attached. HeroHunt runs the same query against a live candidate index across LinkedIn, GitHub and the open web, screens every match against your role, and reveals verified emails and phone numbers.
Turn a role into a Google or Bing query that searches public profiles across eleven networks, including LinkedIn, GitHub and Google Scholar.
Expand one title into every alternative title, adjacent skill and abbreviation your search should cover.
Describe the role in plain English and get a correct nested boolean string, ready for every platform.
HeroHunt runs your boolean against a live index across LinkedIn, GitHub and the open web, screens every match against your role, and reveals verified contact details, without pasting it into three platforms.
