Desired Keywords in Autobuild Searches

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Learn how to use Desired, Required, and Exclude keyword states in your Autobuild searches to broaden your candidate pool and surface the best-fit candidates at the top of your results.

How Desired Keywords Work

Desired keywords are currently only supported in Autobuild and Recommended Candidates (Automatch) searches. Desired keywords are not yet available for manually created searches.

When Autobuild generates a candidate search, keywords are typically added to your search criteria as Desired by default. Desired keywords influence how candidates are ranked in your results: candidates who match more desired keywords appear higher, but candidates who do not match a desired keyword are not filtered out. Only keywords set to Exclude or Required remove candidates from your results. This means you still see a broad pool of candidates, with the strongest matches rising to the top.

Keywords that are clearly identified as must-haves, such as those with explicit language like 'required' or 'mandatory' or widely-recognized credentials, are marked as Required instead.

Keyword States

Once your Autobuild search is generated, you can adjust how individual keywords affect your results. Click any keyword chip to open its settings, then select Required, Desired, or Exclude.

  • Required: Only candidates who match this keyword will appear in your results. Use this for must-have skills, qualifications, or job titles that are non-negotiable for the role.

  • Desired: Candidates matching this keyword rank higher in your results, but no candidates are filtered out. This is the default state for all keywords generated by Autobuild, and is ideal for preferred skills or qualifications that add value but are not strictly necessary.

  • Exclude: Candidates matching this keyword are removed from your results entirely. Use this to filter out irrelevant terms that may be pulling in poor-fit candidates.

If you are searching for a marketing management role, you might:

  • Set Marketing Manager as Required to ensure only relevant candidates appear.

  • Leave related skills such as Email Marketing or Retail Marketing as Desired to surface the best-matched candidates at the top.

  • Set Exclude on terms like Director, which typically indicate seniority beyond the scope of the role.