Understanding Boolean Logic

Boolean logic is a search method that uses "operators" to help you refine and narrow your search results. Operators are simple words and symbols that change how the keywords are being searched, similar to how mathematical symbols change how you would calculate an equation.

In Bullhorn, you can use Boolean logic in your searching to get more precise results, enabling you to spend less time sifting through "false positives" or candidates that do not met the job requirements.

Boolean Operators

Operator

Explanation
AND

  • Example: Developer AND Python AND Java

  • When you should use it: When you want to require multiple keywords.

  • What it does: The AND operator narrows your search results. When you use AND, the candidate must have the keyword(s) listed before and after each AND. In the example above, the candidate must have all three keywords in the parts of their record that you've searched: Developer, Python, and Java.
OR

  • Example: DBA OR "Database Administrator"

  • When you should use it: When you want to require at least one keyword.

  • What it does: The OR operator broadens your search and can account for variations of a term; the more ORs you use, the broader the search returns will be. In the example above, the candidate must have either DBA or Database Administrator in the parts of their record that you've searched.
AND NOT

  • Example: "Project Manager" AND NOT construction

  • When you should use it: When you want to exclude keywords. Note that this operator is generally used after you have performed a search, looked at the results, and determined that you do not want to see results containing some word or phrase. It should be used with caution, because it eliminates candidates that have that keyword in any of the areas you are searching in. You might miss out on a great candidate by mistake.

  • What it does:  The AND NOT operator narrows your search by letting you omit words from your results. In the example above, the candidate must have Project Manager but cannot have Construction in the parts of their record that you've searched.
" "

  • Example: "Business Analyst"

  • When you should use it: When you want to require multiple words to be searched as a phrase, in the order you've typed them.

  • What they do: Quotation marks search for the words in your phrase appearing together in the order you've typed them.

    Punctuation characters within a candidate's record (such as commas and brackets) are ignored during matching, so results may include records where those words appear separated by punctuation. For example, searching "Business Analyst" would also return a candidate whose resume contains "Business, Analyst".
*

  • Example: Manag*

  • When you should use it: When you want to account for different spellings and/or root variations of a word.

  • What it does: Asterisks, or "wildcards," return words with letters that can replace the asterisk in your search term. In the example above, the candidate could return with any of the following in the parts of their record that you've searched: Manages, Manage, Manager, Managing, Managed, Management, etc.
( )

  • Example: SQL AND (replication OR backup)

  • When you should use it: When you want to combine several search strings into one.

  • What they do: Parentheses group terms (usually joined by the OR operator. The terms within these parentheses are processed together before the other parts of the search string. In the example above, candidates return must have SQL with either replication or backup. If you move the parentheses to a different part of the search string, i.e., (SQL AND replication) OR backup, the search reads differently; meaning that the candidate must have either both SQL and replication together, or neither of those and just backup in the parts of their record that you've searched.
 

Tips

Requiring multiple terms

Use AND to separate any terms the candidate must have.

Examples:

  • "Accounting Assistant" AND "accounts payable"

  • Developer AND Java

Accounting for variations

Use OR to separate keywords that mean the same thing or where either would be acceptable.

Examples:

  • Taleo OR iManage

  • J2ee OR "Java 2 Enterprise Edition"

Combining AND and OR

If your search uses both AND and OR, use parentheses to group the OR terms together so the search reads correctly.

Examples:

  • Developer AND (Java OR Spring OR HTML)

  • "Accounting Assistant" AND ("accounts payable" OR AP)

Searching for phrases

Wrap multi-word phrases in quotation marks to search for those words appearing together in order. Note that punctuation in candidate records is ignored during matching, so results may include records where the words appear separated by punctuation. For example, "Business Analyst" may also return "Business, Analyst".

Accounting for word endings

Use an asterisk at the end of a keyword root to capture different word endings.

Examples:

  • Manag* returns Manager, Managing, Management, etc.

  • Admin* returns Admin, Administrator, Administrative, etc.

Excluding unwanted results

After reviewing your results, use AND NOT to remove false positives.

Examples:

  • Epic AND Analyst AND NOT Trainer

  • Support AND NOT Engineer

If phrase searches are returning unexpected results due to punctuation in candidate records, AND NOT can also help narrow things down, though results may vary depending on how the candidate's data is formatted.

Using OR across filters

Bullhorn's additional criteria filters don't support OR searches directly. To search for candidates that meet one condition OR another across different filters, use tearsheets as a workaround.

  1. Run a search for your first condition and add the results to a new tearsheet (e.g., Tearsheet 1).

  2. Clear all criteria, then run a search for your second condition and add those results to a second tearsheet (e.g., Tearsheet 2).

  3. Clear all criteria again and run a new search using the Tearsheet filter, set it to Include Any, and select both Tearsheet 1 and Tearsheet 2. This returns all candidates that met either condition.

Example: To find candidates with a status of Placed OR a job title of Manager, run each search separately, add the results to separate tearsheets, then search for candidates in either tearsheet.