A new Google search operator has come to light recently, which is worth working into your boolean logic if you are currently using search engines to find candidates – This is a bit of a breakthrough for ‘natural language searching’ enthusiasts!!

If you are still reading then you should probably already know the basics of proximity searching (e.g. NEAR for lucene technology, Monster etc). If not, shame on you!

Moving on then, the new operator is AROUND, followed by a specified number that ultimately asks Google to find two words/phrases with X proximity to each other. The number is encased in brackets and is attached to the word AROUND without any spaces. This should be added into existing CV searching boolean logic, as using it on it’s own is going to bring up all kinds of gunk!

Lets take a Database Administrator for example:

(Administrator OR Administration) AROUND(5) (SQL OR MSSQL)

This is going to bring up candidates who describe the fact they are administering SQL databases, rather than just picking these words up from anywhere in the CV. It should catch the following:

- I provide day to day administration of five SQL Server Databases
- I was responsible for managing a series of MSSQL databases, including Administration, maintenance  and upgrades

The downside is that there isn’t many expert CV writers out there, so you are relying entirely on the way a candidate has structured the description of their responsibilities. Thus, you would miss out on profiles like this:

SQL Server DBA – Jun 2001 – Mar 2011

This company is one of the largest of it’s kind and is responsible for XYZ in over 150 countries. My daily responsibilities include:

- Administration of databases
- Upgrading databases from 2005 to 2008
- Business Intelligence reporting using SSRS

Know this! You will still get the same candidates in your search if you were to do:

(Administrator OR Administration) AND (SQL OR MSSQL)

The difference is however, (in theory) it should lead you to more relevant candidates quicker and eradicate people with false:positive results e.g.

- SQL Report Writer – Jun 2005 – Mar 2011
- Office Administrator – Mar 2003 – May 2005

Finally, as with previous proximity searching, I would use this technique as another tool in your belt to get to the best candidates quicker, but would never encourage you to only use this search as you could be missing out on the best candidates who haven’t written their CV in the way you would expect.

Not sure who discovered this operator, but full credit to them!