Google for your job search? Why not!
Are you actively looking for a job and regularly visit 2, 3, 4 or more job sites every day? Why not let Google search all the job boards at the same time? Like any search engine, this involves using the wording specific to search engines, i.e. Boolean operators. If you don’t know how to use these operators, don’t worry! You are like 90% of Google users. Boolean operators are a series of commands that tell the engine what to include or exclude from the results. This article will describe the essential steps for accurate and effective research. First, you need to tell Google that you are looking for job openings, not job title information. For example, if you type: job “Aerospace Engineer”, a blue box is displayed listing all the Aerospace Engineer positions (and only these) listed on the countless job websites. Here is an example of a search:
Search for specific words on Google
Google has a nasty habit of automatically correcting words it deems to be poorly written and delivering results accordingly. Also, if you enter a job title with 2 words, Google will include all results related to either of the words. For example, if you type: Art Director, all types of managerial directors will be listed, as well as any mention of the word art in the text of the offer such as “art of communication “, which drowns the desired results in a multitude of irrelevant results. Using quotes (“”) forces Google to search for results with the exact words as they were typed.
Exclude words from a Google search
Are you looking for jobs as a Graphic Designer, but get results in motion graphics? You can use the hyphen (-) symbol to exclude one or many words from your search. Note that this must be pasted on the excluded word for this to work. Ex: Job ” Graphic Designer -motion ” will exclude any results related to motion graphics. Or if you want to eliminate placement agencies from your searches, you can, for example, type: job “mig welder” -placement agency.
How to search on Google if you can’t remember the exact name
Are you looking for a media production company but can’t remember its full name? Replace the word you forgot with the star (*) and Google will search for the word to complete. For example: job “trio* production” obtains specific results for the production house Trio Orange.
How to limit Google searches to a single site
Do you want to apply specifically through LinkedIn and want to get results specific to LinkedIn? All you need to do is enter site: then the name of the site on which you are looking for a result in order to obtain it on your favorite site. For example: job “user experience designer” site: LinkedIn. Google will take these two requests into account in its results.
Once your research gets the results you want
You now have access to the job offers that interest you, but two filters will be important in order to further refine your results. They are the date of publication:
And the location of the employer (Google’s default distance is 300 km):
There is only one crucial step left, that of generating a job alert that will meet all the criteria of your search. However, a Gmail address is required in order to receive these alerts. Activate the tab below:
Thus, as soon as a new job that matches your settings is posted to any of the sites listed on Google, you’ll instantly receive a job alert in your Gmail.
It’s that simple! Enjoy your job search!
Christian Dame
Career counselor