When X-Ray searching Twitter, you can use Google’s asterisk to search specifically for words mentioned in the “Bio” field. Using Google’s Asterisk in a Twitter X-Ray Search Google essentially “filled in the blank” of the asterisk preceding the two words of “cisco routers.” Clicking on a “cached” result shows exactly how our use of the asterisk pulled a phrase on this LinkedIn profile of someone who has been responsible for configuring Cisco routers.

Below you can see how using the asterisk has yielded results of people talking about configuring and implementing routers: As sourcers and recruiters – you should not be looking just for keywords, you should really be looking for what people have DONE, not just mentions of search terms. Instead of just searching for “cisco” and “router” or “routers” and simply matching keywords, we’re actually trying to target PHRASES that communicate responsibility. Site: (inurl:in OR inurl:pub) -intitle:directory engineer “* cisco routers”

Of course you can also use the asterisk to search for flexible phrases just as we did with the Linux admin search above. You can test this for yourself by running back-to-back external X-Ray and internal LinkedIn searches. Please note, however, that this technique is not flawless. In my testing, while this approach does find many profiles with the target current title, it does not actually find EVERY profile with the target current title. This is how the asterisk is put to work – it “bridges the gap” across the word “current” to the current title – in this case – “Program Manager.” Site: (inurl:in OR inurl:pub) -intitle:directory (“current * project manager” OR “current * program manager”) You can make use of Google’s wildcard operator to target current titles when performing an X-Ray search. Using Google’s Asterisk in a LinkedIn X-Ray Search When it comes to leveraging the asterisk in a Google search, don’t think in terms of single keywords – think about sentences and phrases that candidates might use to express their responsibilities. With the proper use of Google’s asterisk search operator, there’s no need to, because the asterisk “fills in the blanks.” No sourcer or recruiter would sit down and be able to think of every conceivable phrase a candidate could say to represent their linux administration experience. The variety of relevant phrases that Google’s wildcard operator returns from just these 6 results is eye-opening. Notice the variety of the results of this search: (intitle:resume OR inurl:resume) “~administer * linux” -job -jobs Judicious use of the asterisk on Google when searching for candidates can yield great results and can increase relevance.įor example, if you are looking for someone who has experience administering linux, you could search for rigid phrases such as “administered linux,” or perhaps “linux systems administrator.” However, utilizing the asterisk on Google, you can add greater flexibility in your search and capture a wider variety and a larger number of results. Searching for Candidates using Google’s Asterisk Operator Essentially, Google “fills in the blanks” wherever there is an asterisk.Īccording to Google, here is an example of proper syntax when leveraging the asterisk: – notice how there is a space on either side of each asterisk. Google treats the asterisk (*) as a placeholder for 1 or more words – it can also be referred to as a single or multiple word wildcard operator, because Google treats the asterisk as a placeholder for any unknown term(s) for which it tries to find the best match(es). But first, I will show you exactly how you can make good use of Google’s asterisk when searching for resumes on the Internet, as well as when X-Ray searching LinkedIn and Twitter. I’m curious if you might be able to shed some light on them. I decided to perform some experiments with Google’s wildcard asterisk and I uncovered a few oddities and unsolved mysteries. The long answer is much more interesting. The short answer is that Google ignores most punctuation, and that there is no need to combine the asterisk with any other punctuation or symbols for it to perform as a single or multiple word wildcard.

For example, searching for should return results of linux system administrator, linux systems administrator, linux network administrator, linux server administrator, etc. This person was under the impression that if you used the equal sign on either side of an asterisk when searching Google, it would function as a multiple word wildcard operator. I was recently asked a question regarding the use of the asterisk when searching on Google, specifically in conjunction with certain punctuation. Think you know all there is to know about Google search?

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