your career, with a twist
How do you identify great talent? (Boolean strings samples)
How do you identify great talent? What a tough question. Talent is (by definition) "an ability". How do you decide if someone is able to do an outstanding job?
Some years ago, when I was a hiring manager in the corporate world, someone smart taught us that it's good to hire someone if he/she has all three of the following qualities:
1) Has the skills/experience necessary for the job;
2) Is interested in the job & company;
3) Is a good fit with the company culture.
It's difficult for a sourcer to assess these qualities just looking at online resumes and profiles, or having a quick phone conversation. The recruiter, the hiring manager and the team need to explore these points during the interviews.
So what can a sourcer do? We typically assess a person's ability to do what will be required at the future job by looking at the past experience and performance. Internet sourcers use the skills keywords from job descriptions to verify the necessary experience.
Is there something to look for besides that? Yes, of course, and it's a very interesting subject. I'll just talk about one aspect here. One of our clients was specifically looking for candidates with high scores on tests. While this type of accomplishment definitely cannot guarantee good work, it does show talent (i.e. "ability").
So, here are some Google search strings that are likely to bring up profiles of talented people who are Java Engineers. I am posting these examples here to show how sourcers can craft some of their search strings to look for talent. Here they are:
brainbench -site:brainbench.com ~certif java ext:pdf ~resume -job
intitle:resume | inurl:resume brainbench -site:brainbench.com ~certif -java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume "iq * * 110..200" java
site:linkedin.com inurl:pub | inurl:in mensa java
site:linkedin.com inurl:pub | inurl:in percentile java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume percentile java -brainbench
intitle:resume | inurl:resume winner java C++ | smalltalk
intitle:resume | inurl:resume "first prize" java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume -participated java lead accomplished delivered
intitle:resume | inurl:resume java "ivy league" -jobs
There are more examples, looking at specific tests such as SAT etc. The Google numrange function may come in handy there.
(Notes: Brainbench is a site that runs tests on different subjects; Java Engineers may post the scores in their resumes. I have used some advanced Google search syntax in the strings. Any questions, please let me know.)
-Irina
Host, Boolean Strings Network - Please join!
My profile is here. My blog is here.
Some years ago, when I was a hiring manager in the corporate world, someone smart taught us that it's good to hire someone if he/she has all three of the following qualities:
1) Has the skills/experience necessary for the job;
2) Is interested in the job & company;
3) Is a good fit with the company culture.
It's difficult for a sourcer to assess these qualities just looking at online resumes and profiles, or having a quick phone conversation. The recruiter, the hiring manager and the team need to explore these points during the interviews.
So what can a sourcer do? We typically assess a person's ability to do what will be required at the future job by looking at the past experience and performance. Internet sourcers use the skills keywords from job descriptions to verify the necessary experience.
Is there something to look for besides that? Yes, of course, and it's a very interesting subject. I'll just talk about one aspect here. One of our clients was specifically looking for candidates with high scores on tests. While this type of accomplishment definitely cannot guarantee good work, it does show talent (i.e. "ability").
So, here are some Google search strings that are likely to bring up profiles of talented people who are Java Engineers. I am posting these examples here to show how sourcers can craft some of their search strings to look for talent. Here they are:
brainbench -site:brainbench.com ~certif java ext:pdf ~resume -job
intitle:resume | inurl:resume brainbench -site:brainbench.com ~certif -java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume "iq * * 110..200" java
site:linkedin.com inurl:pub | inurl:in mensa java
site:linkedin.com inurl:pub | inurl:in percentile java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume percentile java -brainbench
intitle:resume | inurl:resume winner java C++ | smalltalk
intitle:resume | inurl:resume "first prize" java
intitle:resume | inurl:resume -participated java lead accomplished delivered
intitle:resume | inurl:resume java "ivy league" -jobs
There are more examples, looking at specific tests such as SAT etc. The Google numrange function may come in handy there.
(Notes: Brainbench is a site that runs tests on different subjects; Java Engineers may post the scores in their resumes. I have used some advanced Google search syntax in the strings. Any questions, please let me know.)
-Irina
Host, Boolean Strings Network - Please join!
My profile is here. My blog is here.
Tags: boolean, etix, great, identify, samples, strings, talent
12 Comments
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Comment by Holly Emison on February 12, 2009 at 5:02pm
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Awesome, as always---learn something new every time!
Holly
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Comment by Vincent Wright on February 13, 2009 at 2:01am -
Great post, Irina!
By the way: I did Digg it and from that, it was picked up by my friend Jason Goldberg over at SociaMedian: http://www.socialmedian.com/story/2982884/how-do-you-identify-great-talent-boolean-strings-samples
Thanks, and Keep STRONG, Irina!
+Vincent Wright
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Comment by Terri Barrenechea on February 18, 2009 at 12:42pm
- Thank you, Irina. Your post was very good and helpful!
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Comment by JC on February 18, 2009 at 11:57pm -
I am always amazed @ your expertise... Thanks for sharing this info.
JC
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Comment by John Kaufman on February 19, 2009 at 4:18pm -
I built a free toolbar that makes boolean strings a bit easier.
http://recruitingrocket.com/recruiter's-toolbar.html
I'm a full time recruiter with AgentHR and it's always difficult to come up with new sourcing strings, etc... and use them consistently. The toolbar includes several searches for resume's by filetype, title, and also automates booleans for searching linkedin, craigslist, and plaxo, etc...
I'm not trying to spam here, the toolbar is free, I'm just posting it to help anyone that is confused by booleans and could be helped by the software.
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Comment by Irina Shamaeva on February 19, 2009 at 5:29pm -
Hi John,
Thanks for your comment. Please feel free to post a note about your tool on the "Boolean Strings Network".
Also, if you haven't Dugg my post, could you please Digg it? I participate in a contest and the number of Diggs matters. There are just a few days left.
Thanks,
Irina
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Comment by John Kaufman on February 20, 2009 at 3:51pm
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I've added several of your booleans to Recruiting Rocket Candidate Sourcing Recruiting Software in a special submenu called "Advanced Booleans From "Irina Shamaeva" (Which links back to your profile if clicked) So you can basically enter just the word Java, in the toolbar, and click on the brainbench menu item in the toolbar, and it will automatically run your boolean string.
If you'd like I would be glad to add as many advanced booleans as you'd like with a link back to you right in the toolbar.
Thanks,
John
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Comment by Purshottam Jagiasi on February 24, 2009 at 11:21pm -
Thanx Irina. Though I have not tried these strings because I am not involved in execution myself. I wish if some one could come up with search strings for Engineering profiles, so that I can give them to my Recruiting Team to try them out.
Cheers
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Comment by Adela Makashi on February 25, 2009 at 4:36am -
great article. and congratulations for being the winner of this contest.
all the best from Albania :)
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