How to Search Multiple Keywords in LinkedIn

Tired of LinkedIn searches that give you thousands of irrelevant results? You can unlock a much more powerful and precise way to find exactly who you’re looking for by using a few simple commands. This guide will walk you through how to use Boolean search operators to search for multiple keywords, exclude terms, find exact phrases, and build hyper-specific queries that save you time and surface the right talent, leads, or connections.

Why Your Basic LinkedIn Search Isn't Cutting It

Typing "Marketing Manager" into the search bar is a bit like casting a giant fishing net in the ocean. You'll catch something, but you’ll also pull in a lot of things you don't want. You get results for "Marketing Assistant," "Assistant to the Marketing Manager," or people who mention the words "marketing" and "manager" somewhere in their profile, but not as their current title.

The problem is noise. For anyone using LinkedIn seriously - whether for recruiting, sales, networking, or job hunting - sifting through irrelevant profiles is a massive waste of time. When you need to find someone with a specific combination of skills, located in a certain industry, but not from a junior-level role, a single-keyword search just won't work. This is where learning a few simple search commands can completely change your results.

Enter Boolean Search: Your LinkedIn Superpower

Boolean search is a method of using simple words called "operators," like AND, OR, and NOT, to limit, broaden, or define your search. It transforms a basic keyword search into a precise instruction. Instead of just giving LinkedIn a word and hoping for the best, you’re giving it a logical command that tells it exactly how to combine your keywords.

Mastering these operators allows you to:

• Combine multiple, must-have skills or titles.
• Search for one of several possible keywords at once.
• Exclude people, companies, or keywords that are cluttering your results.
• Find people with exact job titles or phrases.

Let's break down each operator with practical examples you can start using today.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Using Boolean Operators on LinkedIn

Each of these operators works directly in the main LinkedIn search bar. The only rule to remember is that the operators AND, OR, and NOT must always be in ALL CAPS to work. Lowercase versions will be treated as regular search words.

1. Searching for Multiple Must-Have Keywords with "AND"

Use AND to narrow your search and find profiles that contain all of your keywords. This is incredibly useful when you're looking for someone with a specific combination of skills or experiences.

When to use it: You need a candidate to have two or more non-negotiable skills. For instance, a software developer who knows both Python and AWS.

Example: Let's say you're looking for a user experience designer who also has experience with the Figma design tool. A simple search for "UX Designer" will give you thousands of results, but not all of them will know Figma.

UX Designer AND Figma

This query tells LinkedIn to only show you profiles that contain both the phrase "UX Designer" and the word "Figma." Anyone who is a UX designer but doesn't mention Figma will be removed from your results, dramatically improving the quality.

Another Example (for sales): You want to find an operations director in the logistics industry.

"Operations Director" AND Logistics

Notice we also put "Operations Director" in quotes. We'll get to that next, but combining operators is where the real power lies.

2. Broadening Your Search with "OR"

While AND narrows your results, OR expands them. Use OR when you want to see profiles that contain at least one of several keywords. It’s perfect when people use different titles for the same type of role.

When to use it: You're recruiting for a marketing role, and the ideal candidate could be called a "Social Media Manager," a "Community Manager," or a "Content Manager."

Example: You need someone who writes for a living. They might call themselves a "Copywriter" or a "Content Writer." If you search for only one, you might miss out on qualified candidates.

Copywriter OR "Content Writer"

Now, LinkedIn will show you anyone who has either "Copywriter" or "Content Writer" mentioned in their profile. This greatly widens your talent pool and makes sure you don’t miss out on someone just because they use different terminology for their title.

Another Example (for job hunting): You're looking for remote sales roles.

"Account Executive" OR "Sales Development Representative" OR "Business Development"

This search shows you results for all of these common sales job titles in a single search.

3. Refining Your Search by Excluding Terms with "NOT"

Use NOT to exclude specific keywords from your search results. This is one of the most powerful ways to clean up a noisy search and remove irrelevant profiles immediately.

When to use it: You are constantly seeing junior-level candidates when you need senior talent, or you want to exclude people who work for competitors or specific companies.

Example: You're searching for a "Project Manager" but your results are flooded with assistants and entry-level positions.

"Project Manager" NOT Assistant NOT Junior NOT intern

This command finds people who are project managers but actively filters out anyone who has the words "Assistant," "Junior," or "Intern" in their profile. Instantly, your list of candidates is much more relevant.

Another Example (to exclude industries or companies): You want to hire a software engineer not currently working at major tech giants.

"Software Engineer" NOT Google NOT Amazon NOT Microsoft

4. Finding Exact Phrases with Quotation Marks ""

Placing your keywords inside quotation marks tells LinkedIn to search for that exact phrase, in that specific order. This is vital for job titles or multi-word skills where the individual words are common.

When to use it: Searching for a multi-word title like "Vice President of Marketing" or a skill like "customer relationship management."

Example: A search for Social Media Manager without quotes tells LinkedIn to find profiles with the words "social," "media," and "manager" anywhere. You’ll get managers of social clubs, media professionals, etc.

But a search with quotes...

"Social Media Manager"

This tells LinkedIn to only show profiles that have that exact three-word phrase. This singular change can be the difference between 100,000 messy results and 5,000 highly accurate ones.

5. Creating Complex Queries with Parentheses ()

When you start combining multiple operators, parentheses become your best friend. In Boolean search, parentheses work just like they do in math - they group parts of your search query together to control the order in which they are processed. You can nest OR statements inside to create a more powerful AND statement.

When to use it: You need to combine an OR search (for multiple titles) with an AND search (for multiple skills).

Example: Imagine you’re recruiting for a senior marketing role. The ideal person could be a "Director of Marketing" or a "VP of Marketing." You also need them to have solid experience in both "SaaS" (Software as a Service) and "SEO." Finally, you want to exclude anyone who primarily lists themselves as a "consultant."

Here’s how you’d build that query:

("Director of Marketing" OR "VP of Marketing") AND (SaaS OR "Software as a Service") AND SEO NOT consultant

Let's break this down:

• ("Director of Marketing" OR "VP of Marketing"): This finds people with either of these senior titles.
• (SaaS OR "Software as a Service"): This catches people who use either of these terms for the industry.
• AND SEO: They must have "SEO" listed as a skill or experience.
• NOT consultant: Anyone with "consultant" in their profile will be removed.

This is as specific and powerful as it gets, giving you a curated list of prospects that perfectly match what you are looking for.

Best Practices &, Common Mistakes to Avoid

Getting Boolean search right is easy if you avoid these common traps:

• Forgetting to use ALL CAPS: Operators must be AND, OR, NOT. And, or, and not will not work.
• Skipping quotes for exact titles: "Project Manager" and Project Manager will give you wildly different results. Always use quotes for multi-word phrases.
• Confusing operator order: If your search isn't working as planned, use parentheses to group your terms and control the logic. Start simple and add complexity one step at a time.
• Not using LinkedIn filters: Boolean search is the first step. After you run your query, use LinkedIn’s built-in filters (like Location, Current Company, and Industry) to narrow down your results even further.

Final Thoughts

Learning to search with multiple keywords transforms your LinkedIn experience from a passive browsing tool into a precision-guided instrument. By mastering operators like AND, OR, NOT, along with quotes and parentheses, you can cut through the noise, find exactly the right people you need, and achieve your professional goals much faster.

Of course, finding the right people is just the first step. Building your brand and staying engaged with your new connections requires a consistent content strategy. This is where creating and sharing valuable content for your audience is vital. And to streamline that process, we built Postbase, a social media management tool made for today. It lets you plan and schedule your content across LinkedIn and all your other platforms from one clear calendar, helping you stay connected and top-of-mind with the valuable community you're building.