How to Harness Google to Find Your Dream Job

Job Search

Finding your dream job isn’t as simple as mailing in your resume and waiting for the phone to ring. In this competitive job market, you need to be much more efficient and targeted in your search than ever before. This means searching online.

Google’s advanced search operators can help you zero in on the type of job you’re seeking and filter out irrelevant job listings. (Tweet this tip.) Depending on the specific role you’re looking for, some search terms may be more helpful than others. Here’s a look at five search operators to get you started:

 

1. Minus (-):

Using the minus sign followed by a word alerts search engines you want results without that word.

For instance, if you get the same websites over and over again in your search and want to broaden the results, enter a search for development manager-_______.com. (Fill in the blank with the website you want to omit.) This filters out the domain from your results.

If you keep finding job listings for a certain organization that doesn’t interest you, or a certain job title that isn’t relevant to you, use the minus sign to remove them from your results.

 

2. Quotes (“ ”):

Putting quotation marks around a group of two or more words signals to search engines you want results that contain that exact phrase — not some combination of those words in isolation. This is helpful if you have a very specific skill set or you’re looking for an exact job description.

For instance, typing in “volunteer coordinator” nets you a result that’s more applicable to your job search than simply searching for the two words on their own. Without the quotes, you might get a lot of results for unpaid volunteer opportunities, which isn’t helpful when looking for a job.

 

3. inurl:

This command yields search results that contain your keyword in the website’s online address or URL.

For example, if you wanted to find websites with the word careers in the URL, search for inurl: careers. With this command, and other commands with a colon, keep in mind that there are no spaces in the search command. If you’re looking for job listings on a company website, it’s likely the page will contain the word careers in its URL.

This also helps avoid generic career advice rather than actual job listings. However, don’t forget to search for a few other variations such as jobs or hiring, as some companies use different terms.

 

4. site:

Enter site: followed by a URL — remember, no spaces — to restrict your search results within a certain domain. If there are specific companies you’d like to work for, this command is extremely useful.

Of course, while many companies post jobs on their own websites, some use third-party websites to publicize opportunities. Don’t get tunnel vision on a single domain, or you might miss out on your dream job.

 

5. related:

Once you find a job listing you like, enter related: plus the listing’s URL — again, no spaces — to find similar jobs. Search engines will support most search commands, but this command will only work in Google.

It may take a bit of trial and error to find the search strategies that work best for you, but once you’ve gotten the hang of these commands, you’ll be able to use them over and over again, not just for your job search but in other areas of your life as well.

Have you used any of these Internet search ninjutsu tricks? Know of any others? Share in the comments!

 

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