How do I use custom filters on LinkedIn recruiter?

Using custom filters on LinkedIn Recruiter can help you find qualified candidates more efficiently. Recruiter allows you to create customized filters beyond just job title and keywords to narrow your search results. Here are some tips on creating and applying custom filters.

Why Use Custom Filters?

LinkedIn Recruiter has preset filters like job title, company, location, and more that you can apply to your searches. However, custom filters allow you to get even more specific with your criteria.

Benefits of using custom filters include:

• Target candidates with very specific skills or experience
• Exclude candidates that don’t meet your requirements
• Save custom filters to easily re-apply them
• Further refine your results beyond just title and keywords

The more narrowly you can define your ideal candidate with custom filters, the better your chances of finding the right people while filtering out irrelevant profiles.

Creating Custom Filters

LinkedIn Recruiter makes it simple to create customized filters to save and apply to your searches. Here are the steps:

1. Click on the “Filters” dropdown while doing a search
2. Select “Add filter”
3. Choose the filter type (Skills, Current Company, Education, etc)
4. Enter the criteria you want to filter by
5. Click “Apply” to add the filter
6. You can add multiple custom filters to create very customized searches
7. Once you’ve added your filters, click “Save filter” to reuse it later

Some examples of custom filters you could create:

• Specific skills like “SQL” or “Python”
• Length of experience like “5-10 years”
• Specific companies like “Microsoft” or “Google”
• Certain schools or degrees
• Specific job titles like “Sales Manager”
• Location by city or radius

Mix and match different filter types to drill down to your ideal candidates. The more filters you add, the more your results will be refined.

Tips for Effective Custom Filters

Here are some tips to use custom filters most effectively:

• Prioritize essential qualifications – Focus first filters on must-have skills, experience, titles, etc.
• Get specific – Generic criteria like “manager” will return too many profiles. Get more specific like “Product Marketing Manager.”
• Add filters progressively – Start broad and add more filters until you hone in on the best profiles.
• Watch your volume – Too many narrow filters can shrink your results. Widen your criteria if needed.
• Save the searches – Give your filtered searches a name and save them to easily repeat them.
• Adjust and refine – Tweak your filters over time as you see what works best.

It takes experimenting to find the right mix of filters for each search. But taking the time to create custom filters will deliver much better results than just relying on keywords.

Common Uses of Custom Filters

Some common ways recruiters use custom LinkedIn filters include:

• Job title variants – Manager, Director, VP, etc. for one role.
• Specific qualifications – Degrees, certifications, skills.
• Location – Cities, radius from a zipcode, region.
• Company criteria – Current and/or past companies.
• Field of study – For recent graduates.
• Groups – Target people in certain LinkedIn groups.
• Years of experience – Both minimum and maximum.

Again, the more filters you use, the more your results can be tailored to exactly the candidates you want to target.

Boolean Search Filters

LinkedIn Recruiter also allows Boolean search filters using AND, OR, and NOT operators to get extremely targeted. For example:

• Sales AND (Pharmaceutical OR Medical)
• Accountant NOT CPA

You can get very creative combining Boolean operators and filter criteria to laser focus your recruiting searches. Just test different Boolean queries to see what works best.

Turn On “Also Consider” Setting

A useful setting in LinkedIn Recruiter is “Also consider” under Preferences. This widens your search results to also include similar profiles that may not match every single filter criteria.

This can helpful in case your custom filters are too narrow. The “Also consider” setting pulls in qualified candidates that are close matches to your filters but may be excluded otherwise.

Keep this turned on as you experiment with custom filters to avoid missing out on relevant profiles. You can then further refine things if needed.

Review Filtered Suggestions

As you create custom filters, LinkedIn will suggest additional filters to consider based on your criteria. Be sure to review these filter suggestions which appear under “Refine your search” on the results page.

Often LinkedIn’s algorithm will recommend relevant filters that you can add to further narrow your search. This can supplement your own custom filters.

Don’t forget to periodically revisit filter suggestions as new ones will appear based on your recent searches and profile views.

Optimize and Analyze

It takes some trial and error to determine the best custom filters for each search. Luckily, LinkedIn Recruiter makes it easy to adjust and re-apply filters until you get the results you want.

Be sure to take note of which filters produce the best candidates for a given role. Over time you’ll determine go-to filter combinations that work well across recurring searches.

You can also use LinkedIn Recruiter analytics to see which custom filters have the highest candidate response and source rates. Identify the top performing filters to optimize your process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions about using custom LinkedIn Recruiter filters:

Can I save custom filters for reuse?

Yes, once you have configured your desired custom filters for a search, click “Save filter” to give it a name and save it to easily apply again later.

What’s the maximum number of filters I can use?

You can create up to 20 custom filters per search. Mix and match different filter types like skills, title, location, company, etc. to hone in on your ideal candidates.

Can I apply filters on my existing saved searches?

Absolutely. You can use both saved searches and custom filters together. First create a saved search using basic keywords or titles. Then apply additional custom filters to narrow the saved search results further.

How do I edit or delete a saved custom filter?

Go to the “Filters” dropdown and select “Manage filters” to see your list of saved filters. From there you can edit or delete any existing custom filters.

Can I export a filtered search?

Yes, you can export your filtered search results to an Excel or CSV file using the export icon on the results page. This lets you work with the filtered candidate list outside of LinkedIn.

Do custom filters work on advanced Boolean searches?

Custom filters will work in conjunction with Boolean keywords in the main search bar. For example, first create a Boolean search like “Engineer AND Java”. Then add additional custom filters like location, years of experience, etc.

Conclusion

Custom LinkedIn Recruiter filters enable you to be extremely targeted in your talent searches. Take the time to craft precise filters that deliver candidates that closely match your requirements. Analyze the filters that perform best and continue optimizing over time.

While preset job title and keyword searches are a good start, custom filters take your recruiting game to the next level. By combining skills, titles, companies, locations, and more, you can pinpoint qualified candidates like never before.

So get creative with your filter configurations. The right custom filters can be a gamechanger for improving your recruiting workflow, saving time, and connecting with great candidates on LinkedIn.

This table shows examples of different filter types you can use and sample criteria for each one.

Get creative mixing and matching different filters to create ultra-targeted searches.

Still have questions? Here are 5 more FAQs:

Can I filter by specific LinkedIn skills?

Yes, you can create a custom filter for one or more LinkedIn skills. This is a great way to find candidates with expertise in specific areas. Just start typing the skill name and select it from the dropdown when creating your filter.

What filter finds candidates open to new opportunities?

Use the “Interested in job opportunities” filter to only see candidates that have indicated on their profile that they are open to new roles. This filters out passive candidates.

Can I filter by specific certification names?

Definitely. Add a filter for certifications and enter the exact certification names you want like PMP, CFA, Six Sigma Black Belt, etc. This ensures candidates have the required credentials.

Is there a way to filter by candidates with portfolio links?

Yes, use the “Portfolio” filter and select “Has portfolio” to only see candidates who have added portfolio or work sample links to their profiles.

Can I filter profiles by completeness percentage?

You can! Add a “Profile completeness” filter and choose the minimum percentage like 90% or higher to require robustly completed profiles.