Boolean Search on LinkedIn Without Premium – Using a Few Simple Techniques
Boolean search lets you combine keywords with operators like AND, OR, and NOT to narrow or expand your results. With the free version of LinkedIn, smart Boolean strings + good keywords can get you very close to what Recruiter or Sales Navigator can do.
In this article we’ll review:
- How to find senior candidates using titles, experience, and tech stacks
- How to use Google (X-ray search) when LinkedIn’s own filters are too limited
- Extra tactics: similar profiles, groups, alumni, and “impact keywords” that reveal real seniors
How to Find Senior Candidates on LinkedIn Without Premium
If you’re looking for senior candidates, you don’t necessarily need to pay for a Premium subscription. With well-designed Boolean searches, you can identify high-quality candidates at no extra cost.
1. Using Senior Titles to Find Candidates Without Premium
Senior candidates often mention titles in their profile such as “Senior”, “Director”, “VP”, or “Lead”. Combining those titles is the fastest way to “aim high” without drowning in junior profiles.
Example Boolean search (in the LinkedIn search bar, under “People”):
"Senior Developer" OR "Lead Engineer" OR "VP of Engineering" OR "Head of Engineering"
You can adapt this pattern to any function:
"Senior Product Manager" OR "Group Product Manager" OR "Director of Product"
"Senior Data Scientist" OR "Lead Data Scientist" OR "Principal Data Scientist"
2. Searching by Years of Experience
Years of experience are a strong signal when you’re aiming for seniority.
Use phrases like:
"10+ years experience" OR "15 years of experience" OR "8 years in the industry"
You can combine role + experience:
"Senior Backend Engineer" "10+ years experience"
"CFO" "15 years experience" "finance"
This works especially well when you filter by location, industry, or current company using the free filters on the left side.
3. Searching by Tenure in the Same Company
Long tenure in one company often means stability and deep domain knowledge.
Try phrases such as:
"5 years at" OR "7 years at" OR "since 2010"
Combine with a role:
"Senior Account Manager" "5 years at"
"Engineering Manager" "since 2012"
You won’t catch every senior this way, but the ones you do find will often be very strong and loyal.
4. Finding Senior Candidates With Legacy Technology Skills
Veteran engineers and architects often list older technologies alongside modern ones. That’s a great proxy for depth of experience.
For example:
"Java Developer" AND (COBOL OR "VB.NET" OR "Delphi")
"C Developer" AND ("embedded" OR "firmware") AND (RTOS OR "VxWorks")
You can tweak the “legacy” part to match your domain: old databases, mainframe tech, old ERP systems, etc.
5. Using Targeted Google Search (X-Ray) Instead of LinkedIn Premium
Google can “see” LinkedIn profiles even when LinkedIn limits your internal search. Use the site: operator + quotes to X-ray LinkedIn from the outside.
Basic pattern:
site:linkedin.com/in "Senior Software Engineer" "15 years experience" "Berlin"
Other examples:
site:linkedin.com/in "VP Engineering" ("fintech" OR "payments") "London"
site:linkedin.com/in "Senior Product Manager" "B2B SaaS" "Israel"
You can open the profiles you like in a new tab and view them with your regular LinkedIn account.
6. Think Like a Senior: Search for Impact Keywords, Not Just Titles
Real senior people often describe outcomes, not just responsibilities. Add “impact words” to your search:
- "built from scratch"
- "scaled"
- "grew revenue"
- "led a team of"
- "managed a team of 10"
- "ownership of"
Example:
"Senior Product Manager" "scaled" "B2B"
"VP Marketing" "grew revenue" "SaaS"
This is a great way to filter out inflated titles and focus on people who actually delivered results.
7. Use Free LinkedIn Filters Strategically
Even without Premium, you still have strong filters:
- Location – country / city / region
- Current Company / Past Company – great for competitor mapping
- Industry
- Language
- School
A typical workflow:
- Start with a Boolean title string in the search bar
- Filter by location (e.g., “Netherlands” or “Amsterdam Area”)
- Add industry (e.g., “Computer Software”, “Financial Services”)
- Optionally add current company (direct competitors or target companies)
You’ve now built a mini “Talent Pool” – completely free.
8. Turn One Good Profile Into Ten: “Similar Profiles” & “People Also Viewed”
Once you find one ideal candidate:
- Open their profile
- Scroll to “People also viewed” or “Similar profiles” (when available)
These sections often contain 5–20 people with almost identical seniority, tech stack, and geography. It’s like a manual “Lookalike audience” – and it’s free.
9. Use Groups, Events, and Alumni Pages
Senior professionals often join niche communities:
- LinkedIn Groups – search for groups like “CISO Network”, “Senior Java Developers”, “Fintech Leaders” and look at the members list.
- Events – filter by events related to your domain; check who’s speaking or listed as “Attending.”
- Alumni pages – search by university, then filter by title (“CTO”, “Head of Data”, etc.) and industry.
These sources are especially strong for leadership roles (VP/Director/C-level).
10. Build Reusable Boolean Templates
Instead of reinventing the wheel for each search, create a few base templates you can adapt:
Template for senior ICs (individual contributors):
("Senior" OR "Lead" OR "Principal") AND ("Backend Engineer" OR "Software Engineer")
Template for leaders:
("VP" OR "Vice President" OR "Head of" OR "Director") AND ("Engineering" OR "R&D")
Then just plug in:
- Location – via filters or Google X-ray
- Domain – fintech, gaming, cybersecurity, etc.
- Tech stack – Java, Python, Kubernetes, React, etc.
11. Combine LinkedIn With External Signals
Some of the best seniors are more active outside LinkedIn:
- GitHub / GitLab – find top contributors, then search their names on LinkedIn.
- Conference speakers – pull speaker lists from events, then plug those names into LinkedIn.
- Podcasts, blogs, open-source projects – same idea.
This is a powerful way to surface genuine experts who aren’t spamming the market with “Open to work” banners.
12. Don’t Stop at Sourcing: How You Approach Seniors Matters
Finding a senior candidate is only half the job. The other half is how you reach out.
A few quick rules:
- Show that you actually read their profile (“I saw you led the migration from X to Y at Z company”).
- Make the message short, respectful, and specific – seniors hate generic spam.
- Focus on impact and context, not just salary and buzzwords (“This role owns the architecture for a product used by 10M users…”).
- If the role is relocation or remote-friendly, highlight it clearly in the first lines.
Strong sourcing + weak outreach = low response rate. Strong sourcing + strong outreach = magic.
Summary
LinkedIn offers powerful tools for finding senior candidates—but you don’t have to pay for Premium to use them effectively.
By combining:
- Smart Boolean strings (titles, years of experience, legacy tech, impact words)
- Free filters (location, industry, company, school)
- X-ray search on Google (
site:linkedin.com/in) - “Similar profiles,” groups, alumni pages, and external signals (GitHub, conferences)
…you can build a deep, high-quality pipeline of senior candidates entirely on the free version of LinkedIn.
Now over to you:
What’s your favorite trick for finding senior candidates on LinkedIn without Premium?