linkedin boolean search generator
Find the people who hire writers and content marketers. Pick what you do and what you're looking for, and this builds LinkedIn search strings from the job titles of real hiring contacts across thousands of postings on CaveJobs.
This changes which job titles you get, and the order they come in.
Applied as one of LinkedIn's own filters rather than as a search term, so it does not use up any of the search terms below. It matches the company's registered industry.
Also one of LinkedIn's filters rather than a search term, so it costs nothing either.
6 searches covering 35 job titles
- Search 1· Founders and CEOs, Content leads6 of 6 terms
- Search 2· Content leads, Marketing leaders6 of 6 terms
- Search 3· Marketing leaders, Editors and publishers6 of 6 terms
- Search 4· Editors and publishers, Marketing managers6 of 6 terms
- Search 5· Marketing managers, Communications, Operations and exec6 of 6 terms
- Search 6· Operations and exec, Brand and creative strategy5 of 6 terms
Recruiters and talent
These titles post a lot of content roles, but they place people rather than commission the work, and mostly for full-time jobs. Kept separate so they do not crowd out the people who actually own the budget.
("Recruiter" OR "Talent Acquisition" OR "Human Resources" OR "HR Manager" OR "People Operations" OR "Talent Partner")Or search all 35 titles at once, via Google
Google has no term limit, so this covers every title in one go. It searches public LinkedIn profiles rather than your network, so results skew differently.
site:linkedin.com/in ("Founder" OR "Co-Founder" OR "CEO" OR "Content Marketing Manager" OR "Head of Content" OR "Content Lead" OR "Content Director" OR "Content Manager" OR "Director of Content" OR "Head of Marketing" OR "CMO" OR "VP Marketing" OR "Head of Growth" OR "Editor" OR "Managing Editor" OR "Editor in Chief" OR "Editorial Director" OR "Publisher" OR "Executive Editor" OR "Marketing Manager" OR "Product Marketing Manager" OR "Director of Marketing" OR "Marketing Lead" OR "Growth Marketing Manager" OR "Demand Generation" OR "Head of Communications" OR "Communications Director" OR "COO" OR "Chief of Staff" OR "Managing Director" OR "Executive Director" OR "Head of Brand" OR "Creative Strategist" OR "Strategy Director" OR "Brand Director")🎯 Narrow with LinkedIn's own filters, not more terms. Once results load, use the Locations, Current companies and Actively hiring filters in the bar at the top. Those cost you nothing, while every extra word in the search itself eats into the six-term limit.
Made with 💛 by TheMinCave.
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We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with LinkedIn or Google. This tool builds search links for those platforms, and their search behaviour, operators and filters can change at any time without notice, which may make the strings or links here stop working as described. Hiring contact titles come from content jobs and gigs we share on CaveJobs and may not reflect the whole job market.
what a boolean search actually is
A boolean search joins your search terms with three words that LinkedIn treats as instructions rather than as things to search for.
- OR widens.
("Head of Content" OR "Managing Editor")finds people who match either title. This is the one you will use most, because a job has many names. - AND narrows.
"Head of Content" AND "SaaS"returns only people whose profile has both. - NOT removes.
"Head of Content" NOT recruiterdrops agency people from the results.
Quotation marks keep a phrase together, so "Head of Content" looks for that exact wording rather than the three words scattered anywhere. Brackets group things, the same way they do in maths. Operators must be typed in capitals or LinkedIn reads them as ordinary words.
the six-term limit, which nobody documents
A LinkedIn search on a free account accepts six quoted terms. The seventh breaks it. We tested this on a live free account in September 2026:
| Search | Terms | Result |
|---|---|---|
(A OR B OR C) | 3 | works |
(A OR B) AND (X OR Y) | 4 | works |
(A OR B OR C OR D) AND (X OR Y) | 6 | works |
(A OR B OR C OR D OR E) AND (X OR Y) | 7 | nothing |
(seven titles OR'd together) | 7 | nothing |
The dangerous part is how it fails. An over-long search does not show an error. It showsNo results found, which is exactly what a search with no matches looks like. So you conclude nobody is hiring, when really you asked a question LinkedIn refused to answer. That is why the tool above splits your titles into batches of six rather than handing you one long string.
filters are free, search terms are not
This is the part that changes how you search. Location and industry look like things you should type into the search box. Do not. LinkedIn applies them as filters, which cost nothing against your six terms, and they are more accurate than a keyword because they read the company's registered industry rather than whatever someone wrote in their headline.
The same is true of the connection-degree filter. On a free account you can only open the full profile of 1st and 2nd degree connections, so a search that finds a perfect 3rd-degree contact has found you someone you cannot read or message. Filtering to your own network first is free, and it is on by default above.
where these job titles come from
Most boolean tools ask you to supply the job titles, which assumes you already know who commissions your kind of work. This one does not. The titles come from thousands of content and marketing roles posted on our job board which record the title of the person doing the hiring.
FAQs on LinkedIn boolean search
What is a boolean search string on LinkedIn?
A boolean search string combines search terms with the operators AND, OR and NOT, plus quotation marks for exact phrases and brackets for grouping. On LinkedIn, ("Head of Content" OR "Managing Editor") returns people whose profile matches either title, instead of forcing you to run two separate searches.
How many terms can a LinkedIn boolean search have?
Six quoted terms. Tested on a free LinkedIn account in September 2026: a query with six terms returns results, and seven returns none. It does not show an error, it shows "No results found", so an over-long search looks exactly like a search with no matches. This tool splits your titles into batches of six for that reason.
Who actually hires freelance content writers?
Founders and CEOs, more than any other single group. Across thousands of content roles posted on our job board, the ones that record the hiring contact's title show founders or CEOs accounting for roughly a quarter of them. Editors and publishers come second, and they commission proportionally more freelance work than full-time roles. Content leads and marketing leaders skew the other way, hiring more full-time than freelance.
Does boolean search work on a free LinkedIn account?
Yes. AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks and brackets all work on a free account in the standard search bar. NOT works reliably, despite frequent claims otherwise. The real limit is the six-term cap and the monthly cap on how many profiles a free account can view, not the operators themselves.
Should I search for job titles or for companies?
Search titles, then narrow by company using LinkedIn's own sidebar filters. Filters cost you nothing, while every word you add to the search string spends part of the six-term limit a free LinkedIn search allows. The Locations, Current companies and Actively hiring filters do the narrowing far more cheaply than boolean operators can.
What do 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections mean on LinkedIn?
1st degree means you are directly connected. You can message them for free and see their full profile.
2nd degree means you share a mutual connection. You can see their full profile and send a connection request, and the mutual contact is often worth mentioning when you reach out.
3rd degree and beyond means no shared connection. On a free account their name and profile are largely hidden, so they will appear in search results as someone you cannot actually identify or contact.
This is why searching your own network first is usually more productive than searching everyone: a contact you cannot open is not a lead.
Why does LinkedIn say a profile is outside my network with limited visibility?
Free LinkedIn accounts can only see full profiles for 1st and 2nd degree connections. A 3rd-degree or out-of-network person still appears in search results, but their name and details are hidden behind a prompt to upgrade. So a search can find someone you then cannot identify.
The fix is to filter results to your own network before you search, which this tool does by default. It is a filter rather than a search term, so it costs nothing. For people genuinely outside your network you have two options: use the Google X-ray search, since public profiles are visible without a LinkedIn connection, or move to a paid LinkedIn plan, which lifts the visibility and search limits.
What are the limits on a free LinkedIn account?
Three limits matter for outreach. Search is capped by what LinkedIn calls the commercial use limit, widely reported at roughly 300 profile searches a month, after which search stops until the next month. InMail credits are zero, but there is a free route around it: anyone with Open Profile switched on can be messaged for free, whether or not you are connected. Otherwise you are limited to 1st degree connections and people who accept your request. Connection requests are throttled, and most sources put a safe ceiling around 80 to 100 a week, lower still if you add a note to each one.
Paid tiers lift these: Premium Career adds around 5 InMail credits a month, Premium Business around 15 and removes the monthly search cap, and Sales Navigator adds far more filters plus roughly 50 credits. Unused credits roll over, up to roughly three months of allowance. Figures and pricing change and vary by country, so check LinkedIn directly before buying.
What should I say when I connect with someone who could hire me?
Keep it short, specific, and about them. A connection note has very little room, so spend it on one concrete reason you are reaching out: something they published, a role they posted, a change at their company. Do not pitch in the request itself.
The pitch comes after they accept, and it works better when it references something real rather than opening with your rates and availability. Two walkthroughs of what that looks like in practice: how I contacted 100 potential clients in 5 days, and how we landed our first client without spending a dime.
What is an X-ray search?
An X-ray search uses Google to search public LinkedIn profiles, with site:linkedin.com/in followed by your terms. It has no six-term limit, so you can search every title at once. The tradeoff is that it only sees public profiles and ignores your network, so results skew differently from a search run inside LinkedIn.
