Search Tips

Get better results faster with proven techniques

Written By Ishaq from MeetCaria

Last updated 5 months ago

Search Like a Pro

Master these techniques to find better candidates faster.

Be Conversational

aFinder understands natural language. Talk to it like you'd talk to a recruiter.

Good searches:

  • "Senior product designer with Figma experience"

  • "Sales rep who's sold to enterprise in fintech"

  • "Full-stack engineer React and Node, comfortable leading"

Bad searches:

  • "designer" (too vague)

  • "senior AND product AND designer" (boolean unnecessary)

  • "Must have 5+ years of experience in product design with expertise in Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Suite for a fast-paced startup environment" (way too long)

Sweet spot: 5-10 words, natural phrasing.

Include Deal-Breakers Early

Put non-negotiables in the search query.

Examples:

  • "React developer remote only"

  • "Sales director fintech experience required"

  • "Engineer security clearance"

  • "Designer healthcare industry"

Saves time by filtering upfront instead of during review.

Use Location Flexibly

Don't limit yourself unnecessarily.

Instead of: "San Francisco"
Try: "San Francisco Bay Area or remote"

Instead of: "New York City"
Try: "NYC metro or willing to relocate"

Instead of: "Austin"
Try: "Texas or remote"

Expands your candidate pool without sacrificing quality.

Specify Soft Skills When They Matter

Include culture fit and work style indicators.

Examples:

  • "Team player" - for collaborative environments

  • "Self-starter" - for remote or autonomous roles

  • "Detail-oriented" - for QA, compliance, ops roles

  • "Fast executor" - for startup environments

  • "Comfortable with ambiguity" - for 0-to-1 builders

AI detects these traits in candidate profiles and work history.

Iterate Your Searches

Refine based on results.

First pass (broad): "React developer"

Review results. Too junior? Refine: "Senior React developer"

Still not quite right? Add more context: "Senior React developer NYC startup TypeScript"

Perfect? Save the search: Reuse for future hires.

Each iteration gets you closer to the ideal candidate pool.

Search by Questions

aFinder handles question format naturally.

Examples:

  • "Who are the best React developers in NYC?"

  • "Find me a sales director who's worked at fintech startups"

  • "Show me engineers who've built AI products"

  • "Who's hiring managers that can scale teams?"

Works the same as declarative searches.

Search by Company Type

Include company stage or size for better cultural fit.

Examples:

  • "Startup" (0-50 employees)

  • "Scaleup" (50-500)

  • "Enterprise" (5000+)

  • "Fortune 500"

  • "YC-backed"

  • "Series B funded"

Full search example: "Marketing director B2B SaaS scaleup growth stage"

Returns marketers who've worked at similar-stage companies