According to estimates, about 70% of job openings never get posted on job boards. Is this true or just another myth? Based on my experience running Relocate.me, a job board for tech roles with relocation, I tend to think it's the former.
Typically, companies advertise just a few of their jobs – either the hottest or hard-to-fill positions. To find those that remain unadvertised on job boards, you can use good old Google and Boolean search operators. I will explain.
Nowadays, employers are actively using applicant tracking systems (ATS) to capture resumes for their job openings. An ATS is a sort of a CRM for recruiters.
Popular ones include:
Many job ads are duplicated on the websites of applicant tracking systems. Moreover, this content is googleable, and that's when Boolean search operators come in very handy.
Let me show you.
Example:
site:https://apply.workable.com (frontend OR front end OR front-end) AND react AND london
Here's a screenshot of the results that emerged when I typed this Boolean query into the Google search box:
On the first page alone, I managed to find seven relevant vacancies:
Frontend Engineer (React) at Plentific
Frontend Developer at Ninety Percent of Everything (90POE)
Experienced React and JavaScript Engineer at TotallyMoney
Senior Front End Engineer (React/React Native) at Builder.ai
Senior Frontend Developer at Zone
Front End React Developer (Contract) at Wunderman Thompson Commerce
Frontend Developer at iwoca
Not bad, is it?
To help you get started, try these how-to steps:
Example:
site:https://boards.greenhouse.io (developer OR engineer) AND python AND (berlin OR munich OR amsterdam OR london OR paris OR tallinn OR zurich) AND (relocation OR visa sponsorship OR visa support)
This Boolean search string works well for finding Python jobs that offer relocation to popular European cities. Here are some of the relevant vacancies from the search results page:
(Senior) Python Engineer at e-bot7 in Munich
Senior Software Engineer (Data) at Wayve in London
Engineering Manager at Gnosis in Berlin
Software Engineer at Seldon in London
Data Engineer at Solsten in Berlin
You can easily adjust this query string to suit your skillset and location preferences. Just remember that AND narrows your search. The more specific you are, the fewer results Google will retrieve. Also, be aware that boolean searches are not case-sensitive.
One more example:
(site:https://jobs.lever.co OR site:https://apply.workable.com OR site:https://boards.greenhouse.io) (developer OR engineer) AND (java OR golang OR go) AND remote
In this case, I mentioned several ATS at the same time and changed my location preferences from specific cities to "remote." Here are the results generated:
Remote Java Developer at TheoremOne
Senior Software Engineer, Golang (Open to Remote!) at Match Group | Tinder
Backend Golang Software Engineer at Figment
Senior Java Engineer at Vibrent Health
...and many more!
Pro-tip: Filter search results by date to see the most recent job opening. You can do so in the "Tools" tab, located next to the search box.
This approach to your job seach can be time-consuming, and you will find some jobs that are not quite what you are looking for or are no longer active, but if you're are desperate to find that dream role, it's worth trying.
Good luck!
Andrew is a serial entrepreneur with more than a decade of recruiting experience in the tech field. To date, he has founded four startups, including Relocate.me and GlossaryTech. In the off time, Andrew is a long-distance swimmer and coffee taster.
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