How to Use OR in LinkedIn Search: A Practical Guide for Sales Teams

What Is Boolean Search on LinkedIn? (And Why You Should Care)

Let’s be honest. Prospecting on LinkedIn can feel like trying to find a specific needle in a continent-sized haystack. You know your ideal customers are out there, but running endless searches for every possible job title variation is a soul-crushing waste of time. Sales reps already spend less than 28% of their week actually selling, and clunky, repetitive searching is a major culprit.

This is where LinkedIn Boolean search comes in. Think of it as a secret language for the search bar that turns you from a hopeful guesser into a precision-guided prospector. Instead of casting a wide, messy net, you can tell LinkedIn exactly who you want to find. The result? Better lead lists, less time wasted, and more time for what actually matters: building relationships and closing deals.

Boolean Search: The Basics (in plain English)

Forget the computer science jargon. Boolean search is just a set of simple commands, or “operators,” that help you combine, exclude, and refine your keywords. Here are the big five you need to know:

• Quotation Marks " ": Use these to search for an exact phrase. Searching for "Vice President of Sales" ensures LinkedIn doesn’t show you people who are a Vice President of something else or have “sales” listed as a skill.

• OR: This is your expansion tool. It tells LinkedIn to find profiles that include at least one of the keywords. Perfect for when your target has multiple possible titles, like Manager OR Director.

• AND: This narrows your search. It finds profiles that must contain all of the keywords you list. For example, SaaS AND "Account Executive" will only show you AEs who work in the SaaS industry.

• NOT: This operator excludes terms from your search. If you want to find engineers but want to avoid assistants, you could search Engineer NOT Assistant.

• Parentheses ( ): Just like in a math equation, parentheses group parts of your search together to control the order of operations. This is where the real magic happens, allowing you to build complex, hyper-targeted queries.

How the 'OR' Operator Works: Your Key to Expanding Your Search

The OR operator is the most powerful tool for broadening your reach without sacrificing relevance. People don't stick to standardized job titles. A Head of Sales at a startup might be a VP of Sales at a mid-market company and a Sales Director at an enterprise. Without OR, you’d have to run three separate searches. With OR, you do it in one.

Think of it this way: you’re telling LinkedIn, “Show me anyone who has this title, or this one, or that one.” It’s the fastest way to consolidate your prospecting efforts and build a comprehensive list of potential buyers.

When to Use 'OR' vs. 'AND'

This is a common point of confusion, but the difference is simple:

• Use OR to find one of several options. It expands your search results. (I want coffee OR tea).

• Use AND when you need multiple conditions to be true. It narrows your search results. (I want coffee AND sugar).

When you’re looking for different titles for the same persona, use OR. When you’re adding a required characteristic like an industry or skill, use AND.

Syntax Rules and Gotchas (capitalization matters, people)

Before you go wild in the search bar, there’s one rule you absolutely cannot break: your Boolean operators must be in all caps. If you type `manager or director`, LinkedIn will search for profiles that contain the literal word “or.”

It has to be OR, AND, and NOT. No exceptions. This is the single most common mistake people make, so burn it into your brain now and save yourself a headache later.

Step-by-Step: Using 'OR' in a LinkedIn Search

Ready to put it into practice? Let’s walk through a simple search to find marketing leaders.

1. Navigate to the main LinkedIn search bar at the top of your page. It’s waiting for your command.

2. Type your Boolean string into the bar. To find marketing decision-makers who might use different titles, you'll want to group your alternatives with parentheses. Type: ("VP Marketing" OR "Head of Marketing"). The quotes keep the multi-word titles together, and the parentheses tell LinkedIn to process the OR condition first.

3. Press Enter. LinkedIn will show you a mix of jobs, posts, and people. Click the “People” filter button below the search bar to narrow the results to just profiles.

4. Scan your results. You’ll now see a clean list of people who hold either the title “VP Marketing” or “Head of Marketing.” You’ve just done the work of two searches in one. Now imagine adding three, four, or five titles. That's the power of OR.

Real-World Boolean Search Examples for Sales & Recruiting

Generic examples are boring. Here are some practical, copy-paste-ready search strings that real sales and recruiting teams can use today.

Example 1: Finding Decision-Makers with Multiple Job Titles

The Goal: Find the senior sales leader in your target software companies, knowing their title could vary.

The Search String: `("VP of Sales" OR "Head of Sales" OR "Sales Director") AND (SaaS OR "Enterprise Software")`

Why it Works: This string first looks for anyone with one of the three primary sales leadership titles. Then, the AND operator filters that group down to only include people who also have “SaaS” or “Enterprise Software” in their profile, ensuring you’re targeting leaders in the right industry. For more on building a quality pipeline and targeting the right personas, see B2B Prospecting 101: ICP, Signals, and Strategy.

Example 2: Targeting Prospects Across Different Industries

The Goal: You sell project management software and want to find project leads in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

The Search String: `("Project Manager" OR "Program Manager") AND (Construction OR Manufacturing)`

Why it Works: This is a great example of using OR for two different criteria. It finds people with a relevant job role (Project or Program Manager) and then makes sure they operate in one of your key target industries (Construction or Manufacturing).

Advanced Tips: Combining 'OR' with Parentheses and Quotation Marks

The Goal: Find marketing leaders at companies that are actively growing their teams—a huge buying signal.

The Search String: `("Head of Marketing" OR "VP Marketing" OR "CMO") AND (Hiring OR Recruiting)`

Why it Works: This is where Boolean search starts to feel like a superpower. You’re not just finding people with the right title; you’re finding people with the right title who have also mentioned “Hiring” or “Recruiting” in their profile. This simple addition layers context on top of your search, pointing you toward teams with budget and a clear need for new tools. It’s a foundational step toward true signal-based sales.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

If your search is returning zero results or a bunch of irrelevant profiles, you’ve likely made a small syntax error. Don't worry, it happens to everyone. Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide.

Troubleshooting: "Why Isn’t My Search Working?"

• The Problem: You forgot to capitalize. If you typed `and` or `or`, LinkedIn is looking for those words instead of using them as operators. The Fix: Always use AND, OR, and NOT in all caps.

• The Problem: Your phrases aren’t in quotes. If you search for `VP of Sales`, LinkedIn will look for profiles containing `VP` OR `of` OR `sales` anywhere. The Fix: Enclose exact phrases in quotation marks: "VP of Sales".

• The Problem: Your parentheses are mismatched. If you open a parenthesis but don’t close it, the search will break. The Fix: For every `(` there must be a matching `)`. Double-check your complex queries.

• The Problem: You’ve hit LinkedIn’s limits. Basic LinkedIn search has its limitations, including the length of the query and the number of operators you can use. The Fix: If you're building massive, multi-layered searches, you might be pushing the limits of what manual prospecting can do. That’s often a sign you’re ready for a more powerful prospecting tool that can automate this complexity.

Mastering Boolean search will make you a faster, smarter, and more effective prospector. It puts you in the top 1% of sales pros who know how to bend the platform to their will. But building the perfect search string is still a manual task. What if you could skip that step entirely?

What if you could find leads based on signals you can't even search for—like a company just raising a Series B, hiring a new VP of Engineering, or complaining about their current provider on social media? Context beats personalization, and timing beats copy. A great Boolean search helps with context, but only real-time intelligence can help you nail the timing. To understand how signal-based targeting fits into the broader prospecting process, check out What Is Prospecting in Sales? Definition, Process, and Proven Techniques.

That’s where AI-assisted prospecting comes in. Instead of you hunting for leads, AI SDRs can monitor thousands of data sources 24/7, identify buying signals the moment they happen, and deliver a daily list of perfectly qualified leads right to your inbox. If you’re tired of the manual grind, it might be time to let the robots do the hunting for you.