Indeed Resume Search and LinkedIn Boolean
How builders find tradies who aren't applying: Indeed resume search, Smart Sourcing and LinkedIn Boolean strings, explained in plain English with examples.
You need a formworker for a job that starts in two weeks. Your ad has been up for ten days and the only replies are from people who've never stripped a deck. The good ones already have work. This guide shows you how to use Indeed resume search and LinkedIn Boolean search to find them anyway.
The short answer: how do I find tradies who are not applying for jobs?
Search for people who already work. Use Indeed resume search and LinkedIn Boolean search for the trade near your sites. Ask your crew for names too. Then message with the site, the work, the pay and the job length. Short, clear messages tend to get more replies than long pitches.
This is called sourcing. It means going out to find people instead of waiting for them to apply.
It matters more when tradies are hard to find. Our post on how to recruit tradies during a skills shortage covers the bigger picture. And if you want to see what the gap is costing you, work out what an empty role costs you.
Why "post and pray" misses the best people
Posting an ad and waiting only reaches people who are looking. Many solid tradies aren't, because they're busy on someone else's site. You have to go to them. Our post on Seek vs Indeed for hiring tradies covers how the ad side works, and our tradie job ad template helps the ad itself pull its weight.
Indeed resume search: what it is
Indeed is a job site, but it also holds resumes that job seekers have made on it. Resume search lets an employer look through those resumes, including people who haven't applied to your ad.
In Australia, Indeed sells this as Smart Sourcing. Indeed's Smart Sourcing page describes it as a resume database plus sourcing software, with built-in messaging. It says the search includes Boolean search.
On price, check the page yourself. When we checked on 5 November 2026, Indeed's page listed a Professional plan at $625 a month or $6,000 a year, with 100 contacts a month. Indeed sets these prices and they can change, so check the current price on Indeed's page before you buy.
That's a real cost for a small builder. Try one hard-to-fill role first and see if it pays off.
A simple Indeed search workflow for trades
Keep it simple. Here's a workflow you can run in an hour:
- Write a short brief. The trade, the tickets you need, the site, the pay and the start date.
- Search the trade plus a ticket or skill. For example, a trade name and a licence or machine you need.
- Add your location. Search near your sites so you're not calling people three hours away.
- Filter for recent activity, if the option is there. Recently active people are more likely to reply.
- Shortlist 10 to 20 people. Read each resume for jobs like yours.
- Message them with your brief. See the message template below.
Indeed's own guides show how its search terms work. Indeed's employer guide to Boolean search explains AND, OR and NOT, quote marks for exact phrases and brackets to group words. A separate Indeed guide says Smart Sourcing also has title search terms like "title:" for a current job title and "anytitle:" for any past one. These guides are on Indeed's US site, so check the search on your own account.
Don't copy, share or post anyone's personal details from a resume. Use them only to contact the person about the job.
LinkedIn Boolean in plain English
Boolean search uses a few special words to make a search more exact. LinkedIn's help page on using Boolean search says you can type a Boolean string into the main search bar.
Here's what LinkedIn says works:
| What you type | What it does |
|---|---|
| AND | Shows people who match all the words. You must type it in capitals. |
| OR | Shows people who match any of the words. Capitals again. |
| NOT | Leaves out a word. Capitals again. |
| "quote marks" | Finds an exact phrase, like "site manager". |
| (round brackets) | Groups words so the search reads them first. |
LinkedIn also says what doesn't work. It doesn't support wildcards like an asterisk (*). It doesn't support square brackets, curly braces or angle brackets. It says + and - aren't officially supported, so use AND and NOT instead.
LinkedIn's help page also sets out the order it reads things in. Quote marks come first, then brackets, then NOT, then AND, then OR.
There's a cap, too. LinkedIn's page on Boolean query limits says the free search limits how many operators you can use in one search. It says Sales Navigator allows up to 15, and its Recruiter products have no limit.
Example strings for construction
These are examples to learn from. They aren't promises of how many people you'll find.
- Carpenter: (carpenter OR chippy) AND Sydney NOT apprentice
- Formwork: (formworker OR formwork) AND "leading hand"
- Site manager: "site manager" AND (residential OR "new homes") NOT (assistant OR trainee)
- Electrician: (electrician OR sparky) AND Perth NOT apprentice
Start small, then widen. If you get too few results, add OR terms. If you get too many, add AND or NOT. Save the strings that work in a note on your phone.
Common mistakes
- Lowercase and, or, not. LinkedIn says these must be in capitals to work.
- Wildcards. Typing carpent* won't find carpenters on LinkedIn. List each word with OR instead.
- Too many words at once. A long string can return nothing. Start with two or three terms.
- Only one job title. Tradies describe themselves in different ways, like "carpenter", "chippy" or "builder". Add the common ones with OR.
- Forgetting the brackets. Without them, a mix of AND and OR may not read the way you meant.
Optional: Google X-ray search
Some people search LinkedIn profiles through Google. This is called an X-ray search. You type site:linkedin.com/in plus the trade and the town into Google, like this:
site:linkedin.com/in carpenter "Gold Coast"
Results vary a lot, and LinkedIn may limit what you can see if you're not logged in. Treat this as a bonus, not your main method.
The message that gets a reply
Keep it short. A busy tradie reads it on their phone at smoko.
Your message should cover:
- The site and suburb.
- The work.
- The pay.
- The job length and start date.
- How to reply.
Example (fill in your own details):
"Hi [name], I'm [your name] from [business]. I've got a [trade] role on a [type of job] in [suburb], starting [date] for [length]. Pay is [rate]. If you're open to a chat, reply here or call [number]. No pressure if not."
That's it. No life story, no company history.
If they don't reply, send one short follow-up a few days later. After that, leave it. A pushy third message can cost you a good name in a small industry.
When someone does reply, call them that day if you can. Good tradies get more than one message. Before you make an offer, use our reference check questions for tradies.
Want more templates like this? Get the free 7 Hiring Mistakes report, which comes with the Recruiter's Toolkit.
Track what works
You don't need fancy software. A simple sheet will do.
| Source | Contacted | Replied | Interviewed | Hired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indeed | ||||
| Crew referrals |
Fill it in for two roles. That's usually enough to see where your replies come from. Then spend more time on the source that works.
When to get help vs learn it yourself
Sourcing is a skill. It gets faster each time you do it.
You can learn it yourself. Our post on how to hire tradies without a recruitment agency covers the steps around sourcing. For the trade-off with agencies, see in-house recruitment vs agency.
The Construction Hiring System course ($497) teaches the full sourcing method, step by step. If you'd like to talk it through first, book a discovery call below. HiredConstruction is not an agency. The aim is to teach you to run your own hiring.
You can also take the free Hiring Readiness Scorecard to see where your hiring stands.
General information only. Indeed and LinkedIn set their own features and prices, and these can change. Check their pages before you buy.
Want help with your next hire?
Book a free 15-minute discovery call and we will talk through your next hire. Prefer to learn it yourself? The Construction Hiring System course ($497 AUD) teaches the full method.
FAQ
How do I find tradies who are not applying for jobs?
Search for people who already work. Use Indeed resume search and LinkedIn Boolean search for the trade near your sites. Ask your crew for names too. Then message with the site, the work, the pay and the job length. Short, clear messages tend to get more replies than long pitches.
What is Indeed resume search for employers?
It is Indeed's tool for employers to search resumes on Indeed, including people who haven't applied to your ad. In Australia, Indeed sells it as Smart Sourcing, a paid product with resume search and messaging. Check Indeed's own page for what is included and what it costs today.
What is LinkedIn Boolean search?
It's a way to narrow a LinkedIn search with AND, OR and NOT in capitals, plus quote marks for exact phrases and round brackets to group words. For example, a trade AND a city, NOT a junior title. LinkedIn's help page says wildcards like an asterisk are not supported.
How do I write a LinkedIn Boolean search for construction?
Put the job title in quote marks, add OR for close titles, then add AND for a ticket or skill you need and AND a location. Use NOT to drop titles you don't want. Test it small, then widen it. Keep a note of the strings that worked for next time.
Is Seek or Indeed better if I also search resumes?
They do different jobs. Seek is a big Australian job board for ads. Indeed also sells resume search to employers through Smart Sourcing. Many builders use both. Read our Seek vs Indeed post for a plain comparison, then check where your last good hire came from before you spend more.