As the adage goes, "to catch a thief you must think like a thief." The same applies to finding resumes in databases.

While thinking about your needs is definitely the right place to begin a resume sourcing campaign, you should translate those needs into "resume speak" to achieve optimal results. Effective resume research in a database requires you to use your command of the English language, your empathetic abilities, your comprehension of industries and professions, and your understanding of the psychology of your target candidate. In short, you need to use every ounce of your experience as a recruiter.

It's time for some fresh ideas, and below I present three options for you to try today. Let's pretend that you require someone with a Bachelor of Science degree. You have several options while searching a resume database.

Education Matters
First, you can easily select "Bachelor" from the Education category included in the database search engine. As obvious as this may seem, it is usually the wrong approach.

Education is an optional field in most databases, so a sizable portion of the resumes in a given database have no Education data in the field. If you select "Bachelor" for the Education field, you will miss all those candidates who opted not to complete that field.

Incidentally, passive candidates are the most likely to skip the field, as they are apt to upload their resumes on a whim, "just in case something better is out there." However, they typically do a haphazard job of it. Candidates who are eager for new employment complete every field diligently. Candidates who are merely curious ignore whole sections of the resume submission process. That tendency yields the somewhat surprising revelation that the best candidates in a resume database may actually be those with the sparsest information in the category fields.

Unique Expressions: From BS to B.Sc and Beyond
Second, you can include the simple search string "bachelor of science" in the keyword field. This will definitely give you candidates who have a Bachelor of Science degree.

That said, the results will only be a sub-set of your target resumes. There are many ways a candidate can choose to express their Bachelor of Science degree. Some elect to write Bachelors of Science, or Bachelor's of Science, or BS, or B.S., or BSc, or B.Sc., or BSEE (bachelor of electrical engineering), etc. There is a nearly endless variety of options available to the resume writer, and candidates use them all. Apply some demographic knowledge to whittle down the options.

For instance, "B.Sc." on resumes will be a typical indication of candidates who received degrees many years ago or who received overseas degrees. If that is your target market, then try B.Sc. or BSc to find them.

Complex Logic Nets More Candidates
One last idea is to attempt to create a more complex search string that captures more candidates.

Here is a pretty good string:

((bachelor* AND science) OR bs* OR "b.s.")
It will probably miss some resumes, but it should catch the bulk of them. Using the asterisk to indicate "wildcard value" and nested parentheses to indicate which terms must be present simultaneously, you account for most of the probable variations. Interpreting this string into written English yields:

Any variant on "bachelor," such as "bachelor," "bachelors," or "bachelor's" AND the word "science."
Any variant on BS, such as BS, BSEE, BSCS, BSME, BSc, etc.
The exact term "B.S."
Apply this logic to all your requirements. Let's say you are looking for a technology-related Project Manager. While your ideal candidate may be a current Project Manager, they may also be a Business Analyst who managed projects, or a Software Engineer who was given project management responsibilities, or any number of possibilities.

Searching for "project manager" will be severely limiting. Instead, account for what the candidate might write on a resume, and search for something like "managing projects" OR "managed projects" OR "manage projects" OR "project management" OR "project manager."

After that, take a look at the words and phrases on the resulting resumes to see whether there are other common phrases you can include.

You may be tempted to use the string:

"manage* project*" OR "project* manage*".
That string will not work properly in CareerBuilder, Monster, or HotJobs. Placing the asterisk within quotations tells the engine to look for the asterisk itself, rather than using the asterisk as a wildcard value. The string will deliver results, but the results will not be what you expected to see.

The key to effective resume searching is a combination of knowing what you want, knowing the operators of a search string, knowing the English language, and knowing the tendencies of the candidates you are seeking. You have to reach beyond the obvious to find your target. You have to "think like a thief" to catch your candidate.