# X-Ray Search Tool > Find people on LinkedIn, GitHub or in CVs through Google. Type the job titles, the location and the keywords you need, tick what to leave out, and this free X-ray search tool writes the Google string for you, ready to copy or to open in a new tab. *Canonical: https://derrick-app.com/free-tools/linkedin-xray-search-tool* The tool is interactive: open the page to use it. It runs in the browser, no signup. --- ## How a Google X-ray search works An X-ray search uses Google to look inside one website. Instead of searching LinkedIn with LinkedIn's own search bar, you ask Google to return only pages from `linkedin.com/in` that contain the words you need. Google has already read millions of public profiles, so a well-built string finds people that a free LinkedIn account would hide behind search limits, without logging in to anything. Every string has the same four parts: 1. **The site**: `site:linkedin.com/in` for profiles, `site:github.com` for developers, or `filetype:pdf` for CVs. 2. **The titles**, in quotes and joined with `OR`, because the same job has several names: `("account executive" OR "sales executive")`. 3. **The context**: a location, a skill, an industry. Each word you add narrows the results. 4. **The exclusions**, with a minus sign: `-recruiter -intern` keeps the people who post jobs about the role out of the list of people who do it. The X-ray search tool above writes these four parts in the right order, puts the quotes and brackets where Google expects them, and warns you when the string gets too long for Google to read. ## Search operators: the cheat sheet Six operators cover almost every search of this kind. Google supports more, but these are the ones that change results reliably. | Operator | What it does | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | `site:` | Limits results to one site or one path | `site:linkedin.com/in` | | `" "` | Matches the exact phrase | `"data engineer"` | | `OR` | Matches either term (in capitals) | `("CTO" OR "VP Engineering")` | | `-` | Removes pages containing the word | `-recruiter` | | `( )` | Groups terms so OR applies to the right ones | `("Paris" OR "Lyon")` | | `filetype:` | Limits results to one file type | `filetype:pdf` | Two habits save most failed searches. Write `OR` in capitals, otherwise Google reads it as a word. And quote every multi-word title: without quotes, `sales manager` also returns a manager who once worked in sales. ## Ready-made strings you can adapt Five strings that work as they are. Change the titles and the city, keep the structure. - **Sales**: `site:linkedin.com/in ("account executive" OR "sales executive" OR "business development manager") ("London" OR "Manchester") saas -recruiter -intern` - **Engineering**: `site:linkedin.com/in ("backend engineer" OR "software engineer") ("Berlin" OR "Munich") golang -recruiter -student` - **Data**: `site:linkedin.com/in ("data engineer" OR "analytics engineer") "New York" dbt -recruiter` - **Developers on GitHub**: `site:github.com "Toronto" rust`, then open the profiles that list a company. - **CVs**: `filetype:pdf (cv OR resume) ("product designer" OR "UX designer") "Amsterdam" figma` If a string returns too many results, add one keyword at a time. If it returns too few, remove the location first: people write their city in many ways, and the location is the part of a profile that is most often missing. ## Choosing job title synonyms The most common reason a search misses good people is the title list. Companies name the same job in different ways, and people describe themselves in their own words. A head of sales can be a "VP Sales", a "Sales Director" or a "Head of Revenue". Three habits help: - **Start from real profiles.** Open three or four profiles of people you would hire and copy the exact titles they use. They are better synonyms than the ones you would guess. - **Cover seniority separately.** "senior software engineer" and "software engineer" are different phrases for Google. If seniority matters, list both; if it does not, keep the shorter one, since it also matches the longer. - **Mind the language.** In France, Germany or Spain many profiles mix English and local titles. A search for French sales leads needs "business developer" and "commercial" in the same OR group. Keep the list short. Each title adds words to the query, and Google reads only the first 32: the tool counts them and warns you before you reach the limit. ## Does X-ray search still work on LinkedIn? Yes, with limits that have grown over time. LinkedIn lets each member decide whether their profile is visible outside LinkedIn, and only those public profiles can be indexed by Google. Logged-out visitors who open a result may also hit a sign-in page. The search still returns names, titles and profile URLs; what it no longer gives you is a complete or perfectly fresh view of the market. Use it to find and size a pool of candidates or prospects, then confirm the details on the profile itself. ## X-ray search beyond LinkedIn LinkedIn is the default, but the same method works anywhere Google indexes public profiles. The tool offers the three that matter most for sourcing. - **GitHub** (`site:github.com`): developers list their languages, location and sometimes their employer on their profile. Add a language as a keyword (`python`, `golang`) and a city. - **CVs and resumes** (`filetype:pdf` with cv, resume or curriculum vitae): people publish their CV on personal sites and portfolios. Useful for niche roles, and the PDF usually carries an email address. - **LinkedIn company pages** (`site:linkedin.com/company`): to build a list of target companies by industry and location before you look for people inside them. ## What Google cannot find for you Google only sees what a profile shows to the public, and only as of the last time it crawled the page. Three consequences: private profiles never appear, a recent job change can take weeks to show, and some fields (contact details, full experience) are not indexed at all. You get names and profile URLs, not contact details. Google also protects itself. Run many advanced searches in a row and it shows a CAPTCHA, then slows you down. That is a limit of the method, not of the tool: space your searches out. Our guide to [LinkedIn X-ray search](https://derrick-app.com/recruitment-sourcing/linkedin-xray-search) covers these limits in detail, with eight ready-made sourcing strings. ## X-ray search vs Boolean search vs LinkedIn search The three are often confused. Boolean search is the logic (AND, OR, NOT, quotes, brackets) and works in many tools, including LinkedIn Recruiter and Sales Navigator. An X-ray search is Boolean logic run in Google, with `site:` pointing at another website. LinkedIn's own search uses its live data and filters, but a free account sees a limited number of results. X-ray costs nothing and needs no account; LinkedIn's paid tools are fresher and more precise. Many recruiters use X-ray first to size a pool, then a paid tool to work it. ## From profile URLs to people you can contact The search ends with a list of profile URLs. To reach those people you still need their current title, company and an email address. The [recruitment sourcing guides](https://derrick-app.com/recruitment-sourcing) cover the next steps, from building the list to the first message. ## From a list of profiles to people you can reach Paste the profile URLs you found into the Derrick web app: Enrich Leads adds the current title, company and location (1 credit per profile, LinkedIn account connected through the Derrick Chrome extension), and Email Finder finds the work email (5 credits per email found, paid plans from Standard at €20 per month). The free plan includes 100 credits per month, no credit card needed. - Web app (main entry, nothing to install): https://app.derrick-app.com - Free plan: 100 credits per month, no credit card. ## FAQ ### What is an X-ray search? An X-ray search is a Google search limited to one website with the site: operator, combined with Boolean logic, to find people's public profiles on that site. Recruiters and sales teams use it to search LinkedIn, GitHub or CVs through Google instead of through the platform's own search. ### Is this X-ray search tool free? Yes. The tool is free, needs no signup and has no limit. It only builds the search string in your browser; the search itself runs on Google when you click the button. ### Can recruiters X-ray LinkedIn? Yes. An X-ray search on LinkedIn uses site:linkedin.com/in in Google to find public profiles by title, location and keywords, without logging in to LinkedIn. It only finds profiles that are public and indexed by Google. ### Does X-ray search show every public profile? No. Google indexes part of the public profiles, and shows what it saw at its last visit. Private profiles never appear, and recent changes can take weeks to show. Treat X-ray results as a sample of the pool, not the whole pool. ### Why does Google show a CAPTCHA during my X-ray searches? Because many advanced searches in a short time look automated to Google. Slow down, space your searches out, and reuse a string that works instead of running many small variations. ### Is X-ray search the same as Boolean search? Not quite. Boolean search is the logic (AND, OR, NOT, quotes, brackets). An X-ray search is Boolean logic run in Google with site: pointing at another website. Every X-ray search is Boolean, but not every Boolean search is an X-ray search. ### Why is my X-ray search returning nothing? Usually one of three things: the string is pasted into LinkedIn instead of Google, OR is written in lowercase, or too many must-have keywords narrow it to zero. Remove keywords one at a time until results come back. ### Is anything I type sent to Derrick? No. The string is built in your browser and nothing is stored. Google only receives the search when you open it yourself.