Required vs Optional Filters
AIRA Source uses a combination of required and optional filters to help you discover candidates.
Required Filters (Must Complete to Search)
You must apply these four filters before running any search:
Job Title – The role you're searching for
Location – Geographic location of candidates
Years of Experience – Experience range in years
Function – Functional area (e.g., Engineering, Sales, Marketing)
Optional Filters (Refine Results)
Use these filters to narrow down your search results:
Company – Current or past employers
Industry – Specific industries or sectors
Seniority – Career level (Entry, Mid, Senior, Executive, etc.)
Company Size – Organization size by employee count
Keywords – Specific skills, technologies, or terms
Skills – Technical or functional competencies
School – Educational institutions attended
Degree – Specific degrees or fields of study
Year of Graduation – Graduation year range
Filter Deep-Dive
Filter | Best For | Pro Tips |
Job Title | Finding specific roles | Use "Current or Past" to cast a wider net. Be specific but not overly narrow. Examples: "Product Manager", "Sales Director", "Software Engineer" |
Location | Geographic targeting | Multi-select works. You can choose multiple locations (e.g., NYC + SF + Austin) |
Years of Experience | Seniority matching | Too narrow = fewer results. Consider career progression when setting ranges |
Function | Industry alignment | Choose 1-2 functions max for best results. Examples: "Engineering", "Sales", "Marketing", "Finance", "Operations" |
Company | Competitive hiring | Great for targeting candidates from specific employers (e.g., "people who worked at Google"). Use "Current or Past" to include alumni. |
Industry | Domain expertise | Helpful for niche sectors where domain knowledge matters (e.g., "Fintech", "Healthcare", "SaaS", "Manufacturing"). |
Seniority | Leadership vs IC roles | Options include: Entry Level, Mid-Level, Senior, Director, VP, C-Level, Executive. Use to filter by career stage. |
Company Size | Startup vs Enterprise fit | Filter by employee count ranges to find candidates from similar-sized organizations (e.g., startups vs Fortune 500). |
Keywords | Specific skills/tech | Use sparingly for best results. Examples: "Python", "B2B SaaS", "Enterprise Sales", "AWS", "Salesforce" |
Skills | Technical requirements | Filter by specific technical or functional competencies. |
School | Alma mater targeting | Great for alumni networks and university-specific recruiting (e.g., "Stanford", "MIT", "Harvard", "UC Berkeley"). |
Degree | Education requirements | Filter by degree type or field of study. Examples: "MBA", "Computer Science", "Mechanical Engineering", "Bachelor's" |
Year of Graduation | Recent grads vs experienced | Set a range to target specific graduation cohorts (e.g., 2015-2020 for mid-career professionals). |
Common Search Strategies
Strategy 1: Broad to Narrow
Start with the 4 required filters only, review your results, then add 1-2 optional filters to refine.
Example:
Start with: Job Title = "Product Manager", Location = "San Francisco", Years of Experience = "5-10", Function = "Product Management"
Review results (too many? too few?)
Refine by adding: Company = "Google" (Current or Past), Industry = "SaaS"
This approach prevents "no results" frustration and helps you understand which filters matter most for your search.
Strategy 2: Competitive Hiring
Target candidates from specific competitors or industry leaders.
Example:
Job Title: "Sales Engineer"
Location: "United States"
Years of Experience: "3-7"
Function: "Sales"
Company: "Salesforce" OR "HubSpot" (Current or Past)
Pro Tip: Use "Current or Past" for Company to include alumni who may have moved to smaller companies but have the training and experience you're looking for.
Strategy 3: Alumni Networks
Leverage university connections for specialized recruiting.
Example:
Job Title: "Data Scientist"
Location: "New York"
Years of Experience: "2-5"
Function: "Data Science"
School: "MIT" OR "Carnegie Mellon"
This strategy works especially well for technical roles or when your hiring manager values specific educational backgrounds.
Strategy 4: Career Switchers
Find candidates who have transitioned into or out of specific roles.
Example:
Job Title: "Product Manager" (Current or Past)
Location: "Remote" OR "United States"
Years of Experience: "4-8"
Function: "Product Management"
Keywords: "Engineering" OR "Developer"
This search finds former engineers who moved into product management—candidates who often bring strong technical depth.
Troubleshooting: "Why Am I Getting No Results?"
If your search returns zero candidates, try these fixes:
Too Many Filters Applied
Problem: Using too many optional filters creates an overly narrow search.
Solution: Remove optional filters one by one. Start with just the 4 required filters, then add back optional filters selectively.
Unrealistic Experience Range
Problem: The years of experience range is too narrow or doesn't match typical career progression.
Solution: Widen the range. For example, instead of "5-6 years", try "4-8 years". Consider that career paths vary, some professionals advance faster than others.
Misspelled Keywords
Problem: Typos or incorrect spelling in Job Title, Company, or Keywords fields.
Solution: Double-check spelling and try synonyms. For example:
"Product Manager" vs "PM"
"Software Engineer" vs "Developer"
"Sales Executive" vs "Account Executive"
Conflicting Filters
Problem: Filters that contradict each other (e.g., "Entry Level" seniority + "10-15 years" experience).
Solution: Review your filters for logical consistency. Make sure seniority levels, years of experience, and job titles align.
Overly Specific Combination
Problem: Combining multiple niche filters (e.g., specific School + specific Company + narrow Location).
Solution: Remove one of the niche filters. For example, keep School + Location OR Company + Location, but not all three.
Best Practices
Use "Current or Past" strategically
When searching by Job Title or Company, selecting "Current or Past" significantly expands your pool by including candidates who held that role or worked at that company previously.
Multi-select locations for remote roles
If you're hiring remotely or open to multiple locations, select all relevant cities or regions to maximize your candidate pool.
Start with fewer filters, not more
It's easier to narrow down a large pool of candidates than to broaden a search that returned zero results. Start simple, then refine.
Check email/phone availability in results
Before adding candidates, review the availability indicators on candidate cards. This helps you prioritize candidates with accessible contact information.
Save time with bulk actions
Once you've refined your search, use bulk actions to Add to Database, Find Email, or Find Phone for multiple candidates at once.
Next Steps
Now that you understand how filters work, you're ready to:
Craft targeted searches for specific roles and industries
Build talent pools using advanced filter combinations
Troubleshoot and optimize searches that aren't returning the results you need
For help with specific sourcing scenarios, check out our other AIRA Source guides in the help center.