Search isn't working the way you expected? Here are the most common issues and exactly what's causing them.
No results are appearing
Cause 1: Fewer than 3 characters typed. Omni Search only activates after you've entered at least 3 characters. If you've typed 1–2 characters, results won't appear yet.
Cause 2: No matching records exist. If the name, email, phone number, or ID you've entered doesn't match any record in your workspace, Recruiterflow will fall back to showing your recent profiles instead of a "no results" message.
What to try: Type more characters, double-check the spelling, or try searching by a different field (e.g., email instead of name).
The wrong entity type is appearing at the top
Cause: Omni Search ranks by match quality first. If a Candidate matches your query more strongly than a Job does, the Candidate will surface first, even if you're on the Jobs page.
What to try: Keep typing to give the search more signal. As your query gets more specific, the entity ordering will adjust. Alternatively, use the entity filter tabs to restrict results to just the type you're looking for.
My entity filter doesn't seem to be working
Cause: You may have a filter from a previous session still active that's interfering with what you expect to see. Entity filter preferences persist across sessions.
What to try: Click the currently active entity filter tabs to deselect them and reset to all-entity results. Then reselect only the filter you want.
I searched a company name but candidates appeared instead of the company
Cause: This is intentional behavior. If a company name matches both a Candidate's current employer and a Company record, Recruiterflow will prefer to surface the Company entity, but only if the match score is equal. If the Candidate's match score is higher (e.g., the candidate's name also contains that word), the Candidate may still appear first.
What to try: Use the Companies entity filter to restrict results to company records only.
I can't find a record I know exists
Cause: The record might not be indexed on a searchable field. Check which fields Omni Search covers for each entity:
Candidates & Contacts: Name, Phone, Email, Company Name
Companies: Name, Phone
Jobs: Name
Deals: Deal Name
What to try: Search by a field that Omni Search covers for that entity. If you know the record's ID, use the ID syntax (e.g., Candidate:1234) to find it directly.
Recent profiles aren't showing when I click the search bar
Cause: This is most likely a first-time use issue. Recent profiles only appear if you've previously opened profiles in Recruiterflow. New users or freshly logged-in sessions with no prior profile views will see an empty recent profiles list.