> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.spott.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Searching & Filtering Candidates > Find candidates with the search bar, Boolean queries, structured filters, and AI text to filters, and save your setup as a view. The Candidates page gives you three ways to find people: the search bar for quick lookups, structured filters for precise slices of your database, and the **Search** tab for deep, AI-powered sourcing across the whole pool. Open the **Candidates** page from the left menu (shortcut: `G` then `A`; see all [keyboard shortcuts](/docs/settings/keyboard-shortcuts)). The Candidates page with the search bar and Filters button ## Use the search bar The search bar sits in the top left of the candidate table. Type a name or keyword to narrow the list as you type. Looking up who owns an **email address or phone number**? Use global search (`⌘K` / `Ctrl+K`) instead. It finds the person an identifier belongs to across the whole database. ### Boolean search The search bar supports full Boolean queries with **AND**, **OR**, **NOT**, and parentheses. Spott switches to Boolean mode automatically as soon as your query contains double quotes: ``` ("Java developer" OR "backend engineer") AND NOT "intern" ``` This gives you precise control when a plain keyword search returns too much. A Boolean query in the candidate search bar ## Apply structured filters Click the **Filters** button above the table to add a filter. Filters are grouped by the kind of data they match, including: * **Current Job Title**, **Years of Experience**, and **Keywords** * **Company**, with industry and past companies * **Location** and **Education** * **Compensation** and **Last Interaction** * **Jobs**, **Lists**, and **Source** * Any **custom fields** your workspace has configured * **Compliance** filters such as consent status, when consent tracking is enabled The filter menu with its filter groups By default, results match **all** applied filters. Use the three-dot menu on an applied filter to combine filters as **any** instead, for example "Paris or London". A couple of filters people look for that do not exist as such: * There is **no region-level filter**. To cover a region, add each country to a **Location** filter set to match **any**, and save it as a view to reuse. * There is **no "has received an email" filter**. Use **Last Interaction** to find candidates you have or have not been in touch with recently. **Location** is geocoded, so a **radius** search works and both "London" and "Greater London" resolve to the same area. ### AI text to filters You do not need to know where each filter lives. Keep typing a description in the filter box, for example "React developer with 5+ years of experience, living in California", and Spott converts it into filters for you with **AI Text to filters**. AI Text to filters converting a description into filters ## Deep sourcing with the Search tab Where the search bar and filters match profile fields, **Search** runs an AI-ranked search across every candidate in your database, including their notes and attachments. Open it from **Search** under **Tools** in the left menu, or from the **Search** tab next to **All candidates** at the top left of the Candidates page. The Search tab with the prompt box and recent searches Describe your ideal profile in your own words, or use **Start from** to base the search on an existing job in Spott or on a pasted job description. Spott turns your input into pre-filters and criteria that you review before running the search, then ranks the results by match score. The tags under the prompt box, for example **Job Title**, **Location**, and **Experience**, light up as Spott recognises those details in your description. They let you check what was picked up before you run the search. ### Recent searches and history Your recent searches sit under the prompt box, each with its pre-filters and criteria, its top match, and the number of candidates found. Click one to reopen it instead of describing the profile again. **Search History**, in the top right, shows the full list. ### Reading the results Search and [Matching](/docs/jobs/matching) run on the same engine and return the same result table. How the two halves of a search work together is explained in full there: Why pre-filters narrow the pool and criteria rank what is left. Scores from 0 to 100, the thumbs rating per criterion, and the reasoning behind them. The difference is the starting point. Matching builds the search from a job's context automatically, so use it when you are filling a specific role. Use Search when you want to explore your database without tying the search to a job. The **pre-filters** and **criteria** chips above the results stay editable. Open either one to adjust the search and run it again, rather than describing the profile from scratch. ### Act on the results Work through the list with the **All**, **To Review**, and **Reviewed** tabs. Tick the candidates you want, and an action bar appears at the bottom of the table. The bulk action bar with Accept, Mark as reviewed, and Enrich * **Accept** moves the selected candidates into a pipeline. A stage picker opens so you choose where they land, using the [stages](/docs/settings/stages) your workspace has configured. * **Mark as reviewed** moves them to the Reviewed tab, so you can keep working through the ones you have not judged yet. * **Candidate Actions** and **Communication Actions** hold the bulk operations on the selected records. * **Enrich** looks up missing emails and phone numbers for the selection. See [contact enrichment](/docs/candidates/contact-enrichment). The stage picker that opens from Accept Use **Share Search**, in the top right, to hand the search over to a colleague. ## Save filters into Views Save a set of filters as a view to come back to it later. You can create as many views as you want: * Click the view picker (it shows **All** at first) * Set your filters * Click **Save view** * The saved view is now available from the dropdown When you change filters, sorts, or columns on a view, a save / discard prompt appears at the top of the table. Changes only stick after you save them. The view picker with saved views ## Organize results * By default the table is sorted by **last activity**, so recently active candidates come first. * Sort on any sortable column from its header menu. Sorts are saved as part of the view. * Results in the Search tab and in matching are always ranked by **match score**. * Clear all filters to return to the full candidate list.