Finding people
How to write a people search query that works
A good people search query is one plain sentence that names a role or field, adds one or two details such as a place or company type, and leaves out anything you could live without.
By Invenitor team. Updated .
Why is a plain sentence better than keywords?
If you are used to filter screens, you may want to break a person into boxes: title, industry, size, region. A plain-words search lets you say what you mean, including things that have no box, such as "has moved from a large company to a startup".
That does not mean the longer sentence is better. A good query reads like what you would say to a colleague: short, specific, with the most important part first.
What should every query include?
Most good queries contain two or three of these, not all of them:
| Part | Example | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Role or function | head of procurement | Almost always. It is the core of the query. |
| Field or sector | in cold-chain logistics | When the same role differs a lot by sector. |
| Company type | at family-owned manufacturers | When size or type changes who decides. |
| Place | in Coimbatore | When location matters for your purpose. |
| Level | senior, or founders | When you need someone who can decide. |
| Specific experience | who has run a plant shutdown | When the experience is the point. |
The query builder puts these parts into a sentence for you and spends no credits.
What do before and after examples look like?
Here are three weak queries and what makes the rewrite better.
| Weak | Better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing people | Marketing managers at D2C skincare brands in Mumbai | A role, a sector and a place give you people you can act on. |
| CEOs of big companies who are interested in AI and sustainability and also have an MBA from a top college | CEOs of Indian logistics companies who talk publicly about AI | Fewer conditions. Keep the ones that really matter. |
| Someone to help with my GST problem | Chartered accountants in Ahmedabad who advise small exporters on GST | It names the kind of person, not your problem. |
How do you fix a query that returns the wrong people?
Read the results before you change anything. They tell you what to do:
- Too many similar, senior names: add a company type or a place.
- People with the right title in the wrong sector: name the sector more plainly, using the words people in it use.
- Very few people: remove the narrowest condition first, usually the specific experience.
- Nobody at all: your wording may be too unusual. Try a more common title. On Invenitor, this search is free.
- Right people but too senior to reach: ask for the level below, such as a regional head or a team lead.
Change one thing each time, so you can see what caused the difference.
What words should you avoid?
Avoid adjectives that cannot be checked: "top", "best", "influential", "passionate". They do not describe anything a search can match, and they tend to pull in people who describe themselves that way.
Avoid your own company's internal words. Someone's title will not include your product category. Use the words they would use on their own profile.
Avoid asking the search to judge willingness, as in "people who would buy my product". Describe who they are, and judge the fit yourself. Also do not include anything about a person's religion, caste, health or similar private traits. Such filters are unfair to people and often unlawful to act on.
How many searches should you plan to run?
Plan on more than one. Your first search shows you how titles are worded in that field, and your second is usually much better. At 20 credits (₹40) per search, two or three tries to get the right list is a small part of your outreach cost, and a search that finds nobody is free.
Then go slow on opening contacts. You do not need all 100 people. Open the ten who fit best, write to them, and see what comes back before you open more. Use the credit calculator to plan the cost.
Developers and agents can send the same sentence through the API or MCP. See the API guide and the MCP guide. The query advice above is the same in every case.
Common questions
- How long should a people search query be?
- One sentence, usually under fifteen words. Add detail only when the first results show you need it.
- Should I use boolean operators like AND and OR?
- Not in a plain-words search. Write the sentence you would say to a colleague.