Kalent's search engine is powerful and precise. This guide covers the new filters system, where every value you add can be fine-tuned (required, excluded, exact match, period…). If you knew the old system, the key change is that most settings now live on each value, via its menu.
The two editing modes
Compact mode: an overview of your filters. Hover a filter to reveal a + button to quickly add a value.
Expanded mode: the full view to edit in detail, with the "Add" button, the list of active filters, and the "Search" button.
Adding a criterion
Three ways to add a value:
The "Add new criteria" button (1): hover the filter type, type your value, and pick it from the results.
The + button when hovering an existing filter (3).
The AI copilot: click to get job-title or keyword suggestions, then click the ones to add (2).
Fine-tuning a value
This is the heart of the new system. Click a value ("Edit" appears on hover) to open its menu. Depending on the filter type, you'll find:
Required (pin icon) — candidates must match this value.
E.g. the keyword "nuclear" set to Required → only profiles mentioning "nuclear" show up.Exclude (Not) (no-entry icon, the chip gets a red outline) — excludes candidates matching this value.
E.g. the company "Capgemini" set to Exclude → removes profiles currently or previously at Capgemini.Exact match (target icon) — the match must be perfect: only direct synonyms and gender variants / strict translations are kept, unlike the general case which also returns profiles whose title has a sufficient overlap. Available on Job title, Company, and School (direct synonyms are still included in all three).
E.g. "engineer" in Exact match returns "engineer", "ingénieur" and "ingénieure", but not "aeronautical engineer".Period — available on Job title and Company. Three options:
Current + Past (default): holds or has held this role / company.
Current: today only.
Past: a past experience only.
E.g. "Sales Director" set to Current → only those who hold it today. "Google" set to Past → Google alumni.
Radius — available on Location. From Exact up to 200 km (or miles depending on your profile unit).
E.g. "Lyon" with a 50 km radius.Delete — removes the value.
Filter-by-filter walkthrough
Job title
Its synonyms, variants and translations are added automatically by AI (e.g. "nurse" also finds "nurses"). Controls: Period (Current/Past), Exact match, Exclude, Required, and the AI copilot to broaden.
Location
By country, region, area or city. Set the Radius around a city (up to 200 km) from the chip menu.
Keywords
Type a keyword and confirm. To make a keyword mandatory, set it to Required; to rule it out, use Exclude. The AI copilot suggests extra keywords.
Years of experience / Time in current role
Select one or more ranges. E.g. "3 to 5 years" only shows profiles with 3–5 years of total experience. To target "more than 3 years", select the lower ranges and set them to Exclude.
Employer
Current or past companies via Period. Exact match, Exclude (rule out competitors), AI copilot, and Bundles: Kalent Bundles, My bundles, or Save as bundle for your recurring groupings.
Employer industry / Company size
Target the sector and size (start-up, SMB, large group). Our industry taxonomy may differ from LinkedIn's; when in doubt, contact your CSM.
Skills
Add the key skills; the AI copilot generates relevant suggestions.
Education
Filter by schools/universities. Exact match, AI copilot, and Kalent Bundles (e.g. top 10 business or engineering schools).
Graduation year / Degree level
Year of the latest degree, and level (bachelor, master, PhD…).
Languages
Find profiles speaking one or more languages.
Contract type
Useful to target freelancers.
A concrete example: combining filters
For "a current Sales Director, around Lyon, cybersecurity expert, never worked at a competitor":
Job title "Sales Director" → Period Current
Location "Lyon" → Radius 50 km
Keyword "cybersecurity" → Required
Company "[competitor]" → Exclude