Regular vs. deep search

What a standard search does, what deep search adds, and when to use each.

Every search runs as a regular search by default. Turning on deep search widens the net by running several searches at once and combining the results. Here’s exactly what each one does.

Regular search

A regular search looks through Clarvo’s candidate pool and returns the best matches for your role:

1. Applies your hard filters

   Candidates that don’t meet your hard filters (location, required languages, seniority, education level, and so on) are removed.

2. Matches on meaning

   The rest are matched against your description by meaning — not just keywords.

3. Ranks by fit

   Results are scored and ordered using your evaluation criteria and soft signals like job titles and industries.

It’s fast and focused — ideal when Clarvo already has good coverage for your role.

Deep search

Deep search is for when you want maximum coverage — hard-to-fill, niche, or specialized roles. Instead of one search, Clarvo runs several in parallel and merges them:

1. Your standard search

   The same regular search described above, against Clarvo’s candidate pool.

2. A broader semantic pass

   A wider, meaning-based sweep of the pool that surfaces strong matches a stricter search might have narrowed out.

3. A company-angle search

   Clarvo identifies companies likely to employ the right people and looks for candidates there. This branch is automatically skipped if you’ve already specified companies, so it never overrides your explicit choices.

4. External sources

   Clarvo reaches beyond its own pool to global candidate sources, surfacing people who aren’t in Clarvo yet.

Bringing the results together

1. Merge

   Results from every branch are combined into one list.

2. De-duplicate

   The same person found in more than one place is collapsed into a single result — preferring the profile Clarvo already has so you keep the richest data.

3. Re-rank as one list

   Everything is scored together with the same ranking as a regular search, so external and existing candidates compete on equal footing.

Regular vs. deep — at a glance

	Regular search	Deep search
Searches	Clarvo’s candidate pool	Pool + broader pass + company-angle + external sources
Coverage	Focused	Maximum
Best for	Roles with good existing coverage	Hard-to-fill, niche, or specialized roles
Speed	Fastest	Takes a little longer (more sources)
Ranking	Scored by fit	Same scoring, applied across all sources

Deep search widens the candidate pool — it doesn’t loosen your hard filters. If you’re getting too few results, also try relaxing hard filters or switching skills to Loose (see Search filters).