Too many results
Make 1–2 skills required. Pick the technology that actually decides the role.
Narrow experience. "5 to 12 years" instead of "0 to 30+".
Add context to the brief. "Worked with B2B SaaS customers", "regulated environment", "led a team of 5+".
Add a Bullhorn filter. Status is Active; Status is not DNU; Owner is me.
Set a location. Even a wide radius removes the far-away half.
A long list is not a problem by itself. The ranking is what matters. Look at the top 20 before cutting.
The top candidates are the wrong kind of person
This is a meaning problem, not a filter problem.
Read the brief. Does it describe the role you meant? Rewrite it in one or two clear sentences, titles and their variations first.
Check what is required. A required skill that is common to many roles (SQL, Excel, "communication") pulls in the wrong profiles. Untick it.
Swap category for technology. "Cloud" becomes "AWS"; "backend" becomes "Java, Spring".
Name the level. "Senior individual contributor, not a manager" or "Head of, not manager".
Exclude the neighbour role. If you keep getting project managers for a developer search, exclude "project management", or say it in the brief: "hands-on developer, not PM".
Split mixed searches. One role per search.
A specific candidate is ranked too low
Hover their red evaluations. Each one is a requirement the resume doesn't confirm. If the requirement isn't important, remove it from the search and they move up. If the resume is just outdated, update it in Bullhorn.
Still off
Send support the Search URL and two or three names that should be at the top. We'll look at the ranking with you.