How to Use Job Title and Seniority Filters

This guide shows how to identify the right contacts with Cognism by using job title, seniority, and department filters. 

By combining these options, you can find relevant decision-makers, refine your targeting, and build more accurate prospect lists.

Use job title and seniority filters to find the right contacts

Here is an explanation on how you can use Job Title, Seniority, and Department filters to identify relevant decision-makers within a company.

Use the job title filter

Use the Job Title filter when you know the roles you want to target.

You can search for specific titles such as CEO, CFO, or CRO. The search is keyword-based, so include both the full job title and common abbreviations.

Example:

To find chief executives, enter both CEO and Chief Executive Officer.

To use the Job Title filter, you need to:

1. Go to the Search in the left-hand side tab

2. Click on Contacts > Job Titles > Enter job title(s)

   

3. The results will update automatically

Include or exclude individual job titles

By default, job titles you add are included in your search.

To exclude a specific job title:

1. Add the job title to the Job Title filter.
2. Hover over the job title you added.
3. Select Exclude to remove contacts with that job title from your search results.

You can use Include and Exclude together to target relevant roles while filtering out job titles you don't want to see.

Upload job titles in bulk

If you have a predefined list of job titles, you can upload them in bulk.

1. Go to the Search in the left-hand side tab
2. Click on Contacts > Job Titles > Upload CSV  

3. Upload a CSV containing your job titles

This helps when you want to apply consistent criteria across multiple searches.

Exclude job titles uploaded in bulk

When uploading job titles using a CSV file, you can choose to exclude all of the uploaded data from your search instead of including it.

Use the Exclude option after uploading the file if you want contacts matching the uploaded job titles to be removed from your search results.

Use seniority and department filters

Use Seniority and Department filters when you are unsure of specific job titles.

Cognism analyses company structures to identify relevant contacts based on seniority and department. This helps you find decision-makers whose titles may vary between companies.

Example:

When targeting HR decision-makers, roles may include:

• HR Director 
• CHRO 
• Head of People 
• Director of Employee Engagement 

Combining Seniority with Department helps surface relevant contacts you may not have considered.

To use the Seniority and Department filter, you need to:

1. Go to the Search tab on the left-hand side

2. Click on Seniority / Departments > Select Seniority / Departments

   

3. The results will update automatically

Combine job title and seniority filters

You can also combine Job Title and Seniority filters for broader searches.

In this case, keep job titles general and use seniority to refine results.

Example:

• Enter recruitment as a job title keyword
• Use the Seniority filter to target decision-makers only

This approach works well when job titles differ across organisations but include common keywords.

Expected Results

After applying these filters, you should see a list of contacts that match your role, seniority, and department criteria. This helps you focus on relevant decision-makers within your target companies.

Next steps

• Save your filtered search 
• Export contacts 
• Apply additional filters to refine your results further