Find specifications by title, title code, skills, or requirements, even if you don't know the exact name of what you're looking for.
Why Holly's Search Is Different
Holly's search understands what you're looking for, even when you don't know the exact title or code. You can search by classification title, title code, or just describe what you need. The platform handles typos, suggests similar positions, and uses semantic search to surface related roles you might not have considered.
The search system analyzes job content, requirements, and organizational context to return results that are both precise and comprehensive. Whether you're looking for one specific position or exploring everything related to it, Holly's search adapts to your intent.
Three Types of Search
Holly has three separate search boxes, and each one searches a different set of specs.
Main Class Specs page: Searches your own jurisdiction's specs, by title or description. Because results are limited to your own specs, you won't have to sift through comparator data to find what you're looking for. This keeps your results focused on the specs you actually manage.
Internals tab: Pulls in another spec from your own jurisdiction to compare against the one you're viewing.
Market tab: Pulls in an external comparator spec from one of your configured comparator jurisdictions. A comparator spec only surfaces here, never on the main page.
Note: Looking for a comparator spec? Go to the Market tab of a spec. The main Class Specs page is dedicated entirely to your own specs, so it stays uncluttered no matter how many comparator jurisdictions you've configured.
Quick Start: Basic Search Techniques
These techniques apply to the main Class Specs page search, where you're looking for your own specs.
Say you're looking for an IT analyst position but you're not sure of the exact title. You start typing "IT Analyst" in the search bar.
Holly returns results ordered to help you find what you need:
First: Exact matches — "IT Analyst" appears at the top if it exists in your system
Then: Close IT variations — "IT Business Analyst," "IT Security Analyst"
Next: Related technology roles — "Informaticist" (healthcare IT specialist)
Finally: Broader analyst roles — "Data Analyst," "Financial Analyst," "Management Analyst"
Holly understands that someone searching for "IT Analyst" might also be interested in the business analysis, security analysis, or data analysis aspects of IT work.
Not finding the right variation? Try being more general. Type just "analyst" and you'll see every analyst position across your organization, including IT-related ones you might not have thought of.
Made a typo? No problem. Type "IT anaylst" and Holly still finds your IT analyst positions, automatically handling the misspelling.
Search by title code: If you know the title code, enter it to find your specification. Partial search works here too. If you know a code starts with "X2" but can't remember the rest:
Exact codes: "EA8AN" finds that specific classification
Partial codes: "X2" returns any code containing those characters, such as X2A, A2X, X10, or X11
Power Search: Going Beyond Titles
Search by Skills, Education, or Requirements
You can search by what a position requires, not just its title.
Certifications: Search "CDL" to find every job requiring a commercial driver's license, such as Truck Driver positions
Education: Search "bachelor's degree" to see every position with that requirement
Skills: Search "budget analysis" to find roles involving financial planning
Holly Understands Context
Holly connects related concepts automatically. Search "police officer" and you'll also see "deputy sheriff" and "public safety officer," because they share similar functions or sit in the same department.
How Holly Ranks Your Results
It helps to know what's happening behind the scenes when you search, especially if a spec you expect to see doesn't show up where you'd expect.
On any of the three search boxes, Holly runs three checks and combines them into a single results list:
Exact title match. If your search text exactly matches a spec's title, that spec is placed at the top of the results, ahead of everything else.
Title similarity. Holly compares your search text to spec titles using semantic matching, so related or similarly worded titles surface even without an exact match.
Description similarity. Holly also compares your search text to spec descriptions, surfacing specs whose duties or content relate to what you typed even if the title doesn't.
Each search returns up to 100 matches. For most searches this is far more than you'll need, but if your team or a comparator jurisdiction has a large number of specs, a relevant match could occasionally fall outside that range. Narrowing your search terms, or adding a jurisdiction name as described below, reduces the chances of this happening.
Refine Your Results
Use sorting, filtering, and jurisdiction targeting to narrow down what you see.
Sort and filter options:
Sort by class title, last edited date, minimum salary, maximum salary, and status (on the main Class Specs dashboard)
Filter by status and by whether a spec was manually created or created through a merge (on the main Class Specs dashboard)
Sort by match percentage (on the Internals and Market tabs)
Search benchmarks by jurisdiction (Market tab): When using the Market tab to find additional benchmarks for your salary study, you can filter results to specific comparators by including the jurisdiction name directly in your search. Type the jurisdiction name along with your position search. For example, "Pinal County Officer" limits results to matching officer roles specifically in Pinal County.
Troubleshooting
Too many results? Add more specific terms, department names, or jurisdiction names (when searching benchmarks on the Market tab), or use the available filters on each tab.
Too few results, or missing a spec you expected? If you're looking for a comparator spec, head to the Market tab. The main Class Specs page is focused on your own specs. If you're already in the right place, try broader terms. On the Market tab specifically, terminology may differ from what's common internally, so trying a few variations can help. If you're confident a spec exists but isn't showing up, check whether its jurisdiction is configured as a comparator, since Market tab search only covers jurisdictions you've added as comparators, not every jurisdiction in Holly.
If you've checked all of the above and still can't locate a spec you know exists, reach out to Holly Support so we assist.