The internet has made stalkers out of all of us. You know exactly what I’m talking about.
But instead of stalking your ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, consider using your newfound detective skills for more productive (i.e. less emotionally jarring) purposes, like snagging the job of your dreams.
Interested in a company and need to find a person to contact? Google away. Trying to suss out the guy who’s interviewing you next week? Facebook him!
Within minutes, you can find out where he’s from, how to reach him, where he’s worked in the past, and – perhaps most importantly – what his favorite movie is. The more you know about him, the better your ability to sell yourself.
We’re not suggesting you cultivate an entirely false personality to match your interviewer — that would be disingenuous and would surely come back to bite you.
But knowing a bit more about someone can help you find points of commonality you might otherwise have missed. If you find out they went to your alma mater, you can ever-so-subtly work that into the conversation in an interview. Or maybe you share the same taste in music? Find an appropriate way to bring it up. We all know that getting hired has a lot to do with likeability. And fair or not, people generally like other people who are similar to them. Why miss out on an opportunity to highlight these similarities?
Are you ready to do some in-depth detective work? Luckily, you’ve got an extremely powerful investigative tool right at your fingertips. Abuse it wisely!
What did people do before Google? They used encyclopedias. And fold-out maps.
They also had a lot less information on potential employers.
Embrace this search engine giant. For jobseekers, it’s an absolute godsend.
Maybe you already know the name of the person who’ll be interviewing you and you just want to know a little more about them before the face-to-face interrogation. Or perhaps you want to send someone your resume and cover letter but need to track down contact details and some background information.
If Googling your person of interest is limited to a simple full name search, you’re missing out on lots of prime stalking potential. Try adding other relevant keywords to maximize your results. Where did they go to college? Where do they live? Where have they worked? By adding these items to the search terms, you’ll likely get more relevant results.
Here are some other Google tips:
• Make sure you search their full name in quotation marks: “John Doe”
• Try searching for possible alternative names, usernames, and nicknames. You can sometimes find their favorite username by finding them on Facebook, then using the beginning of the email address listed. So, if John Doe’s email address is johnnydoeeyes@gmail.com, search for: johnnydoeeyes and see what comes up.
• If you know where they work or went to college, look for any mention of them on that particular site. So let’s say they work for Apple. You would google: site:apple.com “john doe”.
• If you know where John Doe works, you can easily figure out his email address. Let’s say, once again, that he works at Apple. Search: “john doe” email, @apple.com. You may want to try various name combinations (i.e. first initial plus last name, or last name first)
• If a page has come up in your search but it is no longer available, try hitting “Cache” — often that will bring up the expired page.
• Don’t forget to try Google Images: this is especially useful if you’re unsure of the gender of your person of interest.
FacebookWhile it can be an incredibly useful tool for tracking people down, Facebook can also be incredibly useless – it all depends on a person’s privacy settings.
The first step is to search the person in question’s name. Make sure you try any nicknames, in addition to their full name.
You may get several people with the same name (and you may or may not know what they actually should look like). Try narrowing it down using networks. If you know they live in Los Angeles, set the network appropriately and see what comes up.
Other tips for optimizing your Facebook search:
• When you find your “stalkee,” you may be able to get into their profile page right away. If you can’t, try changing your network to match theirs – they may have set their profile to only allow access to people in their network. You can only do this a few times, so make sure this person is truly stalk-worthy.
• Alternatively, you can set up a fake profile solely for the purpose of modifying your network where necessary and view their profile that way.
• Still can’t get onto their profile? Check to see if you know any of their friends. If you do, invite that person to be your friend. Once they accept, you may be able to find information on your stalkee in your mutual friend’s feed. For example, you can look for any wall posts your stalkee might have left on their page.
• Want to know who’s stalking you? Try the new Facebook application that allegedly gives you a ranked list of your “stalkers.” Whether or not it actually legitimately tracks who visits your profile — or simply how many times they’ve commented, messaged, tagged, etc –- is still up in the air.
• Want to know what your friends can and can’t see? Go to your privacy settings, type in the name of your friend and view your profile just as they see it.
TwitterTwitter may not reveal the information you’re looking for in the most organized, upfront way (a la Facebook), but following someone over time can give you a very intimate glimpse into their daily life and personal character.
If you know how to use it, Twitter can be a very fruitful stalking tool.
One of Twitter’s greatest assets is that it has made it perfectly acceptable to “follow” strangers without seeming creepy –- especially if they are visibly part of your industry. (For more on how to use Twitter, go here).
Once you’re following your person of interest, you can “retweet” their tweets, or reply to their tweets if they are of interest to you. An appropriate retweet would be responding to an article in your industry. An inappropriate retweet would be responding to that person’s tweet on how much they love their wife or what they had for breakfast. Keep it professional or you’ll earn a reputation for being creepy.
Someone I know scored a writing gig by following the editor of the target publication for a few months. From time to time, and where appropriate, she would reply to the editor’s tweets with links to her own articles. She was simultaneously emailing the editor, pitching story ideas and requesting an interview. Eventually, the editor agreed to meet her and she got the job. Not bad for a few tweets.
Twitter is also helpful because, unlike Facebook, it allows you to follow people without their consent or reciprocation. And now, thanks to the new app Tweet Stalk, you can follow people without them even knowing.
Finally, Twitter can be used to track down leads. You can search for the name of the company you’re interested in to see if anyone in the Twitterverse is affiliated with it. Once you find them, begin following and ask if they have contacts. They may ignore you altogether, but they might just help you out. Either way, there’s no risk in trying.
LinkedInThis professional networking tool can be a fantastic stalking tool. For example, you’re looking for a contact at XYZcompany. You search that company on LinkedIn and find names of relevant hiring managers.
Using the tools we showed you in the Google section of the article, you may be able to find said hiring manager’s email address. Now you can email them directly regarding the position — which means that instead of getting lost in the internet abyss, your resume might actually be seen.
You may also be able to use your own LinkedIn network to track down leads. Check to see who your connections’ connections are. If you see anything interesting, ask for an introduction. Too shy? Nonsense! There’s no room for shame in a job hunt.
Jigsaw.comGot some money to spend? For $250 a year, you can get access to up to 250 business cards (out of 14 million) on Jigsaw.com. How does it work? Members share data from business cards they’ve collected. Once you join, you gain access to the growing database. If you’re serious about your stalking, are desperate for a lead and have some disposable income, this site might be the way to go.
In this day and age, there’s just no excuse for not having an arsenal of information on your job leads. At the very least, you should be scouring the company’s website for inside information. But if you really want an edge on the competition (and I’m pretty sure you do!), you should be doing some more in-depth detective work.
Now leave your ex-boyfriend alone and get to work!
*Disclaimer: These tips were designed to help you stalk in the most legal, non-creepy way. We do not encourage or condone harassment, obsessive behavior or any kind of physical stalking.Kick-Start Your IT Career:
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