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Stalk Your Way to a New Job

Google

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 CV 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: “Joe Bloggs”

• Try searching for possible alternative names, usernames, and nicknames. You can sometimes find their favourite username by finding them on Facebook, then using the beginning of the email address listed. So, if Joe Blogg’s email address is joeybloggeyes@gmail.com, search for: joeybloggeyes 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 BT. You would google: site:BT.com “joe bloggs”.

• 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: “joe bloggs” email, @BT.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.

Next Page: Facebook Stalking Is Such Fun! →

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