How To Use Search Engines to Find Your Next Boss

You ever have one of those moments when you realize the obvious? I had one of those today. I was helping someone look for a gig in the manufacturing industry.

I suggested to them that they connect with people via Linkedin and network and they were like, “No, Jim, I’d rather not.” (Long story short, it’s not a good idea to spam in general, and especially on Linkedin.)

So, okay, they were kind of stuck, and looking at me for advice, of which I had… none. So I decided to stall.

“So who do you want to network with?” I asked.

“Facilities Managers,” they replied.

So, I thought about it, and scratched my head. And thought about it some more, and scratched… Then, I finally came up with a solution. Certain companies hire Facilities Managers (in this case, manufacturing companies), and what do these companies have in common?

Well, among them, they all have “about us” pages in their websites. Such being the case, if I searched “About Us” pages for job titles, would I strike paydirt, and find the people my client wanted to network with? The short answer? Yes!

Check out these examples:

First, Google:

Then, Bing:

And, last but not least, Yahoo!:

The best thing about this technique is that it will work in any industry, and the company contact information is (almost) always posted. So, at the very least, you have a phone number you can use to reach out to that manager and (if you have a gift for gab, like my client had) talk your way into an opportunity.

Don’t believe me? Here are a few more samples for your review (new browser window will open)…

The only thing that is negative, and I really can’t say its terribly negative, but this technique works best with senior management types and sales personnel because they tend to be the ones featured on company websites. Get it? Got it! Good.

Happy hunting,

Jim Stroud

Follow me on Social Media: