Picture this: A fundraiser from a well-known charity comes knocking on your door. They are raising money to support communities in need. But how do you know for sure they work for the charity they claim to represent? After all, anyone can pick up a leaflet and go home-to-home impersonating a charity.
You may face the same dilemma with door-to-door salespeople as well. Being able to verify employer details is critical in such moments to avoid getting duped.
But it is not just useful for deterring scams and criminal activities. Knowing where someone is employed is an important part of networking when, say, finding a job, sourcing vendors, seeking funding, or exploring investment or partnership opportunities.
Even while lending money to a person you know, you’ll first want to confirm their employment details to make sure they are able to pay you back.
Of course, sometimes finding out workplace info would have more to do with simple curiosity than practical requirements (like when a new neighbor moves in next door or you meet someone you fancy).
Whatever your reasons, here are effective ways to dig up information.
Run a Name Search on Nuwber
Nuwber’s people search directory currently has records of over 300 million Americans. All are collected from public resources, vetted for accuracy, and organized into profiles that cover a variety of information, including career info (like occupations).
The best part is, you can search Nuwber’s database with a person’s first and last name. Even if you only have a partial name, you can still discover employer details using an accurate address, phone number, or email. But a word of caution: People search sites don’t allow employee background checks. Therefore, if you are looking to verify a place of employment for hiring purposes, use the allowed techniques.
Look Them Up on LinkedIn
Nowadays, almost every working professional and entrepreneur has a presence on LinkedIn to network, find opportunities, and promote their skills (or products and services). Profiles on this platform take the appearance of digital resumes and present a snapshot of users’ current and past workplaces, when they worked there, the positions and responsibilities they held, their key achievements, and a whole lot of other related info.
To look for people you may know, LinkedIn provides a search bar and several useful filters (available only to logged-in users). If you suspect the person you are curious about works at a specific organization, you can also search for its page and click the People tab. This will pull up a list of employees with LinkedIn profiles.
Search the Internet on Google
LinkedIn isn’t the only source on the internet that may hold information about an individual’s employer and career. Sometimes, company websites display details about key employees, and professional directories may list work and contact info of their members. Press releases, news articles, and various other sources could have valuable information, too. You can unearth all these with the help of Google’s powerful algorithms.
The quickest way to dig up info on the search engine is by using related keywords, like a full name, occupation, and city (to identify the correct person), together with a term such as “company”, “workplace”, or “employer” to indicate what you are searching for. Once Google has produced the search results, repeat your search with different keyword combinations if you can’t find what you need.
Check With Others
Can you track down one or more people who might know the person in question? If you can, there’s a good chance of discovering reliable info.
So, look for mutual friends, coworkers, and others who could help you. For instance, go through the connections/friends lists on the relevant individual’s social media profiles and check whether there’s anyone familiar. Or if they mentioned a particular workplace to you, see if you have any contacts there who could confirm the information.
However, if you don’t want the person you are curious about to know you are looking up their employer’s details, it is important to be discreet when asking around from mutual contacts.
Reach Out to Possible Employers
Do you have a hunch about where someone might be working or want to verify what they have told you regarding their workplace? Then, why not try to confirm details directly with that organization?
Now, there are several ways to do this. One approach involves informal tactics like calling up the business and asking to speak to the person you are interested in. If they don’t have anyone by that name, they will for sure let you know.
Formal ways to get in touch depend on your information requirements. For example, if you are vetting a candidate before hiring, you can speak to an HR manager and explain why you are calling. Other legitimate reasons for asking an organization about its employees can include verifying door-to-door salespeople and fundraisers to prevent fraud.
Hire an Employee Screening Service
When you are attempting to authenticate a person’s employer details for the purpose of recruitment, an employee background screening service could take care of the legwork.
Besides, remember, there are certain federal and state regulations that apply to candidate vetting, which, if you don’t comply with, could get you into trouble. A professional screening company can ensure they look up info on your behalf in compliance with all these, so you wouldn’t need to worry about the legalities.
This is obviously a costly route. However, it’s an excellent option for verifying a person’s career details safely and hassle-free, without allowing personal biases to cloud decision-making.
To Wrap Things Up
Knowing where someone works is critical in a variety of situations. In such moments, Nuwber’s people directory, LinkedIn profiles, and Google could be reliable sources to dig up employer information on your own, discreetly. You can also ask around from mutual contacts or reach out directly to an organization if you suspect the relevant person might work there.
However, if you are looking for workplace info for recruitment purposes, hiring an employee screening service is your best bet for obtaining details in compliance with regulations.
