Searching for an Email Address

You’re ready to start searching for a job. What do you do when you have identified an Executive Recruiter or other hiring influencer you’d like to contact, but you don’t have their email address? It happens to all of us. Whether you’ve misplaced a business card, received an incomplete referral from a network contact, or you are reaching out without an introduction, email is often the first choice to make contact.

Finding an email address for a recruiter is usually pretty easy, they want to be found. For other hiring influencers, it may take a few tries. Here are a few tips for searching for email addresses.

1. Searching for an Email AddressStart easy. Have you looked the person up on LinkedIn? How about Facebook? Or Twitter? Most recruiters are on their favourite networking site. If the contact information is there, great! If not, take the next step.
2. Go premium. LinkedIn Premium will show you additional contact information for most users. If you can afford to upgrade, doing so during your job search could pay off.
3. Use what you know. If you can find the email address of the hiring influencer’s colleague, you can easily see the format used by the company email. If you can find Joseph Tatum at DeGrasse Recruiting and his email address of JTatum@DeGrasse.com, but not Ewan Lloyd’s address, it’s worth trying to send your email to ELloyd@DeGrasse.com. Unfortunately, some companies use numbering systems, such as Andrews.457@DeGrasse.com, which still leaves you in the dark.
4. Start your engine. Put your favorite search engine (Google, perhaps?) to work for you. Search the full name of the person, the company they work for, and any other useful limits. For instance, you could search “Jane L. Smith, RobertHalf.com, Sacramento CA”.
5. There’s an app. There are a number of apps for finding email addresses. There’s usually a fee, but it tends to be small. Hunter is a popular choice, Spokeo is another.
6. Old school. Still can’t find it? Go back to the methods of our forefathers, and make a phone call. You don’t need a long story about why you need to contact the person, just a simple statement that you’re having trouble sending information and need the correct mailing address. Be honest, if asked, about your connections. It’s simple job search etiquette to be truthful, and it can save you from embarrassing consequences.
7. Introductions. If your online search fails, consider asking your network contacts if any of them can offer an introduction. It’s more comfortable for most people to agree to introduce you to someone via email than to simply hand out a valuable contact’s email. Plus, it allows them to receive “credit” for the introduction if the contact between you bears fruit.