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.

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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 (new browser window will open):

• intitle:about.us manufacturing | warehouse   "facilities manager"
  
  
• intitle:about  manufacturing  "facilities manager" -intitle:job
  
  
• "Sr. Facilities Manager" intitle:about.us

Then, Bing (new browser window will open):

• "Facilities Manager" intitle:staff manufacturing -intitle:jobs -submit -apply
  
  
• "Facilities Manager" intitle:our.people manufacturing -intitle:jobs -submit -apply
  

And, last but not least, Yahoo! (new browser window will open):

• intitle:team "facilities manager * " manufacturing
  

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)...

• intitle:meet.the.team "VP of Sales" retail
  
  
• intitle:meet intitle:executive pharmaceutical
  
  
• intitle:about.us insurance "she is an account manager"
  

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

© Copyright Jim Stroud, 2010. Used with permission.

About This Author:

Jim Stroud produces the award-winning HR blog - The Recruiters Lounge and The Searchologist, a recruiter training website. Quite recently, Jim Stroud co-founded and launched "The Hidden Job Report," a website that exposes the hidden job market by revealing unadvertised jobs around the world. When Jim Stroud is not online, he suffers severe withdrawal pains that can only be soothed with chocolate chip cookies and family time. Follow @jimstroud on Twitter to connect with him in real time.

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