{"id":4501,"date":"2014-03-02T13:51:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-02T21:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=4501"},"modified":"2023-05-15T10:50:49","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:50:49","slug":"how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stalk Candidates Online so They\u2019ll Never Find Out &#8211; Or Will (if you want!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So it\u2019s time to find out a little more about the person you want to bring on your team\u2026 in other words, stalk them. We\u2019re all for a little stalking, whether it\u2019s for professional or, erm, personal reasons &#8211; provided it remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/9-things-you-must-never-do-during-backdoor-reference-checks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">within the bounds of legal and ethical activities<\/a>, of course.\u00a0It\u2019s okay, you can admit it to us\u2026 you totally stalked that Account Manager you met at a seminar the other day, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n<p>Whether a candidate has been savvy enough to manage their online reputation is only the basic thing a quick stalk online will tell you about a potential future employee. You could also find out their interests, tone of voice, and other people\u2019s opinions about them outside of a work setting.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Shocked at the fact we\u2019re advocating online stalking? \u00a0Don\u2019t be. \u00a0Googling someone isn\u2019t just common in recruiting circles; most people are googled as a natural matter of course in any environment where networking is involved.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It\u2019s okay, you can admit it to us\u2026 you totally stalked that Account Manager you met at a seminar the other day, didn\u2019t you?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It happens most in a recruiting environment though. \u00a0Check out this survey which shows that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>91% of managers use social networks to google a candidate<\/li>\n<li>Most of them use Facebook!<\/li>\n<li>Nearly half of them do a stalk immediately after they receive an application<\/li>\n<li>And nearly 70% of them have rejected a candidate because of what they found out!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So thumbs up to stalking! \u00a0It does have to be done in the right way though. Here\u2019s the lowdown on professional stalking methods:<\/p>\n<div style=\"color: #8a6d3b; background-color: #fcf8e3; border-color: #faebcc; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px; border: 1px solid transparent; border-radius: 4px;\"><div style=\"color: #8a6d3b; background-color: #fcf8e3; border-color: #faebcc; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px; border: 1px solid transparent; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>Technology Guide for Modern Recruiters:<\/strong> Inside this 60-page e-book, you'll find technology recommendations for each stage of the recruiting process. <a class=\"manual-optin-trigger\" href=\"#\" data-optin-slug=\"qdwhagewwrhq6ncy\">Download Now!<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"places-to-stalk-candidates\">Places To Stalk Candidates<b><\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The usual suspects rear their heads when it comes to the best places to stalking candidates online.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>LinkedIn<\/li>\n<li>Google<\/li>\n<li>Twitter<\/li>\n<li>Facebook<\/li>\n<li>Real people (remember those? Look around &#8211; they&#8217;re the other people at the coffee shop!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Google in particular can help you find a wealth of interesting information about a person especially if they\u2019re part of special interest groups or write a blog.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"staying-anonymous\">Staying Anonymous<b><\/b><\/h2>\n<p>What do you do if you don\u2019t want a candidate to know that you\u2019re stalking them? While this isn\u2019t a problem with some networks like Facebook and Twitter, who don\u2019t relay your activities back to your <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">prey<\/span> candidate, it can be an issue when it comes to LinkedIn and any discussions you have with people who actually know them.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"why-would-you-want-to-remain-anonymous\">Why would you want to remain anonymous?<\/h3>\n<p>There are many good reasons for a recruiter or manager wanting to remain anonymous when browsing LinkedIn for potential candidates. \u00a0It may be that you are wanting to suss out potential hires without anyone knowing you are interested in hiring. \u00a0Perhaps that person has notified you of their interest and you want to do a little recon before contacting them. \u00a0Or maybe you simply would prefer that they didn\u2019t then also check you out in return.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"linkedin\">LinkedIn<\/h2>\n<p>There is only one website that notifies a person that you\u2019ve been looking at their profile; LinkedIn. \u00a0Many people aren\u2019t aware that this is actually a feature that you can turn on and off quite simply.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do it:<\/p>\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>Hover over your mini photo on the top right hand side and click \u2018Privacy and Settings\u2019<\/li>\n<li>At the bottom of the page, there\u2019s a Privacy Control section. \u00a0Click on \u2018Select what others see when you\u2019ve viewed their profile.\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Choose the level of anonymity you want! \u00a0There are three levels to choose from.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"people\">People<\/h2>\n<p>Staying anonymous when talking to real people about a candidate is a little more tricky. \u00a0You should be aware that you can never 100% guarantee that your conversation won\u2019t be relayed back to the individual. \u00a0The best way of avoiding the grape vine of gossip after a discussion is the request a confidential discussion upfront and clearly give the reasons as to why you want it to remain confidential. \u00a0That way, your informer can decide whether they\u2019re comfortable with the secrecy or not.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"making-yourself-known\">Making Yourself Known<b><\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes though you want a candidate to know you\u2019ve been peeking around their online reputation. In fact, if you\u2019re doing some serious long-term stalking, using one of the ways below to connect with a potential candidate before you approach them about a job can open the flow of dialogue up rather nicely.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a few ways of popping your head up and letting a candidate know you\u2019re around:<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"1-commenting-on-their-blog\">1. Commenting on their blog<\/h3>\n<p>Feel free to use flattery, too. Find a piece you really liked and make an interested and informed compliment on what they wrote. Show them the respect of asking them their opinion on a related topic and see what you get in response.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"2-retweeting-a-tweet\">2. Retweeting a tweet<\/h3>\n<p>Particularly if you have quite a following on Twitter, an individual will be totally stoked that you retweeted something they said \/ wrote \/ shared.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"3-connect-with-them-on-linkedin\">3. Connect with them on LinkedIn.<\/h3>\n<p>Of course, LinkedIn will show that you\u2019ve been a-lookin\u2019 anyway but if you\u2019re really keen to stay in touch with an applicant, a real connection is the only way to go. \u00a0It shows you\u2019re serious about a long term relationship. Which is also some good advice to remember if you\u2019re stalking for <i>personal<\/i> reasons\u2026<\/p>\n<p>What methods do you use to stalk candidates? \u00a0Tell us your stories of stalking (or being stalked!) below.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photo courtesy of Kenneth Lu.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether a candidate has been savvy enough to manage their online reputation is only the basic thing a quick stalk online will tell you about a potential future employee. You could also find out their interests, tone of voice and other people\u2019s opinions about them outside of a work setting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[73,7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Stalk Candidates Online to They\u2019ll Never Find Out<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether a candidate has been savvy enough to manage their online reputation is only the basic thing a stalk online will tell you about a potential employee.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Stalk Candidates Online to They\u2019ll Never Find Out\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether a candidate has been savvy enough to manage their online reputation is only the basic thing a stalk online will tell you about a potential employee.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-02T21:51:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-15T17:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jenn Steele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jenn Steele\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/\",\"name\":\"How to Stalk Candidates Online to They\u2019ll Never Find Out\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-02T21:51:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-15T17:50:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/08314e2cf14b589a12bb79c51e244414\"},\"description\":\"Whether a candidate has been savvy enough to manage their online reputation is only the basic thing a stalk online will tell you about a potential employee.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-stalk-candidates-online-so-theyll-never-find-out-or-will-if-you-want\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Stalk Candidates Online so They\u2019ll Never Find Out &#8211; 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