With so many companies furloughing and laying off employees it’s a good time to search and find active talent open for their next opportunity. As Recruiters, we are researchers, so I wanted to give some tips and tricks for finding layoff lists or announcements online. Let’s use our super powers to find some great talent online! Here’s some advice for finding layoff lists.
1. Search Hashtags
Many leads are turning to social media during these tough times to both vent about their tough situations and even actively seek out new job opportunities. You can find these leads by using the right hashtags on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram. LinkedIn also supports the use of hashtags, and that’s a great place to start.
When searching for hashtags, consider tags like #jobsearching, #jobseeking, #furlough, #layoffs, and so on. You can also add a location to your search and this will help you narrow down results to your specific location so that you can find leads more easily.
Here’s an example that I found doing a hashtag search on Twitter:
The Uber and Airbnb Alumni lists published to help them find new jobs might become the new standard for mass layoffs:
Uber: coda.io/@kenny/uber-la
Airbnb: airbnb.com/d/talent
2. Set Google Alerts
There is all sorts of news coming out regarding layoffs and major changes at some of the world’s biggest companies. As a recruiter, you should stay on top of these things. So, set Google Alerts so that you get notified whenever a new article is posted regarding job layoffs.
When you set a Google Alert, you can create it for any number of search terms. For these purposes, it’s a good idea to setup Google Alerts for terms like “layoff list” and so on. Google will then notify you via email as often as you desire (a daily summary will likely be best) and you can skim the new results regularly. For more examples, I wrote a post about creating Google Alerts (here).
3. Layoff Boolean String Examples
A Google search can reveal all sorts of helpful information, but you have to be using the right search terms just like you have to be using the right hashtags on social media. Boolean search strings on Google docs, for instance, will help you find excel lists and more that consider specific wording.
site:docs.google.com/ “layoff list”
Doing a quick search with this string the first doc that comes up is a Crypto Layoff list with 30+ names listed.
Another example is looking for layoff news, you can search Google news with this string: (“Laid off” OR “Layoff*” OR “Laying off”). If you’re not already familiar with how to use Boolean search strings, it’s worth looking into because they are major time savers. Not only can you get very specific about what results you want to see, you can get results for multiple search terms at once.
4. Make Use of Tracking Tools
Keeping on top of how your company is being talked about can help you find potential leads, too. Anyone who mentions your company may be interested in an opportunity, so tracking your company’s mentions is worthwhile. I’ve included a full list of monitoring tools (here).
You can use variety to tools to do this while also tracking social media mentions and hashtags, monitoring inbound and outbound mentions, and using tools like Open Site Explorer to analyze inbound links to your company’s website etc.
5. Researching News
Use this websites to monitor and track related news and press release updates.
Owler: It crowd-sources competitive insights by providing news alerts, company profiles, and polls and allows members to follow, track, and research companies in real time.
Crunchbase: Is a platform for finding business information about private and public companies. The site includes investments and funding information, founding members and individuals in leadership positions, mergers and acquisitions, news, and industry trends
HackerNews: Is a social news website focusing on computer science and entrepreneurship.
Roof Top Slushie: Helps you connect with employees at top tech companies like Google and Facebook. Get job interview tips, career advice, insights, and more
Team Blind: Is an anonymous community app for the workplace. Our vision in creating this space was to break down professional barriers and hierarchy.
Google News: Is a news aggregator app developed by Google. It presents a continuous, customizable flow of articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines.
TheLayoff: Is a site where users can list layoff updates anonymously.
6. Follow Layoff Lists
Finally, to give you a head start, here’s a small compilation of layoff lists (in no particular order) worth reviewing further:
Draft Layoff List + Newsletter
2020 Amazing Ex-Lyft People (PUBLIC) List
Advertising and Marketing Layoff List
eCommerice Professionals Layoff List
Recommended Reading:
How to Search and Message Candidates on Facebook Messenger
How to Master your Recruiting Cold Calls
How to Create Recruiting Email Drip Campaigns
- Unleashing the Power of AI in Talent Sourcing: Meet Noon - May 17, 2024
- Demystifying Natural Language Search: Crafting Effective Boolean Strings - April 26, 2024
- The Art of Context: Why Rushing to Conclusions Can Lead Us Astray - April 25, 2024