There are a number of reasons a business may need to locate a former employee, whether it’s due to impropriety or to access the information they’re privy to, such as insider knowledge about the corporation or other employees. While many organizations choose to hire private investigators to do the necessary digging for them, others may prefer to conduct or at least begin the investigation on their own. That said, here are a few helpful tips of where you can start your search and hopefully find the information you’re looking for.
Search Engines – This may seem like the most obvious method, but in many cases, all it takes is a simple Google search to locate the person you’re after. (Hint: look for news and publications, like press releases, that may include contact information on where the party in question now resides or works).
Professional Organizations – Many of these organizations maintain member lists which are available to the public. Check groups that are closely related to your industry and/or the employee’s particular expertise.
Public Records – If applicable, you may be able to find the information you need by checking with local licensing boards. Additionally, corporate and SEC filings often contain detailed info, as to litigation records.
Archive.org – This website contains a wealth of information on just about everything under the sun. In fact, it’s widely considered to be one of the largest digital collections of information on the Internet today. Put it to good use.
LinkedIn – First, set your profile to private to ensure anonymity when viewing other LinkedIn profiles. In many cases, a basic search will yield the results you’re after. In others, you may only be able to access a portion of a profile. You may be able to get around this, however, through the “People Also Viewed” area on another member’s profile.
Social Media – People often neglect to do the simplest thing – set their personal social media profiles to private. If you’re lucky, you may be able to gather all the information you need via the person’s social channels.
Of course, if the person you’re trying to locate has taken measures to keep his or her identity and/or location private, the methods above may yield no viable results. In cases such as that, or in instances where time is of the essence, employing the services of an experienced private investigator may make the most sense.
Lauth Investigations, Intl. offers professional investigation services to help corporations and businesses with all their employee location needs. Give us a call 800-889-3463 to discuss how we might assist with your specific case.