Clients often ask for employment information and education verification, and for very good reasons. Employment information can be crucial in workers compensation cases (especially if they’re working somewhere else and claim they can’t), identifying assets, determining a subject’s whereabouts, etc. Education verification can also be a valuable tool in vetting potential new hires, verifying qualifications for employment, among tons of other reasons.
However, finding employment information and education history is not always the easiest task to accomplish. There is no single source in which this information is published and/or available. Employment information can be developed from multiple sources, but education information in particular, is typically kept private with no database entry to tap into.
Which is why we resort to the following sources which can reveal a WEALTH of information on your subjects:
Social Media – We say it all the time (and we’re sure you’re sick of hearing it at this point), but people post everything on social media, including where they went to school, their degree, where they’re working, etc. Straight from the horse’s mouth! Doesn’t get any better than that!
Bio’s – Biographies are a great source for finding education and employment information, whether they are found on a personal website or a business website! People love to talk about their accomplishments and are typically proud of their alma mater.
Resumes/Curriculum Vitaes – Job websites like Monster.com, among thousands of others, are massive repositories for resumes and curriculum vitaes for people who have taken to the world wide web during their job hunting efforts. One of our personal, favorite places to find resumes/CVs, employment information and education history: LinkedIn!
News/Newspaper Articles – News articles can help you find high-level executive position announcements (including education history!), other job announcements, feature articles/profile pieces, even college graduation announcements!
Google Search – Google can be such a beautiful tool (if you know how to use it to get what you want, of course)! Remember, how you search is just as important as what you search. Don’t be afraid to be specific! Googling the subject’s name and adding keywords like “resume” or “alumni or “college” may prove fruitful!
Finding employment and education information takes time and effort, and there really may not be anything out there at all, but it’s always worth a shot!