We’re always in search of those elusive purple squirrels. But where to find them? Here’s one place you may have never looked.
SCENARIO: I just received a hot new job req. It’s for Structural Engineers in Houston, TX. I’ve tried all the usual spots:
- Our company’s ATS- CHECK
- LinkedIn post and search- CHECK
- LinkedIn post to my feed, inmails and connection requests- CHECK
- Indeed post and search- CHECK
- Posted the job to social media sites- CHECK
- Any applicable society/ association sites (including local chapters)- CHECK
- Quick Google advanced search- CHECK
But I’m still not getting much traction. Where else can I look? Depending on the type of candidate, state websites might be a great option.
Let’s search the State of Texas website for engineers. I used keywords “engineer/engineering” and “licensing”, “verification”, “lookup”, “roster” or “certification”. The goal is to see if this state requires all engineers to be listed on their website.
And we’re in luck. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors has all Professional Engineers listed at https://pels.texas.gov/roster/eng_rosters.html Each person’s specialty is also included. I can search by “STR” for structural engineers. There are 6037 structural engineers in Texas. Employer names are included. And better yet all are listed in a zip file on the same page. Jackpot!
We don’t know where each person lives in but there is relo for my job so no problemo. My plan is to divide the names into manageable blocks and add them to sequencing campaigns as time allows. If nothing else, this exercise might be a good networking opportunity. We’ll find names here that aren’t on LinkedIn (and thus haven’t been contacted a thousand times).
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Each state has its own reporting requirements so your results will vary.
- These types of searches are typically best for Engineers, Healthcare workers (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, allied health, etc) and some Financial/Insurance professionals.
- Besides individual names, a list of all registered companies may be available.
- A zip file with all the names is a RARE FIND. In most cases you’ll need to extract data across several pages. On some sites, you’ll have to search by the first letter of the last
name. And sometimes you won’t find anything useful because the site requires a license number to verify a name.
- Contact info is typically NOT listed.
Give it a quick look and see what you find. A few of those elusive purple squirrels might just be hiding here.
