Stalk the Talk: How Far is Too Far?

With the amount of information easily accessible on the internet, it makes sense to use it to your advantage. For instance, I have had success in looking a person up on the internet before making a sales call. I would see where they went to college on LinkedIn and if we had any shared connections. Then when I called them I might casually drop a line like “I can’t believe that OSU game this past weekend. What an amazing 3rd quarter.” Yes, it is cheesy, but even if they didn’t watch the game (unlikely knowing most Buck-Eyes) the contact would more easily warm to me. They would get all excited, tell me they went to OSU (what a coincidence ;) and then continue speaking to me with more openness. In this regard, the internet and the information it houses is a wonderful tool.

But how far is too far? When does being clever turn into being creepy? Within 5 minutes you can find a person’s college, grad school, marital status, home address, past work experience, politics, pictures of their children and friends, learn their favorite movies, books and quotes, etc.

Example: You decide you want a job at Company X so you do some research on the internet. You quickly find out on LinkedIn that a Ms. Smith at Company X went to your alma mater, Drexel University. You also see on facebook that she has several children, loves the movie Say Anything and is a Republican. Before you know it, you have gone too far and now you feel like you really know Sally (Smith) and that you can relate to her. She is no longer a scary unknown person that you are cold calling. She is a mother with great taste in movies and you have a common link in where you went to school.

However, when you call her she will know nothing about you. You don't want to show your cards too fast and sound scary. Imagine you used this as your openning line: “Hi, Sally. This is JobSeeker. I wanted to talk to you about my work experience and see where there may be an opportunity for me to interview with your company. I went to Drexel University and upon graduating began working in your field. I have always been a hard worker, probably because I grew up in a large family, and believe my experience would translate well into Company X. I know it is a tough job market right now, no thanks to that Obama fellow, but I would like to sink my teeth into a great job opportunity. However, I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that....Just kidding. I will do whatever is needed. I just love Cameron Crowe movies, don't you?"

Basically, the internet offers a lot of information for you to sink your teeth into and it can be a useful tool, but don’t overdo it. Relationships are a two-way street. So yes, look someone up on the internet and do some research, just don’t go crazy. Leave yourself some room to learn about someone through real interactions. And if you have a shared connection with a contact, talk to your shared connection first. Don't just drop their name. You need to find out how good of a relationship they have with the contact first and whether or not your friend can help you.

And on the other side, think about how much information you want people to know about you? Think twice before you share your autobiography on the internet because there will be people out there who will try and use that information to manipulate you.