3 Easy Ways to Find Company Email Addresses

Have you found recruiters you want to contact, but you can’t find company email addresses for them? An AvidCareerist reader finds himself in that situation:

Hi Donna,

I was researching how to get in touch with Deloitte recruiters and came across your article about how to find Big 4 recruiters on LinkedIn.

I have had success in locating them. However, their contact information isn’t provided unless I have LinkedIn’s Premium service or their actual email.

I am a graduating senior. Deloitte doesn’t recruit from my campus, so I am wondering how to contact the recruiters I’ve identified. I studied Computer Science and am looking to get into consulting.

Thanks,

Chung

(2019 Update: LinkedIn now lets members choose who can see their contact information.)

Three Fast Ways to Find an Email Address 

To help Chung, I shared three fast ways to find companies’ email addresses, Hunter.io, a Google technique, and a company website technique.

Hunter.io

First, as of 2019, I like the email finder service, Hunter.io. Thanks to Chris Morton for introducing me to this excellent service (see comments below)!

Hunter allows 50 free searches per month. After that, you pay $49 per month for 1,000 requests (BTW, not an affiliate).

The easiest way to use Hunter is to install the Chrome extension.

Then watch this one-minute video on how to use it:

If you don’t want to install the extension, you can also go to Hunter.io directly and search company domain names for email addresses as shown in the video above.

Also, note that Hunter gives you the company’s most common email syntax. If your recruiter isn’t explicitly listed, you can:

1. Infer the person’s email address from the syntax.
2. Go to Hunter.io.
3. Click “Verifier” on the top horizontal rail.
4. Insert your inferred address and click to see if it’s deliverable.
5. If not, check other listed syntaxes.

All in all, this is a fabulous semi-automation of a tedious process!

Additional Email Finder Resources

Beyond Hunter.io, other resources mentioned in the comments below include:

1. AeroLeads.com
2. Lusha.co
3. Prophet
4. SearchSherlock.com

I have used Prophet a bit and found it helpful. I’m not familiar with the other three tools.

Google

Now, for the tedious approach — Google. If I know where the person works, I find their company’s primary URL and then use Google to determine the company’s email address syntax. My search looks like this:

*@deloitte.com AND email

I scan my results until I see an email address I can use to decipher the company’s syntax for email addresses.

The Deloitte search got me what I needed on page one of my Google results.

That method is effective about 90% of the time.

However, I would only use it if I was out of free searches on Hunter and didn’t want to spend $49.

The Company’s Website Newsroom

Finally, I visit the “Newsroom” page of the company’s website.

They often list the email addresses of their internal public relations people in a “Contacts” section — or at the end of their press releases. You can use that information to peel the syntax for email addresses.

That approach works about half the time.

When You Can’t Find Company Email Addresses

Sometimes, every approach to find a company’s email address fails. When that happens, get a Premium account on LinkedIn. It’s free for 30 days.

Then, send the recruiter a LinkedIn message or InMail. Recruiters tend to read their inbound LinkedIn correspondence.

As a last resort, pick up the phone and call the recruiter. You will probably have to leave a voice mail. Share your elevator pitch, the URL of your LinkedIn profile, and your phone number. Rehearse until you sound like someone you would want to call back.

Is a Recruiter’s Email Address Chung’s Best Bet?

In Chung’s case, trying to connect directly with Deloitte’s recruiters might not be as effective as a referral from a professor or a fellow alum.

I advised him to ask his professors if they have contacts at Deloitte — that’s how I got my job there.

Chung can also use LinkedIn to find fellow alums with this search:

1. People.
2. Current Companies: Deloitte.
3. Schools: [the name of his school].

Many companies give referred candidates priority attention.

What Worked for You?

While that’s how I advised Chung, I’m also curious to hear how you all find company email addresses and how you connect with recruiters.

Please comment — you can see it makes for a better post!

Image: Fotolia/MG
Updated August 2020

© 2015 – 2020, Donna Svei. All rights reserved.

Donna Svei

Donna Svei, an executive resume writer and former C-level executive, retained search consultant, and CPA, authors all of AvidCareerist’s posts. She has written for and been quoted by 100+ business, general, and career media outlets, including Forbes, Mashable, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Time, CBS, the BBC, Lifehacker, Ask.com, Social Media Today, IT World, SmartBrief, Payscale, Business News Daily, and the Muse.

Let her expertise inform your job search strategy and decision making.

Contact Donna here to learn more about her resume and LinkedIn profile services and fee structure.