Many professional development conferences, networking & alumni events, and classes are ticketed through Eventbrite, which makes it a great place to source for candidates.
Eventbrite conveniently lists attendees for past events; however, the site’s search box does not let you query for events held in the past. This is not an issue though, as the site can be easily x-rayed using the following string:
site:eventbrite.com “attendee list”
Next, add your city and some keywords and/or dates. Think about how event hosts will title and describe their events, and put those phrases to work in your search string.
site:eventbrite.com intitle:”for women” “new york” (UX OR “user experience”) (2015 OR 2014)
All results won’t be relevant; however, click on the link of an event that interests you and scroll all the way to the bottom for the “attendee list.”
On the right-hand side you’ll notice the links to the organizer’s profile and website, which in turn could lead to additional name generation.
Under the Attendee List, you’ll notice a lot of first names and last name initials. These names, locations and skills can be quickly cross-referenced in LinkedIn to find last names, current employers, etc. Not all events share the attendee list but it’s worth a try!
People attending professional development and networking events are perhaps looking for an opportunity to learn new skills or find a challenging new role. When crafting outreach to the people you find on Eventbrite, you can highlight these opportunities to make your roles sound even more enticing.
Learn more techniques like this at SourceCon All-Stars in Orlando in March!