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Overview

The People Research tool enables your Utari workers to find and gather professional background information about individuals. This capability is invaluable for recruitment, sales prospecting, partnership development, competitive intelligence, and any situation where understanding someone’s professional background provides strategic value.

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People Research Capabilities

Professional Profiles

Find detailed professional information including current role, company, and career history

Career Background

Access work experience, previous positions, and career progression

Skills & Expertise

Identify key skills, competencies, and areas of expertise

Education & Credentials

Discover educational background, degrees, and certifications
People Research uses publicly available professional information from sources like LinkedIn and professional databases. All data is ethically sourced from public profiles.

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Using People Research

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Basic Research Process

1

Specify Who to Research

Provide information about the person:
    Research Sarah Johnson who works at TechCorp as VP of Engineering
    
    Find information about John Smith, CEO of StartupXYZ
    
    Look up Maria Garcia in the AI/ML space in San Francisco
    
    Research the CTO of Acme Corporation
2

Worker Conducts Research

Your worker searches professional databases and returns:
    Professional Profile: Sarah Johnson
    
    Current Position:
    - Title: VP of Engineering
    - Company: TechCorp
    - Location: San Francisco, CA
    - Started: January 2022
    
    Previous Experience:
    - Senior Engineering Manager, Google (2018-2021)
    - Engineering Lead, Uber (2015-2018)
    - Software Engineer, Microsoft (2012-2015)
    
    Education:
    - MS Computer Science, Stanford University
    - BS Computer Engineering, MIT
    
    Key Skills:
    - Distributed Systems
    - Team Leadership
    - Cloud Architecture
    - Machine Learning
    
    Notable:
    - 500+ connections on LinkedIn
    - Active speaker at tech conferences
    - Published author on engineering leadership
3

Use Information Strategically

Apply research findings to:
  • Personalize outreach
  • Prepare for meetings
  • Assess fit for roles
  • Understand background
  • Build context

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Common Use Cases

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Recruitment and Hiring

Research potential candidates before interviews:
    Research candidates for Senior Developer role:
    
    For each candidate, find:
    - Current employment and role
    - Years of relevant experience
    - Technical skills and expertise
    - Educational background
    - Notable projects or achievements
    - Career progression pattern
    
    Use to:
    - Prepare targeted interview questions
    - Understand career trajectory
    - Assess cultural fit
    - Identify talking points
Find potential candidates with specific backgrounds:
    Find people who:
    - Have experience with Kubernetes and distributed systems
    - Previously worked at top-tier tech companies
    - Based in or open to Seattle area
    - Currently in senior engineering roles
    
    Generate list with:
    - Names and current companies
    - Relevant experience
    - Contact information (if public)
    - Key qualifications
Research professional connections:
    Research candidate's previous managers:
    - Where are they now?
    - What are their current roles?
    - How to reach them?
    - Mutual connections?
    
    Prepare for reference calls with context

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Sales and Business Development

Understand decision-makers before outreach:
    Research key stakeholders at target company:
    
    For VP of Sales at Enterprise Corp:
    - Career background
    - Previous companies and roles
    - Areas of expertise
    - Recent activity or posts
    - Mutual connections
    - Common interests
    
    Use to personalize outreach:
    "I noticed your experience scaling sales teams at [Previous Company]..."
Map decision-makers and influencers:
    Research buying committee at Target Account:
    
    1. CEO - Technical background, previous startup founder
    2. CTO - Former engineer, cares about scalability
    3. VP Finance - ROI-focused, risk-averse
    4. VP Operations - Process-oriented, efficiency focus
    
    Tailor messaging for each stakeholder
Research potential partners:
    Research leadership at potential partner company:
    - Decision-makers and influencers
    - Previous partnerships they've done
    - Strategic priorities (based on background)
    - Personal interests and motivations
    
    Identify partnership champions and build relationships

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Competitive Intelligence

Monitor competitor team changes:
    Track key hires at competitor:
    
    Recent additions:
    - New VP Product from Google
    - Senior ML Engineer from Meta
    - Enterprise Sales Director from Salesforce
    
    Insights:
    - Building ML capabilities
    - Investing in enterprise sales
    - Hiring from top-tier companies
Identify domain experts:
    Find leading experts in [specific technology]:
    - Who are the recognized authorities?
    - Where do they work now?
    - What are they working on?
    - Who follows their work?
    
    Use for: Advisory board, partnerships, thought leadership

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Meeting Preparation

Prepare for important meetings:
    Meeting tomorrow with [Name] from [Company]
    
    Research:
    - Current role and responsibilities
    - Career path to current position
    - Relevant experience for our discussion
    - Recent work or achievements
    - Mutual connections or interests
    
    Preparation notes:
    - "Congratulate on recent promotion"
    - "Reference their work at [Previous Company]"
    - "Discuss mutual connection with [Name]"
Research speakers or attendees:
    Conference speakers research:
    - Background and expertise
    - Speaking topics
    - Companies and roles
    - Best questions to ask
    - Networking opportunities

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Research Query Examples

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By Name and Company

Research Jane Doe who works at Acme Corp

Find information about John Smith, VP of Marketing at TechStartup

Look up the background of Sarah Wilson at Google

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By Criteria and Background

Find people with expertise in:
- Kubernetes and cloud architecture
- Previously at FAANG companies
- Currently in senior roles

Research professionals specializing in machine learning for healthcare

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Multi-Person Research

Research the leadership team at [Company]:
- CEO
- CTO
- VP Product
- VP Sales

Provide background on each for account planning

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Information Typically Available

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Professional Information

  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Department/division
  • Start date
  • Location
  • Reporting structure (sometimes)

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Combining with Other Tools

+ Document Creator

Create research profiles and candidate summaries

+ Spreadsheet Tools

Organize research findings in structured databases

+ Web Search

Supplement with additional public information

+ Email Integration

Use research to personalize outreach emails

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Example Combined Workflow

1

Research Target Prospects

    Research 10 VP-level contacts at target accounts in fintech
2

Organize in Spreadsheet

    Create tracking sheet with:
    - Name, title, company
    - Background summary
    - Relevant experience
    - Contact info
    - Personalization notes
3

Generate Personalized Outreach

    For each prospect, draft personalized email using:
    - Their specific background
    - Relevant experience
    - Mutual connections
    - Tailored value proposition
4

Track Engagement

    Update spreadsheet with:
    - Outreach dates
    - Response status
    - Meeting scheduled
    - Notes from conversations

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Best Practices

Respect Privacy

Only use publicly available professional information

Verify Information

Cross-reference important details when possible

Use Ethically

Use research for legitimate business purposes only

Keep Current

Information may become outdated—re-research when needed

Personalize Thoughtfully

Use research to add value, not to be creepy

Document Sources

Note where information came from for reference

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Ethical Guidelines

Important Ethical Considerations:
  • ✅ Use for legitimate business purposes
  • ✅ Respect publicly available information boundaries
  • ✅ Personalize outreach to add value
  • ✅ Be transparent about research when appropriate
  • ❌ Don’t use for harassment or stalking
  • ❌ Don’t access private or protected information
  • ❌ Don’t share sensitive personal details publicly
  • ❌ Don’t use research to discriminate
  • ❌ Don’t pretend to know someone personally based solely on research

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Troubleshooting

Try:
  • Including more identifying details (company, location, role)
  • Checking name spelling variations
  • Searching by company and role instead
  • Providing additional context
  • Understanding some people have minimal public profiles
Note:
  • Professional information changes frequently
  • People change jobs and roles
  • Profiles may not be updated regularly
  • Re-research if information is critical
  • Verify current employment when important
Specify:
  • Company name
  • Location
  • Industry or field
  • Additional identifying details
  • Previous companies if known
Understand:
  • Not everyone maintains public profiles
  • Some industries/roles are less visible online
  • Privacy settings may limit visibility
  • Junior roles often have less information
  • Use what’s available, supplement with other research

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Privacy and Compliance

Data Sources: People Research uses only publicly available professional information from sources like:
  • Professional networking sites (LinkedIn, etc.)
  • Company websites and press releases
  • Public databases and directories
  • Conference speaker listings
  • Published articles and interviews
All information is ethically sourced and publicly accessible.

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Summary

You’ve successfully learned how to:
Research professional backgrounds and career histories
Find people based on skills, experience, and criteria
Use research for recruitment, sales, and business development
Prepare for meetings with relevant background context
Organize and track research findings
Apply ethical guidelines for people research
The People Research tool enables informed, personalized engagement by providing professional background context. Whether recruiting talent, developing business relationships, or preparing for important meetings, understanding people’s professional backgrounds creates opportunities for meaningful, relevant interactions.

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Next Steps

Data Providers

Access LinkedIn and other professional data sources

Web Search

Supplement research with additional information

Document Creator

Create research profiles and summaries

Spreadsheet Tools

Organize research in structured databases