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    Hoovers, ZoomInfo, Broadlook, etc. - who uses them - what are you getting out of it? follow this discussion

    broadlook hoovers sourcing zoominfo
    started 3 months ago by

     

    I've looked at, demoed, played with and had free access to these tools and others over the past year+.

    I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has been using one or more of these tools for lead generation and research for sales targets and/or candidate recruiting.

    What do you like / dislike?

    What ATS do you use and does it integrate well with the tool(s) you are using?

    What else? - Very interested to hear from anyone with a strong opinion.

    Thanks much.

    1 reply

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    • 1 point 3 months ago

      I've been in the recruiting industry for 10 years.  I've used just about every tool and resource out there and I am often asked: What is your favorite tool?  My answer is always...Yes.  I need all the tools and resources I can get.  Each has their own strengths and weakness and if you understand those weaknesses, you can overcome them by complementing them with other tools.

       

      One of the most useful and potentially cumbersome projects are the web queries I write.  I use Broadlook Diver to capture the information.  If I find a list, I use Eclipse.  These are incredibly powerful tools.  They are fairly easy to use, but can take time to master.  Most recruiters want instant gratification, but once you take the time to learn how the Broadlook tools work, your life will get a lot easier.  Their suite of products are true tools that capture real-time data and it really makes your life easier by automating a lot of the data capture.  You are creating the data sets.  So the better you leverage the tool, the better your data will be.

       

      Zoominfo is a resource I use throughout an engagement/search.  The biggest complaint is that some of the data is out of date.  Most of the data is 100% accurate and there is always the possibility of data being wrong or old, but to me, old data is useful data.  For example, I found a dated profile in Zoominfo that I would not have found any other way.  I looked the guy up in LinkedIn, got his current info, and got him hired at Yahoo! and closed the role in under 30 days.  Zoominfo gives me the low hanging fruit I need to get a search started and on the right track.  They capture emails and phone numbers when possible.  Some industries are supported more by their data than others, but I have had a lot of success with Zoom since they were Eliyon (sp).

       

      Hoovers is a resource that I've used the longest.  It's a great place to build company target lists, gather industry intelligence, and find executives, but not so great for finding individual contributors.  If I need to find ICs, I'll build a target list in Hoovers and use it in Zoominfo, LinkedIn, and Web Queries.  Hoovers is an editorial driven data aggregator and sometimes the data is out of date, but again, for me any data is good data.

       

      I am a huge proponent of buying tools that work with your other tools.  If your tools interface with your CRM/ATS, even better.