How To Research Employers On The Internet

Crucial to a successful job search campaign is knowing how to research potential employers. The more you know about a company, their business objectives and goals, the better able you will be to communicate your value to them. You may wish to convey your understanding of their needs in a tailored resume and cover letter and you will definitely want to communicate this during your interview. The hard work that you put into your research will almost always pay off by reflecting your interest and enthusiasm to employers.

Begin by trying to locate general information about each company you are interested in. Focus on details that will relate to your skills, knowledge, and qualifications. You may wish to develop a filing system to organize the information that you obtain.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• What is the age of the company?
• What is their location? How long have they been established there?
• How many locations are there?
• What are the services and products that they sell?
• What is the size of the company?
• How many employees do they have?
• What are their sales? assets? earnings?
• What has their growth pattern been like?
• What are the various divisions and subsidiaries?
• Who are their competitors?
• What are the names of key executives?
• What is the general reputation of the company?
• Is the company publicly or privately owned?
• Is the company foreign owned?
• How successful is the company? What has been their major achievements?
• Have there been any major issues or events in the recent history of the company?
• What are the objectives and philosophy of the company?
• What is their forecast of anticipated growth?
You may also want to gather several other items on each company whenever possible:
• Brochures and sales flyers.
• Magazine and newspaper articles about the company.
• Trade journal articles.
• Press releases.
• Reports from Dunn and Bradstreet and the Better Business Bureau.
• Employer recruitment brochures.

Although the Internet will be invaluable research resource, your college, university, or local library is still one of the best places to locate information. The reference librarian should be able to point you in the direction of many useful directories and indexes.