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ITBE 388
Career Information

This guide is no longer being updated. Please see the new guide.

Why Research Employers? | Information to Gather | Resources for Your Research | Questions

 

Why Research Employers?

Preparation on the part of the job seeker plays a huge role in landing the ideal job. Doing research in the beginning stages of the job search will aid in choosing the right jobs to apply for, preparing for the interview and accepting/declining an offer from a potential employer. Learning about employers has the following benefits:

  • Increase Your 'Marketability'
    shows your interest, enthusiasm and preparation
    helps you make a good first impression
  • Write Better Cover Letters & Resumes
    highlight that you match employer’s needs
  • Be Prepared for Interviews
    shows knowledge of the organization
    gives you an answer to 'why you would like the job'
    helps you formulate intelligent and appropriate questions to ask in the interview
  • Make Informed Decisions
    narrow choices of what jobs to apply for
    helps you decide whether or not to accept a position
 

Information to Gather

In this day and age with tons of information right at your fingertips, researching potential employers is more crucial than ever. It's no longer enough to just know the company's website. Employers expect you to know the website - inside and out. They are looking for candidates that have down their homework, which means going beyond browsing their virtual presence.

So what sorts of information are you looking for? Below are some starting points:

  • Organization Overview - what they do, size, finances, growth, structure
  • Employer Image - reputation, awards, competition, associations
  • People - top executives and their credentials, organizational culture
  • Locations - corporate headquarters, branches, subsidiaries
  • Professional Development - training, career path, benefits
 

Resources for Your Research

As mentioned before, the expectation of employers now is that you've done research on the Internet and found anything freely available online. Because of your position as a student, you have access to many more resources, such as library databases, than the average job seeker. There are also other sites of interest that don't necessarily come up in a basic Google search that can be used to your advantage.

Article Databases

Finding articles in the printed press allow you to not only find out about more about the organization in question, but they may also alert you to other items of note like competition or industry trends. These articles more than likely will go more in depth than what you find online at findarticles.com (and you'll see the full article for free). Business article databases are a great place to start your search, but you should also look at the general databases to get a different point of view.

General Article Databases UWW access only
Academic Search Premier
LexisNexis Academic
Proquest Newspapers
Business Article Databases UWW access only
ABI/Inform
Business Source Elite
LexisNexis Academic

Specialized Reference Sources

Finding various types of information in one place is a benefit to using specialized reference sources. You get credible and reliable information while saving yourself time searching. You have access to several of these databases through the University Library.

LexisNexis Academic UWW access only
LexisNexis is a multifaceted product - not only can you search for newspaper and magazine articles from all of the world, the Business section provides tons of useful information that you can use. The Company Dossier brings multiple sources from the leading business information providers on a particular company. Furthermore, you can compile a list of companies with similar characteristics, which could be utilized as a proactive method to job seeking.

Associations Unlimited UWW access only
Trade associations serve as a great source of information because many aim to promote their respective industry. This generally means that they have data and statistics on the performance of an industry available on their website. Associations Unlimited can assist in finding such organizations.

Guidestar
Not everyone will end up in the corporate sector. You may end up working for a nonprofit organization. GuideStar allows you to find a nonprofit's IRS Form 990, which is similar to a public corporation's 10-K report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the case of a foundation, this report will tell you the types of people or organizations to which they donate. The site does require registration to view the reports.

Additional Resources

Blogs
Blogs are a great way to get a sense of a company's reputation from an unfiltered perspective. You may find a person ranting or raving about customer service or maybe even an employee of the company (except they might watch what they say or leave it anonymous). Use IceRocket or Technorati to search exclusively blog posts.

General Web Searches
At a bare minimum, make sure you check out what's on the Internet.

 

Questions

This class guide was adapted from a presentation given by Laura Morrow, Internship Coordinator - Career & Leadership Development, and Kyle Naff, Business Librarian - University Library. If you have questions regarding the job search process, career advice, resume critiques, and other career-related concerns, contact Laura at morrowl@uww.edu. For questions regarding researching employers, contact Kyle at naffk@uww.edu.

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