RESEARCHING FITness
In the typical professional environment today, job descriptions are changing faster than ever before to keep up with the challenges of an economy in transition. The old "round peg in a round role" theory of career planning is dysfunctional.
Seize control of such challenges. Stay in synch with market opportunities through on-going research to assure Career FITness. Identify trends, required competencies and opportunities that interest you.
You understand that managing your own career involves three key ingredients:
- Competency with job-changing skills;
- Continuous research and networking leading to awareness of potential next steps;
- Confidence in knowing that your career is on the right path and moving forward.
So, now it's time for a change... you have identified multiple opportunities... which one should you take? Take the one with the best Career "FIT"! When you choose to transition to a new opportunity, there are two reasons to research organizations: First, you want to create a list of "dream employers" to target, just those companies and organizations you want to work for because they match your personal criteria. You can then initiate contact, outlining their needs based on what you have discovered about them and noting how your skills and experience can benefit them.
Second is interview preparation. You've been invited to interview with a prospective employer and need to learn as much as possible about this organization before your interview. This not only prepares you for potential questions but also allows you to prepare questions to ask them.
Using the Internet to Research Companies
Whatever your reason for doing this research, you'll be looking for
essentially the same information:
Who are they, what do they do or produce, and for whom?
How much of the market do they control?
How does their economic future look, and what is their plan for
remaining competitive?
How are they doing financially?
What is it like to work there?
Yes, you can go to an organization's web site to read-up on them, but
this is just the information they want you to see. What else do you need
to know about this organization and how do you find it? This is what I
personally consider to be the real power of the Internet -- the ability
to access the information you need to help you answer these questions,
decide if this is an employer you want to work for, and figure out a
plan to get in their door. The problem is that like everything else on
the Internet, there are hundreds of possible places to go. I can't
possibly cover it all here, but I can get you started with a short list
of some of the best resources to use. To find even more useful sites and
sources, visit The Riley Guide: Targeting & Research
www.rileyguide.com/research.html
Tutorials
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/biblio/companynet.htm
Company Information Via the Net from the Ithaca College Library
Great Starting Points
http://www.business.com
Business.com is a directory listing hundreds of thousands of business
and industry Web sites organized into over 25,000 categories.
Researchers and industry experts compile these comprehensive lists of
business-related sites. The site also includes detailed information
about 10,000 U.S. companies and the people who run them. To get started,
just put the name of the company or person you are seeking into the
search box at the top of the page and hit "Go."
http://www.hoovers.com/
If you will use only one online directory for finding company
information, then make HOOVER'S the one. Hoover's has been a respected
publisher of business information for years, and they have input the
same quality into this resource. Hoover's strength is in public companies, but it also
includes listings for privately held firms. They include subsidiary
information in their database, making it easy to examine not only the
subsidiary but also its parent. To enhance their offerings even more,
they link to you even more news and financial sources.
If you are
looking for information on a company that is filing for an IPO, recently
went public, or has recently withdrawn from and IPO, this is also the
place to look. Hoover's also operates IPOCentral.com with fantastic
current and archived information about IPOs. If you are already at their
site, you'll see the button on the left of the page. While Hoover's offers a
tremendous amount of free information, there is even more that is available
through paid subscription.
http://www.corptech.com/
CorpTech is the best source of information on technology manufacturers
and developers in the U.S., both publicly- and privately-held companies.
Like Hoover's, much of their site is free to the public, but the
in-depth reports are only available to those willing to pay for it, but
unlike Hoover's you can make a one-time purchase of a single report. So
you know, CorpTech's data is purchased and made available through other
fee-based services (Hoover's and OneSource come to mind), so you may
have other avenues of access you can explore before entering your credit card
here.
In-Depth Company Profiles
Vault.com
http://www.vault.com/
This is a real winner for you. The Vault Reports are insider guides to
companies, including many anonymous interviews with current and past
employees to find out "what it's really like in there." College students
may be familiar with their print guides, but they have provided some
nice reports you can view for free on this site.
(Even more detailed reports are available to registered users, and
registration is free.) Scan their alphabetical lists of companies or law
firms, or use the industry reports to find out current trends and major
employers. Vault.com also hosts free "message boards" where people can
meet to talk about a particular employer or topic, and you can look at
these without announcing your presence. Just take all discussion with a
grain of salt. In many cases, those who rant the most are former
employees who were shown out the door for some reason or current
employees preparing to jump ship.
WetFeet.com
http://www.wetfeet.com/
Like Vault.com, this company puts together insider guides to companies,
but they go about it a bit differently. They ask the employers "the
tough questions for job seekers, and the employers answer in their own
words." Check the Companies section for over 1600 hundreds of company
capsules and some expanded profiles, which are the real prize. This site
will have some overlap with Vault, but not much. Use both.
Business and Employer Rankings
It's amazing the kind of rankings you can find, but these can help you find the largest, most respected employers around. They'll even help you find those that are best for women, diversity candidate, or IT professionals. You can find even more lists and ranking through Price's Lists of Lists (http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/listof.htm).
Fortune.com's Lists http://www.fortune.com/fortune/companies/
The Fortune 500, the Global 500, the Best Companies to Work For, America's Best Companies for Minorities, and much more, all right here for you to review. Some of the lists allow you to re-sort the listings based on your own criteria.
Forbes.com Companies http://www.forbes.com/companies/
The Private 500, the 200 Best Small Companies, the International 800, the 400 Best Big Companies in America, and more.
WorkingWoman.com http://www.workingwoman.com/
Check under Careers -- Company Profiles for the Working Woman 500, the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, and the Top 25 Companies for Women Executives.
ComputerWorld http://www.computerworld.com/
Under Publications, check their Survey & Reports to review their lists of the 100 Best Places to Work in IT, the Premier 100 IT Leaders, and their Emerging Companies for 2000 list.
The FIT HAPPENS Series...
Researching FITness | CAREER FIT PlanningYour Communication Strategy | Closing the Deal
July 16, 2008