Employer Research

        Employer research is one of the most important yet most neglected aspects of a job search. Researching employers consists of two stages: 1) using directories and other resources to develop a high‑priority list of 50–300 employers; 2) gathering specific information about each organization before an interview, and 3) conducting in-depth studies of organizations that offer you a job.

Stage One: Developing Your High-Priority List of Employers

        Lists of employers are primarily developed based on three criteria: number of employees, industry, and geographic location. In many directories, companies are segregated by industry. Thus, if your type of work is done in only one industry, it will be much easier to develop your list of employers. Since it is important to limit your list to a few hundred prospects, the best and easiest way is by size, industry, and location.

        Number of Employees: The size of an organization is important to many people. Some must pursue larger companies because only larger organizations hire people with their specialty. For instance, a company will usually have at least 75 employees before a personnel manager is hired, and around 300 before a wage-and-salary administrator is hired. Since 95% of all companies have less than 100 employees, I consider an organization with 100 employees fairly large. Most of the new jobs created in the past ten years have come from organizations with less than 50 employees, so do not overlook smaller organizations. Most directories will provide the number of employees. Some people just prefer small or large organizations, so size is a key way to reduce the employer list to a reasonable number.

        Industries: Most directories categorize organizations by the industry or industries they are involved in. To do this they typically use the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, which gives a four-digit number for each of the hundreds of industries. Some directories are already industry specific, so it is a matter of selecting those organizations which meet your criteria for size and location.

        Location: Location is important primarily for commuting or relocation purposes. With Info USA, for example, it is easy to select organizations by city, county, or state. With most printed directories it will take more time, but the effort is worth it. Determine the boundary of a reasonable commute and then include some particularly good organizations even if they fall a little outside your boundary. Most people are willing to commute a little farther for an outstanding organization.

        Many libraries offer a national database from Info USA which lists 11 million businesses in the US. You can create a printout based on your preferred industries, number of employees, and location.

        Job seekers usually find it useful to write information on 4 x 6 note cards. This information would include the name, address, and phone number of the organization, as well as its products and the names and titles of people you may want to speak to. The back of the card can be used to list dates and outcomes of phone conversations and valuable information that you pick up about the organization. If you gain a lot of information you can staple cards together. Cards can easily be taken with you when you go to the library to do research. Some people like to photocopy the information from directories and tape it to the note card.

        Cards can be especially useful if you use a tickler file. If you have determined that you should follow up with a phone call on a certain date, you would simply place your card in the pocket for that day. When the day arrives, you take out those cards to make your follow-up calls.

        Some people like to create computerized databases to track all of their work. For those who have the computer knowledge to track your work on a database, by all means do so. The inputting, however, will take considerable time. Low tech in this case might actually be better than high tech.

Resources For Stage One

        Among all of the resources available, you will probably find two or three which provide almost everything you need.

        Info USA. Many libraries offer computerized access to 11 million US companies through Info USA. The information includes name, address, number of employees, annual sales, credit rating, name of owner or general manager, Yellow Page category, and SIC codes. You can put a list of organizations together by industry, size, and geographic location. For example, you could obtain a list of every company in Milwaukee, over ten employees, that manufactures electronic equipment. After completing your list you’ll be able to print out your list at the library. Your printout will indicate the various industries each organization is involved in. You may be allowed to download it to your own floppy disk so you can create a database for yourself.

        The Yellow Pages. One of the most useful directories is available in your own home—the Yellow Pages. Most organizations in your area will be listed somewhere in the Yellow Pages even if they don’t advertise. Libraries typically have Yellow Pages for many cities. The “space ads” in the Yellow Pages can be particularly useful. Those ads can give you an excellent idea of what the businesses in a particular industry do. Using the Yellow Pages will give you companies to consider that you might have easily overlooked if you relied solely on other resources.

        To use the Yellow Pages, go through the listings from A to Z. Scan each page and look at each of the specific categories. Rather than assuming that you don’t want to work in a particular category, start with the opposite assumption. Give each category or industry serious consideration unless you can come up with a good reason why you should not. This technique opens you to possibilities that you might otherwise have been closed to.

        Librarians. Make use of the business or reference librarian at your library. Tell the librarian precisely what types of organizations you are trying to locate, and mention which directories you intend to use. Then ask the librarian if there are other directories you should use. The library will probably have several local directories that could provide exactly what you need. Don’t hesitate to ask for help—that’s what librarians love to do.

        Industry-Specific Directories. Some industries have their own, specialized directories. To locate these directories, use the Guide to American Directories or Directories In Print. A good example of a specialized directory is the World Aviation Directory. It provides names, addresses, and phone numbers for every airline, airport, airplane or parts manufacturer, aviation insurance company, and airplane dealer in the world. Depending on the industry you’re interested in, a specialized directory may be the only resource you need.

        Associations. Determine whether there is an association that represents your field or industry. The Encyclopedia of Associations and National Trade and Professional Associations can provide this information. You’ll also find local associations listed in the Yellow Pages under “Associations.” Associations are usually formed to give an industry or profession more political clout, as well as to provide a forum for new ideas. They generally publish membership lists and news magazines, hold conventions and meetings, list job openings, and distribute free literature. Associations exist solely to be helpful. If they fail to meet the needs of members, they lose those members and their annual dues. For this reason you’ll find most association employees or volunteers to be very helpful. On the Internet try searches on any of the many search engines. For example, a search under “association of electrical engineers” led to many useful sites.

        The Sunday Paper. Another way to build up your employer list is to review the back issues of the Sunday newspaper in your area that has the most want ads. Read through the want ads quickly to see if certain organizations seem to be hiring. Add them to your list even if you don’t know much about them.

        Resources and Web Sites. For a complete list of resources to help you develop your employer list, see Resources and Web Sites.

 

Stage Two: Researching Your Top 20 Employers

        Once you’ve compiled your list of 50 to 300 employers, break your list into prioritized groupings of 20 to 25 employers in each group. In that way you’ll have an A group (your highest priority group), a B group, a C group, and so forth. After prioritizing your employers, it’s time to do some preliminary research on each of your top 20 organizations.

        To research companies, your first step is to search company web sites and to visit the nearest major library. Many libraries will have such resources as clipping files, house organs, and annual reports. Clipping files are file folders that contain recent articles that have appeared in the local press about a particular organization. Typically each folder contains articles on a single company. Some libraries no longer use clipping files because the articles may be available over the Internet, or the library may have purchased a CD-ROM that contains three years of back issues and can be searched using key words. House organs are basically newsletters about the organization that are given to employees, customers, and suppliers. Resources and Web Sites will be very helpful in researching specific companies.

        A survey of professional recruiters indicated that knowledge of the company was one of the three most significant factors in successful interviews. “What do you know about us?” is a favorite question of many employers. Fortunately, for most companies over 50 employees, information is available.

        As valuable as written resources are, information gathered from people is usually the most helpful. Talk with people who work for or have worked for your target company. Also talk to people who work for competitors, or customers of the target company. All of these people can add to your insights and information about a company.

Gathering Information From People

        You may be saying to yourself, “But I don’t know anyone who works for my target companies.” While this may be true, I can guarantee that someone among your friends and contacts does know someone who works for your target companies. An interesting study by Stanley Milgram (described in Psychology Today, May 1967), indicates that nearly all adults have between 500 and 1,000 contacts. Contacts include personal friends, relatives, present and former coworkers, schoolmates, church members, social club members, people you do business with (hair stylist, mechanic, banker), and even people you barely know. People who collect business cards (a very useful pastime) will probably have more than 1,000 contacts. Using two links in the chain (your contacts plus your contacts’ contacts) could lead to between 250,000 (500 x 500) and 1,000,000 (1,000 x 1,000) contacts. Add a third link and you get between 125 million and one billion. The article describes experiments in which people used contacts to communicate with a specific person thousands of miles away, usually requiring only two links.

        While I’m not going to recommend that you contact your 500 contacts and ask each of them to contact their 500, the above example demonstrates the wide range of contacts that is available to you. What it boils down to is this: if you want to badly enough, you can get direct information about almost any organization in the country using only one to two links.

Employees And Former Employees

        Once you have your list of target organizations, call your contacts and ask them who they know in those organizations. If they don’t know anyone, ask them to ask around for you. It’s okay to ask for favors. After all, you’d do the same for them. Once you get a name, call the person to learn as much as you can about the organization. Be sure to mention the name of the person who referred you, or your new contact may be rather cool and reserved. Also try to establish rapport before asking probing questions. For instance, you might start by asking the person his or her overall view of the company.

Competitors

        Competitors are valuable sources of information, but they may have some obvious biases. When talking to competitors, seek out sales and management people. Employees at lower levels seldom keep up on competitors. For example, the purchasing manager of a competitor probably belongs to the same association as the purchasing manager in your target company; they may even know each other. Sales people are helpful because it’s their business to know about competitors. As you’re picking up information, determine whether the person is sincere. If the person shares both positives and negatives about your target organization, instead of just negatives, the information will probably prove both accurate and useful.

Suppliers And Customers

        Suppliers and customers may be harder to locate than competitors, but a few well‑placed phone calls can reveal them. Most of your target organizations probably fall in a few industries. Call several companies that would be likely to purchase the products or services of your target organizations and ask if they buy from any of them. It’s very possible that they buy from several of your target firms, since an organization rarely buys everything from just one source. Employees of these companies will each give you a slightly different view of your target organizations, so you will have to reach your own conclusions after you complete your calls. Invariably, two or three organizations will be consistently mentioned as having excellent products and providing outstanding service.

Inside Information

        Insiders can give you a great deal of information that you won’t find in any written resources. Be aware, however, that every insider, whether employee, former employee, competitor, customer, or supplier, is likely to have some biases about the organization. Be alert to such biases. Everything you hear represents only one viewpoint and needs to be treated as such. This is true of virtually any organization: some will love it, some will hate it. You’ll need to determine whether the person you’re talking with has an axe to grind (he may recently have lost out on a promotion), knows enough about the organization (she may really know only about her own department), or is even telling the truth. This is the fun part. You’re a detective, evaluating motives and confirming stories.

        Job interviews are another very important part of employer research. During most interviews you’ll learn a lot about the company and the department you would be working in. Make full use of the opportunity to ask questions. Ask about your growth potential, your duties, the interviewer’s management style, and the future direction of the company.

Reasons For Researching An Organization

        There are four main reasons for researching employers.

        1. To determine whether the organization is right for you. Try to discover all the pros and cons you can. Research may reveal a serious problem that might cause you to eliminate the organization, or it may reveal some outstanding opportunities that will further encourage and motivate you.

        2. To impress the interviewer. You’ll impress the interviewer simply by explaining in concise terms why you should be hired and by demonstrating that you are full of enthusiasm, experience, and potential. Because so few people bother to research a company, you’ll stand out in a very positive way if you’ve done your homework and go armed with information. Weave your information into the conversation appropriately. Some employers will ask, “What do you know about us?” Most people will hem, haw, and fail this question miserably. But you will shine. Even when asked this question, however, don’t overwhelm the interviewer with too much information. Give a thorough but concise response. Your answer should be based on the type of position you are interviewing for. If you are interviewing for a sales or marketing position you would emphasize their existing products, new products they are working on, and how their products are doing. If you are in accounting and finance, you would primarily discuss the financial health of the organization.

        3. To discover problems you can help solve. Problems that you have the ability to solve could come to light before or during an interview. If you discover them before the interview, you’ll have time to prepare and perhaps even develop a proposal. Otherwise, listen for clues to such problems during the interview. An employer may come right out and describe problems, but will probably only allude to them. Careful listening can help you match your experience to the problem area. By all means emphasize those strengths that can help solve the organization’s problems.

        4. To identify questions that must be clarified by the employer. An annual report or a magazine article may have mentioned an exciting new product being developed by your target company. If the interviewer doesn’t mention it, you may have to ask if you would have a role in developing, marketing, or selling it. If an inside source told you that a strike could cripple the company, you might ask about the effects of such a strike. If the company has lost money three years in a row, you might ask what the company is doing to reverse the losses.

        Interviewing is a continuation of your research. Keep your detective cap on and discover all you can. Ask yourself if you would enjoy working for this person. Will you respect this boss? Do your management philosophies match? Will you like each other? These are some of the important questions that can be answered, in part, by the research you conduct during interviews.

        Do some research before each interview, even if it’s the third or fourth interview with the same company. This is particularly important if you feel really good about the job, your potential boss, and the company. Discover all you can. Answering questions effectively and asking the right questions could make the difference between being the number-one choice and the number-two choice.

 

Luck—the crossroad where preparation and opportunity meet.