Researching Companies

Developing Your Strategy

When information is always available and easy to find, it’s easy to forget that you might need to plan to find the information you need most. Always define what you are looking for: research goes better if you know what you want.

As you develop your search strategy, you should:

• Create a list of 5–10 organizations with whom you are most interested in working.
• Create a second list of organizations you have some interest in.
• Keep a log of research and activities, so you know whom you’ve called, when, and next steps.

Define What You’re Looking For

What are your search criteria? Be honest with yourself and the people you talk with about your search (whether it’s your Career Consultant, Career Advisor, or professional contacts you’ve made). Common search criteria are:

• Geographic location
• Application of skill set
• Connection to interest/passion
• Fit with work values
• Compatibility with personality

Field Specific Research

Field Specific Research can make all the difference in your search. You need to look like a great potential colleague.

• Professional Organizations – check out the professional organizations associated with the career
• Trade publications & journals – what do people in your field read to stay current on industry trends and news? (Subscriptions can be costly, so check to see if the WFL subscribes to any of these publications.
• Job sites specific to the field – often times there are online communities devoted to jobs in a particular career.

Library Database:

• Vocations and Careers – Finding the right career can be a daunting and high stakes task: finding an appropriate institution of learning, job searching, and maintaining a career are all topics covered by this collection, providing current and applicable content for all vocational milestones. Offering content from nearly 400 journals, this collection provides content from general career guides to highly specialized industry journals.

Company Specific Research

Once you have created your list of specific employers of interest, research them. Find their websites, annual reports, marketing material, news articles, and anything else you can think of to gather a full understanding of the company. The Wellesley Free Library has some great resources to help you with your research. Take a look at the links below to explore some library resources that may be helpful to you.

Web resources:

• Company website: Many companies include “In the Press”, “Media” or “About Us” pages on their websites.
• Glassdoor.com: A website where current and former employees anonymously review companies and their management.
• Google: the world often begins at Google, but rarely ends with Google. After you run a quick web search, look at what you have, and what you need.
• LinkedIn: using LinkedIn to search for companies will pull up connections, info about companies, jobs, and more. Follow targeted companies for information about growth, jobs, and more.
• Social Media: search for potential company’s social media pages to see what they are posting, discussing and participating in online. (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram)

Library-based resources:

• AtoZDatabases: AtoZdatabases is a reference and marketing database for information within the U.S. This database provides details on every business and every households.