| Researching
employers: why and how |
| |
|
| Why research |
| |
To effectively sell
yourself as a job candidate, you need to be able to persuade
the employer that you are a fit for that employer's needs. Even when
the job market is great for job seekers, employers aren't going to
interview and hire candidates who are not a match for their needs. |
| |
You can't present yourself
— in cover letters or interviews — as
a match for the employer's needs if you don't know enough about
the employer to do so. |
| |
By doing research, you
get information to decide which employers to contact.
Rather than sending (and incurring the associated costs of sending)
fifty letters and resumes to employers you know little to nothing
about, send ten letters and resumes to employers you know something
about and have a greater chance of securing an interview.
Targeted letters, individualized to the recipient are more effective
than "form" letters — you know a form letter when
you receive one; employers do too. |
| |
In interviews,
employers expect you to arrive knowing background information about
the organization. If you don't, you look like you're not really
interested in the job. You have to be able to answer the critical
question of why you would like to work for that employer —
and not sound like you would take any job. |
| |
Research helps you formulate
intelligent and appropriate questions to ask in your interview.
|
| |
|
| How
to research specific employers |
| |
Talk to people:
Find people who work for or know about the organization. This
could be people you meet at a career fair, family members, neighbors,
parents of friends, students who graduated ahead of you, alumni
contacts — VT CareerLink
is Career Services' alumni networking database — you can search
it for alumni contacts working for particular organizations. |
| |
The employer's
web site: If you know the URL for an employer's web
site, go there. If you don't know the URL, do an internet
search on the organization name (don't forget to spell it correctly).
Obviously some employers' web sites will be more helpful / informative
/ useful to you than others. If the web site posts jobs and/or
the organization invites email from job seekers and/or accepts resumes
online, this can save time in your job search. |
| |
Do some Internet research.
CEO Express
is a very comprehensive meta-site. Explore the links it
provides. |
| |
The University
Libraries have resources for research. One example
is the Dow Jones News Retrieval Service — online service provides
access to a variety of business databases consisting of stock quotes,
market averages and company and industry news from such periodicals
as the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and the Washington Post; ask
a library staff member for assistance if you are not familiar with
research tools. |
| |
Call or write
the organization and ask for information. This is
perfectly appropriate to do, especially if the organization is small
and/or you simply cannot find information about the organization
through other sources. If you have an interview scheduled
with an employer, the employer should have already provided information
(web site, brochures, etc.); if not, by all means, ask for this. |
