This article, by Parmelee Eastman, Job-Hunt's Research Pro,
is from the Oct. 13, 2004 issue of Job-Hunt's free twice-a-month
e-mailed newsletter, the Online
Job Search Guide. For more articles in this series, go to
the Company
Research Pro page on www.job-hunt.org.
Exploring the Organization’s Web Site
You’ve found an ad for an attractive job or a network
contact suggested an interesting company. Now you need to research
the company before writing the cover letter or picking up the
phone. The quickest route to information is just a few clicks
away; the organization’s web site. Some small companies
do not have web sites, but the majority of the companies that
are hiring will have created a web site for recruitment and marketing
purposes.
Finding the Website
It may not be obvious. The shorter web site names were reserved
long ago so the web site for your target firm may not be obvious.
Jones & Associates may be jonesassociates.com, jones-associates.com,
or just jones.com. Go to www.google.com or another search engine
and type in the company name. A list of probable web site name
will appear.
If the right organization is not listed, use a yellow pages
web site to find the legal name or the DBA (Doing Business As)
for the firm. Or your target may be a subsidiary of another company
and therefore has placed limited information on its web site.
The relationship is usually mentioned, but not always and frequently
in small print. The parent company’s web site may not have
enough detail on your area of interest. Other sources of information
for this situation will be discussed in subsequent articles—stay
tuned!
Many large organizations support multiple web sites targeting
different audiences. The main web site is generally for marketing
and often recruitment. Other web sites may exist specifically
for recruitment, customer interaction/transactions, or country-specific
activities. Consumer product entities frequently separate corporate
from product information and consumer interaction activities
such as sweepstakes. For example, pepsi.com is product specific
while pepsico.com contains the corporate information.
How and What Do They Do?
Once you find the web site that you want, click on “About
Us” or “Company” for an introduction to the
organization’s business, history and size. This section
may also include a mission/vision statement, locations, or community
affairs.
The majority of web sites, even for small, private, or non-profit
organizations, have extensive sections on products, services,
or activities. A careful reading of this section will reveal
not only the specific products, but often the target markets,
customer testimonials, and channel partners/distributors.
Find More than Jobs in the Career Section
The career heading often includes a section on values or culture
and benefits as well as open jobs. Even if you are looking for
an unpublished job, read the descriptions to understand what
characteristics/experience is generally sought by the company.
Does the company need certain skills, or change agents? Is it
hiring to support new expansion into new markets? Note any hint
of the working conditions. There’s a world of difference
between companies touting “a family friendly workplace” vs. “seeking
high energy person with two years experience for fast-paced environment.”
Background on the Executives
Public, and some private firms, will list the top executives
and board members with biographical information. How well does
your experience/education match theirs? Do the majority have
engineering degrees, advanced degrees, attended local colleges
or name universities? Having a different background is not necessarily
a stumbling block to fitting it at the company, but you may need
to position what your different background brings to the company.
Layoffs in the Future?
Public companies will include financial information under the
heading Investors. Obviously you want to check to see if revenue
is growing vs. shrinking and if the company is profitable or
not. More from the financial section will be in the next installment
of this series on how to research companies. Some private and
non-profit organizations will reveal some information about their
finances. Does the company list venture funders? Does the firm
use terms such as “solidly profitable,” “fast-growing,” or “expanding?” Or
was the previous year “difficult,” the economy “challenging,” and
the president faced with “hard decisions?”
Job-Hunt's Research Pro: Parmelee Eastman
is president of EastSight
Consulting which helps provide more effective utilization
of external information in internal decision-making processes.
EastSight Consulting clients range from start-ups to Fortune
500 companies. Prior to founding EastSight, Parmelee was the
vice president of the global technology and communications practice
at Fuld & Company and employed for 16 years at Digital Equipment
Corporation. Parmelee holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and
an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. She can be reached
at peastman@eastsightconsulting.com.
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