Trade Publications and Directories
Most local or university libraries will have various trade publications, business directories that you can review to not only check out the company itself but also its’ competitors and its’ market sector. Some of the main useful databases include:
– Datamonitor which reports provide information on company revenues, competitors and employees.
– Hemscott which will give you access to financial information including share prices etc
– Mintel and Keynote which will provide you with detailed industry market research reports
Social networking
Check the company’s presence on all the main social networking sites.
How up to date that is will give you a good indication of the company’s attitude to social media.
If you can find out who will be interviewing you , check if they have a blog, if they are on Twitter and use it for work. This will give you a greater insight into the type of person interviewing you.
Use Linkedin to find other people within the business. Check your own connections and your shared connections to see if you can get introductions which could give you more info.
Use Insider Info
In the past few years a number of sites have been developed which allow existing and former employees to review their employers on a confidential basis.
Sites such as Glassdoor and InsideBuzz will give you the lowdown on what it is really like working for the company – the pros and the cons. They often also provide info on the interview process itself, giving you a better idea of what to expect.
Remember – try and do as much research as possible. After all, other candidates are going to be researching the company too. Go the extra mile ; cover all the bases and make sure that you really stand out for your knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm.
Very insightful information and completely agree. The problem seems two-fold; graduates and students still seem to be unaware of what they are expected to know about the employer before they go for interviews and secondly they don’t always know where to find this information. Another problem is that most graduates are not applying for just one job. This means that for each employer there is a lot of research to do, which can be very time consuming. Being aware of this at TARGETjobs we have put together Employer Insights, almost a one-stop-shop with independently written reviews on top graduate employers. The insights provide all the relevant information you need and are a great way to find out what it is really like to work for an employer. They provide information on the work culture, and values, benefits, vital facts and figures, as well as give helpful tips on how to get hired and career advice.
Another great tool is the ability to follow the employers which allows students and graduates to receive the latest news from the chosen employer in real-time.
Employer Insights tackles the problems students and graduates face when researching employers by providing the essential information, in one place, doing all the hard work for them. Currently there are 100 employers listed but this is ever-growing. http://targetjobs.co.uk/employer-insights
Posted by Jackie | October 21, 2011, 3:26 pmThank you Jackie, will take a look at the list and maybe feature it on the site
Regards
TheEmployable
Posted by theemployable | October 21, 2011, 6:07 pmThank you glad you found it helpful.
All the best,
Jackie
Posted by Jackie | October 24, 2011, 9:44 amThanks a lot for your post. I didn’t know about Glassdoor and Insiderbuzz, they look very useful. I did not that it is important to research a company before going to an interview, and usually spend a lot of time on it. As Jackie says above, it is very time consuming. I also research them before I write the job application – to find out if I even want to write there and find the name of the contact person (if it isn’t stated in the job ad) and a bit of background info from Linked In e.t.c.
Posted by Mados | April 4, 2012, 11:23 amCorrected comment:
Thanks a lot for your post. I didn’t know about Glassdoor and Insiderbuzz, they look very useful. I did know that it is important to research a company before going to an interview, and usually spend a lot of time on it. As Jackie says above, it is very time consuming. I also research them before I write the job application – to find out if I even want to work there and find the name of the contact person (if it isn’t stated in the job ad) and a bit of background info from Linked In e.t.c.
Can you please delete the other one. Thanks:-)
Posted by Mados | April 4, 2012, 2:36 pm