Comments on: How do YOU do company research?

By: David Sarokin

David Sarokin — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:06:27 +0000

I do a ton of company research, and I appreciate the good tips you’ve put together here. If I can be so bold, I’d like to suggest you visit my page of Google Answers questions that I answered when I was a researcher there:

http://xooxleanswers.com/business.aspx

There’s a lot of good pointers in those Q&A’s when it comes to getting information on companies from particularly difficult or obscure sources.

Let me know what you think.

David Sarokin

By: Char Lyn

Char Lyn — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:46:49 +0000

I agree with Brad that it is important to try to get the intangible stuff. If the company you are looking at is big enough, doing a quick search of publications specific to the companyâ€™s industry can be very helpful. You can frequently find articles on company employees that give you insight into the corporate culture of the company. For example, this article in Mass High Tech, and this article in The Scientist give insight into for what the corporate working environment at one big biotech is likeâ€”dedicated people given the opportunity to really make a difference. (Disclosure: I do research and relations work for Genzyme, which is why Iâ€™m familiar with these two articles. I included them in my comment because I felt the concept needed examples.) Itâ€™s not always easy to find these kinds of articles, but I find that industry publications are the best source. When you look at newspapers or get Google Alerts, it seems everything is about the market share or mergers and acquisitions.

By: areader

areader — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:43:24 +0000

When I need to do unfamiliar research my first stop is at the reference desk to talk to the reference librarian.

My public library has limited access to databases like Hoovers, but my alma mater has more databases. Example Lexis-Nexis business and industry, Hoovers company and industry, D&B Million Dollar Database, Reuters Investor, and all kinds of print references. If the company is publicly traded I download the 10K (annual report) and the 10Q – public tranparency for investors means public transparency for potential employees and business partners – from the SEC’s Edgar database. Yahoo Finance is also a good source for public firms.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:59:24 +0000

Folks – all excellent resources – thank you for sharing your thoughts, tools and techniques!

By: Barbara Safani

Barbara Safani — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:15:59 +0000

Jason,

Research is so important to a job search and I think sometimes people find the prospect a bit intimidating. Research sounds like something we did in school and probably didn’t enjoy. I often refer to company research as company sleuthing because really what you are doing is sourcing creative alternatives for finding decision makers. The great thing about having a research firm do the sleuthing is that they will have access to tools that the average job seeker will not, and these firms can typically drill deeper into a company or decision maker’s general information. These resources can also be used in conjunction with other tools such as LinkedIn or Google.

Another great “sleuthing center” is the public library. Reference guides such as Hoovers, Edgars, The Kennedy Guides to Executive Recruiters, Management Consulting Firms, and VC Firms are just a few of the many resources available.

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:07:04 +0000

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By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 03:54:54 +0000

All excellent tools.

Don’t forget to research blogs for blog mentions of the company itself as well as your interviewer, via blogsearch.google.com and Technorati, to name but two.

By: Ernie Perez

Ernie Perez — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:50:12 +0000

Jason

I have this topic as one of my job search skills presentation. I have one page summary called “What It Means to Research a Company”. If anyone has an interest, I can pass it along It is reasonably stand alone but does better when presented.
Ernie

By: sharon wortman farnham

sharon wortman farnham — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:01:31 +0000

I never thought about finding out about a company before going to work for them a good concept i learned a lot form your article very interesting . The jobs I have gotten I just went out and applied for one time I was hired because my dad knew the district manger he was a person friend of dads.

By: Brad Attig

Brad Attig — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:39:04 +0000

Great article Jason,

An elaboration on using Linkedin. 25% of company hires come from referrals. Check out the CareerXroads 6th annual source of hire whitepaper, http://www.careerxroads.com. By using Linkedin, you can find people in your network that know people at your target company. Great way to ask for an introduction and get an internal referral.

Mike, I agree that the “person-to-person” stuff is the most valuable, but so is everyone’s time. When you can talk with a person I recommend you be prepared. My suggestion would be to have a list of questions, not unlike you would prepare for an interview. Try to get the intangible stuff, culture, ethics, some people call it the “dirt” on the company. Anyone can pull the financials off of Hoovers (another great source of info) but only an insider can tell you if the company lives it’s Mission Statement or not.