Employer Research
Researching employers is a critical part of your job search. Research assists you in learning more about an organization, contributes to your preparation for each interview, helps you prepare stronger cover letters and ultimately make informed decisions.
What to Look for
- Types of services and products
- General overall success of the organization. Sales, Assets, Earnings, Future Growth?
- Size of the organization. Number of employees. Types of jobs.
- History, objectives and philosophy of the organization
- Geographic location. Headquarters, branches, subsidiaries?
- Organizational culture and structure
- Competitors
- Key executives
- Training and promotional opportunities
- General reputation of the organization
- Major achievements
- Recent news/press releases
Where to Find Information
Commercial Websites
These websites will give you more detailed information about the employer, such as financial information, competitors, product lines, etc.
- Glassdoor
- Hoover's Online
- Bloomberg.com
- Business.com
- Crain's: Chicago
- Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For
- Yahoo! Industry News
- U.S. Department of Education
- Wall Street Journal - Career Journal
- Federal Government
- CIA World Factbook
- O*NET, the Nation's Occupational Information Network—an online data base sponsored by the U.S. Dept of Labor
- LGBTQ ally in the workplace
- CareerOneStop - sponsored by the U.S. Dept of Labor, this site provides sources for career exploration, training, and jobs
Industry Websites
These websites will help you assess what's going on in that particular employer's industry. Information obtained here can be a great asset during the job interview. It will help you identify your contributions to the employer's efforts to meet the challenges that exist in their industry.
- American Association of Advertising Agencies
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Online Accounting Degrees
- Society for Human Resources Management
- Entertainment Careers.net
- Hospitality.net
- National Parks Jobs
- Not for Profit Career Network
- USA Jobs
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- K-12jobspot.com
- Teaching-Certification.com
- Women's Wear Daily
- Nursing School Degrees.com
- h1visajobs.com
- 4International Careers & Jobs
- LinkedIn ProFinder - a marketplace that helps to connect entrepreneurs and freelancers with real business projects
- LinkedIn Salary Search Tool - Explore salaries by job title and location