The Riley Guide: Research & Target Employers or
How to Job Search

Do the Research
that Supports Your Job Search

September 2008

The Basic Research Rules
Research 101: How to Look for Information on the Internet
Frequently Asked Questions about The Research Process

Research 201: Finding Employers You Want to Consider
Research 202: Checking Out the Employers
Research 203: Taking Employer Research to the Extreme
Research 301: Additional Research for Our Job Search

Custom Search

The Basic Research Rules

Rule #1: Move General to Specific

Rule#2: Browse before you Search

There is a method to the madness, and the method is move from the general to the specific. Maybe it's general sites and sources to more specific ones, or general job banks to specific ones targeted to your location, occupation, or industry, but always think about moving general to specific. And when you browse before you search, you will be following this rule.

Browsing:
I just want to look around. I'm not sure where to go or I'm not finding what I want.

It's like window shopping, or scanning the shelves at the library or bookstore. Begin with a virtual library. Use very broad terms in your field or industry to start finding information, noting which words work best to help you find what you want. Move toward online resource guides with more targeted information.

Searching:
I have the resume ready in plain text, I have my objectives identified, and I am ready to hunt!

You know the dress or CD you want, you know where it's sold, and you go in and out in 20 minutes or less. Begin with online resource guides and move to search engines. Use very specific terms to define the skills you have, the types of jobs you are looking for, and the companies or organizations you would like to work for. (You compiled this list from previous searches, and keep customizing it as you go along.)

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Research 101: Looking for Information on the Internet

Step 1: Visit Virtual Libraries and Internet Directories

• What: Large collections of information arranged by broad topics. They cover many topics and act as general guides and introductions to the Internet morass.
• Why: You can use these to identify the best terms for searching and to begin finding helpful and resources.
• How: Use their "search" feature, but also "browse" the shelves, scanning the various categories found in your search as well as the specific locations suggested. Think of this "search" like the online catalog in the library.
• Try this: search education or finance in these libraries and directories to find information on these topics. Make a note of employers you find and topics you discover
  • Librarian's Internet Index, http://lii.org
  • Yahoo, http://www.yahoo.com
  • More libraries and directories can be found at http://www.rileyguide.com/search.html

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Step 2: Read Online Resource Guides

• What: Sites or online documents dedicated to a specific topic or industry
• Why: They identify much more specific industry and employer information.
• How can I find them: The Virtual Libraries will begin pointing you towards these. The Librarians' Index to the Internet (lii.org) is also an excellent source for these guides.
• Tip: The best guides have been compiled by organizations or specialists in the field of topic discussed, so you might look for information on who has compiled a guide and why.
• Try this: search education or finance to find web sites and sources dedicated to these topics. Note any employers or associations you find.
  • Hoover's Online (business reference directory), http://www.hoovers.com
  • Scholarly Societies Project (professional and scholarly associations), http://www.scholarly-societies.org/
  • More pointers to resource guides can be found at http://www.rileyguide.com/search.html as well as throughout the entire Riley Guide.

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Step 3: Tap Search Engines

• What: Searchable databases of keywords retrieved from Internet documents
• Why: You wan to locate hidden information on any topic (occupation or industry) or employer.
• How can I find them: there are several listed below, and more can be found through Yahoo.
• Tip: Each is different in how it works and what it indexes, so you might want to use two or three in your search and compare the results. Choose the ones you like best. Don't feel obliged to use the ones that your local librarians, your friends, or I say are the best.
• Try this: search the names of employers you've found in your previous searches or specific topics and occupations you found.
  • AltaVista, http://www.altavista.com
  • Google, http://www.google.com
  • HotBot, http://www.hotbot.com/
  • WebCrawler, http://www.webcrawler.com/
  • More search engines including metacrawlers can be found at http://www.rileyguide.com/search.html

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Frequently Asked Questions about The Research Process

Why are the Search Engines last? Should they be first?

Not in my mind. The advantage of search engines is they scour a lot of pages of data online. The disadvantage is they scour a lot of pages of data online. Don't you hate doing a search and coming up with three hundred thousand hits? So, by putting them last, you are not turning to them until you are very very specific about what you want them to find, thereby (hopefully) cutting down on the number of false hits and unreasonable responses you get.

What's the deal with the Online Resource Guides? We have sites like Yahoo.

These are like directories for specific topics, the advantage being they are much more in-depth that what you will usually find in Yahoo and similar sites. They also pull in a lot of related information and smaller bits and pieces that the big sites might be tempted to overlook. You can find a lot of these through the virtual libraries and Internet directories, and they really come into play when you want to dig deeper into an idea or industry.

Why do we go to places like Yahoo first? Isn't it a search engine?

No, it really isn't, but it has a search engine. Look at Yahoo's front page. It's a catalog of topics, and each breaks down into more topics. Try a search in Yahoo. What's the result? The first result is a list of Yahoo Categories that match your search request. The second result is a list of Yahoo Sites that match your search. Only if Yahoo does not find anything within its own collection will it stretch out to the general Internet to try to answer your request! Why is this an important distinction?

Yahoo acts like a subsection of the Internet, meaning you are dealing with a lot less data. One thing that I really like to do with Yahoo is test words. I try searches on occupations and disciplines, on industries, and on skills. I then review the results to see

1. Am I still too general (lots and lots of results just in Yahoo, like this Yahoo search on the word "education")
2. Am I already too specific (very very few results in Yahoo or it's already tapping the Internet like in this search for women's footwear)
3. Am I using the wrong words to describe what I'm looking for (the results are not right or Yahoo immediately hits the Internet and still doesn't find anything, like this search for sewers. Do I want information on wastewater removal systems or sewing and dressmaking?)

Yahoo and similar sites can also be very helpful in exploring options in careers and industries. Look at Yahoo's directory for "finance". Lots of options, don't you think? Personal Finance, Corporate Finance, Finance and Banking, and on and on.

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Research 201: Finding Employers You Want to Consider

a.k.a. Targeting

You choose a specific industry or facet of your field on which to focus

For example, librarians can work in public, academic, corporate, or other special library settings, or we can opt to not work in a "traditional" library role but expand out into information design and management or even indexing.

In order to select your industry, you have to know Who Hires People With Your Skills. Use career and occupational guides like America's Career InfoNet to help you create a list of industries, and then use the techniques outlined in Research 101 to learn more about them and assemble a list of possible employers.

You choose what kind of employer you want to work for based on any criteria that is important to you.

When my sister was job hunting, she looked for employers who were known to be family-friendly since she would need some flexibility to care for her daughter. You might be interested in the large public companies or a small private company. Other ideals may be more important to you like employers who have been recognized for their diversity initiatives, ecology programs, or even philanthropic services.

You can use business rankings from several sources to help you create lists of target employers. These include sources like the The Fortune 500, The Inc. 500, and Fortune's Best Companies to Work For. You'll also find newspapers and magazines to be very helpful with this kind of research.

You choose a specific geographic area in which to search.

When I finished graduate school, I was willing to drive up to 60 miles in any direction from my current home to find a good job. Competition for library jobs in Boston was fierce at the time, so I figured that kind of flexibility would be necessary. A few years later, I met an engineer who targeted his job search in a region that offered sailing, good golf courses, and no snow. No joke. He moved to Houston, Texas. (He forgot to specify "no hurricanes")

There's no reason why you can't target a specific area for your job search and then find all the potential employers within that area. What you need to do is

1. Determine the target area. Choose it based on local offerings, cost of living, industry growth, or even the weather, but choose an area.
2. Start compiling lists of local employers. Telephone directories are great places to start, along with local chambers of commerce and even local US job resources.

However you want to target your search, pick a method and begin creating lists of possible employers. At this point, don't be too quick about not listing someone unless you already know there is no way you would ever work for them. Then, when you have some name on your list, use the methods outlined in Research 101 and in the next section, Research 202, and start learning everything you can about your targets.

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Research 202: Checking Out the Employers

a.k.a. Interview or Contact Preparation

Think of your job interview as the sales call where you get to sell your product. You've already sent your marketing brochure (the resume and cover letter), and they're interested. The interview is your chance to make the final pitch to sell of yourself to the hiring manager. Like any good sales professional, you have to know what they are buying in order to make the right pitch.

Start you employer research at the employer's website.

Consider this to be a book about the employer by the employer! Read it "cover to cover" and print pages which interest you or which have information you want to double-check.

• Look at anything that says News or What’s New. This will give you the latest information on what is happening and possible clues on new areas or projects you might fit into.
• Read any mission statements or description of services to see how this organization describes itself. Use this to customize your cover letter to their interests.
• Look for an annual report or strategic plan and read it carefully.
• Check out the career opportunities, jobs, and/or human resource area. Realize that there be many job openings that are not posted online, but read over the instructions on applying. Use this as a guide to their application procedures, and look for information on their benefits.
• Look over the whole site. What does the design of these pages say to you about this organization? Are they conservative or funky, are they well-organized or difficult to follow?

Don't be afraid to refer to the website when you are in your interview. It will reinforce your knowledge and skills on the Internet. Many employers don't know what their pages say or haven't seen them before. You might want to bring some clean copies of certain pages with you, (but don't point out their spelling errors!)

Check business directories and other employer information sources for outside profiles of the employers.

This could include a brief profile with financials like Hoovers (http://www.hoovers.com) provides, a copy of a 10K report from the SEC's Edgar Database (http://www.sec.gov), or insider profiles like those from Vault.com (http://www.vault.com). You'll find all kinds of employer research sources along with a great tutorial on How to Research Employers in our section titled Employer Research. (http://www.rileyguide.com/employer.html)

Finally, turn to the Search Engines

Look for more information anywhere you can find it. Why? Well, as one job seeker put it

"The employer's website told me what they wanted me to know,
but I found what I wanted to know by doing more searching online."

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Research 203: Taking Employer Research to the Extreme

A few years ago, I had lunch with a woman who told me a great story about an interview she had scheduled with a prospective employer. She was online looking at local newspapers for the company's home office region (some background research before her interview), when she discovered that the person she was to interview with had been accused of sexual harassment by several employees. Looks like the company transferred him across the country to quiet things down. She cancelled the interview.

There are many instances when things look good until you get inside the employer's offices. Then you wish you never accepted the job or even the interview. Here are again some newer tools, services, and resources to use when you are really digging in the dirt for info on a prospective employer.

What's it like to work there?

Examples: Vault.com || Wetfeet.com

These offer insider reports talking about the work environment and other corporate culture info, most of which are taken from interviews with actual current and past employees. You'll also find some profiles of employers from the IT perspective each week in ComputerWorld. On their web site, search the phrase What it's Like to Work At... to find interviews with employers and employees at specific organizations.

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"Gruntled" and "xxxsucks" sites

Examples: AOL Watch || Vault Community Message Boards

Yes, take a look, but also take them with a grain of salt. Many folks posting may be current or former dissatisfied employees. However, you may want to carefully bring up some of these issues in your interview.

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Research 301: Additional Research for Our Search

Wage and Salary Information

In addition to these resources, surveying job listings in the many job banks will provide some information. More sources are also available at http://www.rileyguide.com/salary.html.

• JobStar Salary Surveys, http://jobstar.org/tools/salary/
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov (check the Occupational Outlook Handbook)
• America's Career InfoNet, http://www.acinet.org

Industry Growth/Decline

Several of the resource cited under Wage and Salary as well as Career Exploration can also help with this research. More resources are available at http://www.rileyguide.com/trends.html.

• America's Career InfoNet, http://www.acinet.org
• Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ (other BLS reports may also be helpful)

Relocation Information

What will it be like to live there, what are the housing costs, what are the tax rates, etc. More resources are available at http://www.rileyguide.com/relocate.html.

• USACityLink, http://usacitylink.com/ (interesting location information)
• Apartments.com, http://www.apartments.com (cost of an apartment)
• NewsLink, http://newslink.org (find the local newspapers)
• Moving, from Move.com, http://moving.move.com (a cost-of-living calculator, crime statistics, insurance comparisons, relocation wizard, and a guide to moving costs)

Career Exploration

If you are considering a career change, these sources can help with finding information and options. More resources are available at http://www.rileyguide.com/careers.html. If you think you need some help making this kind of decision, links to counseling and guidance services can be found at http://www.rileyguide.com/counsel.html

• America's Career InfoNet, http://www.acinet.org
• Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/oco/
• JobStar's Career Resources, http://jobstar.org/tools/career/

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