This article, by Parmelee Eastman, Job-Hunt's Research Pro, is from the November 10, 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.

Other articles by Parmelee: Learning From Industry Observers Understanding the Financial Reports

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?”

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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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