Finding and Learning About Employers
Job searchers usually have two reasons to want to find and learn about employers.
- You are looking for lots of employers who may have job
openings.
You are looking for a new job now or you are exploring a possible job change for the future. You want to find employers who may have job openings now or later. - You have an interview with one employer and you want
details.
You want to prepare for your interview by knowing more about the company. You also want to know how your skills could be an asset there.
Or, you have set up an informational interview. You want to know about the employer of the person you are meeting with. You have questions about the job field, that employer's priorities, and how things work there. You may search or apply for a job there later.
Employer-Search Tips
Whenever you search for employers, follow these tips:
- Ask everyone you know, or run into, for ideas of employers to investigate. If this doesn't come naturally for you, set a number of people that you'll ask each week. Try for at least five per week. Just ask! Then reward yourself.
- Focus, focus, focus on the task at hand - finding and learning about employers. When you're in the library or on the Internet, the temptation is to go off on just one more interesting tangent. Try to resist.
- Set a goal for each search session. This can be quick and informal. Just grab scratch paper. At the top, write something like "Find 10 employers within 25 miles. Get names of someone to call. Use one or two sources only." Another goal may sound more like, "Find five bits of information that I could use in my interview to show that I understand how the company works and what I could contribute."
- Divide your search into manageable bits. For example, after finding 10 employers, you could spend another session to "Figure out which of the 10 I'd most want to work for." You could list three positive things and one caution to explore further about each employer.
- Time yourself. Jot down something like, "45 minutes max." Use a timer. Search time goes faster than we realize while we're browsing through books or Web pages. Limiting your time also helps focus the mind.
- Use employers' own Web sites to search for job openings. Businesses often post and update openings on their own sites more than they do on big job boards.
Find Employer Lists
AARP suggests that you start with America's Career InfoNet, online from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Career InfoNet has several ways to search for employers. You can:
- Try the Employer Locator,
- Look at the How-to Guide for finding employers, or
- Browse from Career Infonet's main page.
Other good information sources about employers in your area are:
- Local newspapers - Notice which businesses are around, even if they're not advertising jobs.
- The local Chamber of Commerce - Check out their online lists of member businesses.
- Any online search engine - Type in "business directory" and the names of your town and state in the search function. You'll get several lists of local businesses and organizations.
Do Research on Individual Employers
Once you have set up a job interview, make sure you know the basics about the employer:
- The business the employer is in
- How the employer's business fits into a wider industry and into your community
- A few details on the job you are interviewing for
- Some information on how that job fits into the overall business
The easiest way to get this information is to ask for and read the employer's brochures, booklets, or annual reports. Most employers are glad to send you these documents before your interview.
There is also a huge amount of online and library information about both businesses and nonprofit organizations. During your interview, show that you understand the employer's needs. Talk about what you can do to help meet them. Show interest in how the job you're interviewing for fits into the employer's industry.
You may not be able to bring up all that you've learned about an employer, but showing your interest this way can give you the edge.
Use one or two reliable Web sites. Also, ask your public librarian for help. Libraries often have short cuts to local business information. And the book, "Help! My Job Interview is Tomorrow! How to Use the Library to Research an Employer," is the easiest guide around.
AARP Resources
AARP's Great Job List
Check out AARP's annual list of the best places to work after
age 50.
AARP
Best Employers 2003 Winners
Honored by AARP for their best practices and policies for valuing
the older worker.
Additional Resources
Career
InfoNet Employer Locator
Search the Employer Locator by industry, by job title, by
occupation, or by employer name for your local area. You'll
get a list of businesses that typically hire people for that job.
Find addresses, phone numbers, and contact names.
How-to
Guide - Finding Employers
If your computer has PowerPoint, this slide show leads you
through each step of finding employers through Career InfoNet.
Welcome to
America's Career InfoNet
Browse here for every kind of employer information. You can also
go directly to information on employers in your state.
Business and
Employer Research
Use an online tutorial on how to research companies. Find
recommendations for the best business directories to use for the
kind of job you want.
Advertised vs.
Hidden Job Market
Job Star is an electronic public library with great tips both on
using job ads and finding unadvertised jobs.
Books
Find these books online at Barnes and Noble.com
Help! My Job Interview is Tomorrow! How to Use the Library to Research an Employer, Mary Ellen Templeton, Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1997. Excellent step-by-step guide tells you what to research, why, and how. Worksheets and library or Internet sources to prepare for an interview later today or in a few days. Tips for researching every kind of company or organization.
