Shop for
a company		  
In order to find a job, you must know what the employer is looking for. That way, you can display the traits that show you fit in their job description.
 
    First, ask yourself two questions:
1. What do I know about this company?
2. What do I know about this position?
   
Now, hit the books. Find out all you can about the company and the position. Here are some things you might want to look for:
  • General information: location of home office, number of plants/stores and locations, names of parent company or subsidiaries, number of workers, type of work, etc.
  • Products the company makes.
  • Structure of company: organization, supervision, training, etc.
  • Goals and image of company; how are they seen and how do they want to be seen?
  • Competition in the industry and the rank of the company.
  • Financial details: sales, stock price, annual growth percent for a share, recent profits, etc.
  • Recent news items of the company.
  • Recruiter's name.
  • Description of position: duties, supervisors, people working with, etc.
  • Career path: the opportunities in the department, company, etc..

If some of the information cannot be found ahead of time, ask your interviewer early on in the interview.
   
Here's Where to Look.You probably already thought of the library and the local book store. But don't forget to check out these resources:
Newspaper articles about people and their jobs
We're started a collection you can add on to.
Websites.
Lots of companies are online. Check them out. Try one of the search engines (like Yahoo, Alta Vista, WebCrawler and Microsoft Search Wizard).
Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes
This is a long list of all the types of companies there are. If the type of company you want to work for isn't here, you'd better start your own company!
     

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