Researching Organizations of Interest

In the November Issue of Small Business Showcase, we talked about graduating seniors and how to locate various job opportunities. Once you have done this…it is critical to learn as much about the employing organizations as possible. This is ‘Stage Two’ of the interviewing process.

Once you have located the opportunities that exist ‘out there’ and you have pinned down an interview or two, the next step is to gather information on the organization(s) with which you are going to interview.

Again, your college placement office is a valuable resource in locating background information on numerous organizations hiring entry-level personnel.  College-based and public libraries also offer literature which can prove helpful in gaining some insight into an organization and their operations.  As well, the respective local chamber of commerce has numerous directories that can assist in familiarizing you with an interviewing firm.

If you have access to a Dun & Bradstreet data base, this can also be useful.  Professional publications, as mentioned earlier in locating opportunities, many times provide reference information on various organizations related to a specific industry.  But in the final analysis, the most obvious, most valuable, and yet the most overlooked source for gathering background information on a firm is the targeted organization itself.

It just makes sense that if you are going to interview with a specific organization, you should call someone internally and ask for material related to their operation.  Most people fail to do this because they are afraid that by calling directly for information indicates that they do not know about the organization, and this will reflect negatively on them.  This is not true.  Quite the contrary is true.  Direct research demonstrates interest and initiative.  Furthermore, if the truth were known, the person you interview with probably will never know you directly requested information on their respective organization.  They will just assume that it is your responsibility to do so, and if you don’t — that is when the negative begins to show through.’