Why wait for a job advertisement to appear or a recruiter to call when you could be proactively seeking out opportunities to target companies by preparing a carefully researched mailshot.
The first step is to identify the criteria that will help you locate the right companies and industries to fit with your ideal work preferences. You need to consider the marketplace as widely as possible. In broadening your job search the chances of success can be increased greatly.
Research is an essential part of the job search process. You need to satisfy yourself that the opportunities you explore are matched to your needs and aspirations and that you are armed with as much information as possible when attending interviews.
This will not only help your confidence but make the interviewer think that you are serious about contributing to the organisation and not just on a round of interviews where you’ll take the first thing that comes along.
The steps below should help you to work through the processes involved in targeting and researching companies, industries and individuals.
Quick guide to targeting a company
Core competencies
Keep your research simple and focused. Go to a company’s web site and learn the basics, and as part of your homework, find out the firm’s core competencies or the skill sets that they expect each new employee to have.
If a firm’s core competencies are ‘ability to work in teams’, ‘results orientation’, and ‘analytical thinking’, then chances are very high that the firm’s interview questions will address those areas.
More importantly, a firm’s core competencies can have a large impact on their culture, so knowing them will help you decide if the work environment will be agreeable.
Remember, company research is not just to help you do well in an interview; it also will help you decide if the firm is where you want to be.
How do they interview?
Aside from learning about a company through their web site, you could benefit from knowing how the firm interviews.
Do they ask case questions? Are there multiple interview rounds? Does the firm use interview panels, or is each interview conducted with a one-on-one format? Finding this information beforehand can lower your stress level and make you a more relaxed candidate.
Where you find this information requires a little creativity, but the best source is people you may know at the firm or friends who have gone through the interview process already.
Armed with this information, your focus on the day of the interview will be much sharper, and your discussions will cover only the topics that matter most.
A little goes a long way
Once you’ve done all the necessary research on a firm, store it away in your memory for the actual interview.
Use it in a limited fashion, or seamlessly mix it into with discussions about your work experience, your personality, and your goals.
Think of your newfound company knowledge as a fail-safe cushion for questions such as ‘Why do you want to work here?’ and ‘What is it about our firm that interests you?’
A little company information goes a long way with these questions. Leave your doctoral thesis at home, and do not be afraid to express your ignorance on certain topics, because recruiters do look for a certain level of intellectual humility.
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