Researching Employers
Researching employers is a vital part of the job application process, whether it’s to decide who to apply to, how best to tailor your application to the role or to impress an interviewer with your knowledge of the company.
What's the best way to research companies?
Try to find out as much as you can about employers before you apply to them, such as:
- what the employer does, e.g. their main areas of business or objectives, and who their customers/competitors are;
- current issues affecting the employer's business e.g. stock market trends, government legislation, company mergers;
- what the job you are applying for involves;
- the skills and experience the employer is looking for.
Visit employers’ websites - in particular, read up on their latest news and look at sections such as About Us, Media or Press Centre. Graduate employers often have a dedicated Careers section which can include case studies and graduate profiles.
The following resources can provide practical help, advice and information to help you with your research:
General
- Exploring occupations - see the Vacancy sources and employers sections for each particular sector.
- TARGETjobs: Employer insights - independent reviews about top graduate employers, including what the jobs are like, company culture, selection procedures, and current news. See also Graduate employer research checklist (scroll down page).
- The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers
- Sunday Times 100 Best Companies 2012
- Guardian Careers article: How to research a prospective employer
- Vault - information resource for career management and job search, which includes employer profiles and rankings, and insider intelligence on salaries, hiring practices and company cultures.
- Best Companies Guide
- Wetfeet - profiles of companies, careers and industries.
- Prospects – see Graduate Employers and Industry Insights
- Inside Careers
- AllAboutCareers.com: A-Z of Graduate Employers
- WikiJob - includes information on employers and their recruitment procedures.
- theJobCrowd - read job reviews written by employees in a range of companies.
- Inside Buzz - profiles of companies in various sectors, including accountancy, investment banking, consulting and law
- Brave New Talent - social networking platform for researching and connecting with graduate employers. Includes careers advice on video.
- Top Employers
- How to research a firm properly [pdf] - advice from Chambers and Partners focusing on researching law firms.
- Careerplayer - graduate employer directory and careers videos on a range of occupational sectors.
- CareerTV - A-Z of employer videos on a range of sectors (American site).
- Graduate Connections - online networking tool of around 700 graduates who can give students/recent graduates information and advice about their job and the sector they work in. Search by job title, company or degree discipline. This resource is available on campus or to logged-in users off campus.
- What do graduates do? - data showing what Newcastle University graduates have gone on to do six months after graduation. This may give you some ideas about potential employers.
Business directories/databases
- Kellysearch - information on more than two million business to business (B2B) companies around the world.
- Kompass - business information provider.
- Northcote Internet - free online research tool for listed company information. Also provides company information including financial reports, webcasts and press releases.
- CBI directory
- Yell.com
- Marketing Information – databases available to access via the Robinson Library, including Mintel Oxygen and Key Note databases for business intelligence and market research reports.
- Companies House: WebCheck - search for information on over 2 million companies.
News sources
Search for news stories about the company you are applying to and keep up to date with industry news.
- Exploring occupations - see the Sector overviews in each section for sector-specific industry news sources.
- Financial Times
- BBC Business News
- Google News
- Reuters
- Economist
- FE Investegate - news and announcements from UK quoted companies, including market and stock news.
- The Gateway Online
- NewsNow.co.uk
You can find more sources of news in newspapers and magazines.
Meet employers
Use every opportunity to meet and network with employers at:
- careers events such as employer presentations and recruitment fairs;
- conferences;
- or through work experience and volunteering.
Some professional associations offer membership for students and often hold events, which could provide a chance to meet established professionals. A recent Guardian Careers article talks about the benefits of joining a professional association whilst at university (Nov 2012).
A number of companies use social networking for business purposes, including recruiting. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can be useful for researching employers.
Just be careful, however, when using these sites, as employers are increasingly searching the internet before selecting candidates. There have been cases where employers have withdrawn job offers to people who have made inappropriate or negative comments about the company or its staff.
Make sure that whatever you write on a public website is something that you would be happy for a potential recruiter to see. Also see the Gradplus article Graduate Job hunters urged to watch their internet footprint
Takeaway resources available in the Careers Service
Supplies of these publications are occasionally limited, but reference copies are available.
- Prospects directory
- TARGETjobs GET directory
- Times Top 100
- TARGETjobs sector publications
- Prospects: Job seeking strategies booklet