Want the job? Then do great research prior to your interview. This article shows you how
If you haven"t taken the time to do any research, with high unemployment who will get the call for a second interview? The candidate who impresses you with their research skills and enthusiasm or the person who asks an inane question?Company Web site:
Research company history,products and services, press releases for the one-two years, financial condition, office locations, and career opportunities, (look for various position descriptions and responsibilities). Review investor relations and/or services (request an annual report ASAP), management profiles, product performance, fund management, company management, technology, long and short term objectives.
Edgar Database:
Go to the Edgar Database, www.sec.gov and copy the most recent 10K if the company is public. From the 10K report, you should evaluate and familiarize yourself with the companiesð€™ financials, executives, their backgrounds, legal and compliance issues, overall business plan and their competition.
*Go to: http://www.sec.gov/ . Go to Filings and Forms: Search for Company Filings: then go down to custom search SEC Central Index Key or CIK then type in the company name, for example Putnam. (do a Putnam CIK lookup and about 100 hits come up) Business and Financial Media:
Read Bloomberg, Dow Jones, Motley Fool, Morningstar and The Wall Street Journal. Look for information about the company you are interviewing with. What are the articles about? New products, financial problems or competitor issues? Note pertinent information that could be included in a WOTS analysis and an opportunity for you to (1) identify a problem and (2) solve a problem. Include competition and vendors in your research.
Other:
Visit chat rooms associated professionals associations only to check other"s perspectives, issues and concerns. Though it"s good to obtain insight, you do not want to make any career decisions based on second hand information.Â
Remember, anyoneð€™s opinion ð€“ is just that ð€“ their opinion. Not the facts. Gossip and opinions are not a foundation on which to evaluate a career decision. Previous employees are not a good source of information due to their bias. Carefully balance any information you obtain however they may also give you insight into the management and culture. Good sources of information include:
www.Hoovers.com
www.highbeam.com
www.vault.com
Go to the library to obtain industry statistics, economics, top executives and information for your WOTS analysis:Â Â
U.S. Industrial Outlook
The S&P Industrial outlook
The Annual Business Week issue of Whoð€™s Who in the top 1000 companies
The Marquee Listing of Whoð€™s Who
Standard & Poorð€™s Registry of Corporations, Directors and Executives
Directory of Associations & Association of Industry Professionals
Additonal sites to obtain information:
*http://online.wsj.com/home-page
*http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
*http://www.time.com/time/
*http://businessweek.com/
*http://www.forbes.com
*http://money.cnn.com
*http://newsweek.com
*http://www.chiefexecutive.net
*http://www.cfo.com Where you to find information on private companies:
*Forbes 200 Best small companies in America
*Forbes Top 500 Private Companies
*The Inc. 500
*Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500
*InformationWeek 500
*Annual Report Service, http://www.annualreportservice.com/
*Includes online and free hard copy annual reports. Links to annual report sites on public companies tradies on the NYSE< NASDAQ, AMEX, and OTC exchanges
*Annual Report Gallery, http://www.reportgallery.com/
*Annual Reports listings, online versions in HTML and PDF.
*Baronð€™s Annual Reports Service, http://barrons.ar.wilink.com/
*Order hard copies of annual reports online.
*CorpTech, https//www.corptech.com/
*Data and information on high technology manufacturing, development and service companies
*Carol World, http:www.carol.co.uk/
*Free corporate online services offering one point access to corporate annual reports and other investor information from companies in the UK, USA and Asia.
*Companies Online, http://www.companiesonline.com/
*Find company web sites by names, industry, city, or ticket symbol
*E-line Financials, http://www.financials.com/
*A finance and investment resource for individual investors. Stock quotes, companies profiles, portfolio tracking, and annual reports.
*Fortune, Money, Business 2.0, Fortune Small Business
*Financial Times, Guide to Understanding Financials
*Provides a basic introduction to reading the financial statement in a companyð€™s annual report.
*High beam Research, www.highbeam.com
*Investquest, http://www.investquest.com/
*Search for comprehensive investor presentations and financial documents for 10,000+ public companies.
*Investor Relations Asia, http://www.irasia.com/listco/
*Database of financial information on listed companies in Asia including annual reports, interim reports and press releases.
*SEDAR, http://www.sedar.com
*Access securities related information for Canadian companies
*The Corporate Library, http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com
*The Scannery, http://www.thescannery.com/Investor focused web search platform that only searches the websites of public companies from around the world.
*Vault research, http://www.vault.com Good luck in your interview, now go show them what you"ve got!