4 Killer Ways To Use Research In Job Search

By: Phil Rosenberg

An important part of resume customization and interview preparation is research. How can you research more effectively?

Most candidates don’t spend much time with research until interview preparation. While research is an important way to stand out in interviews, research is even more effective in preparing to send a resume – because so few candidates do much research at this stage, the ones that do can stand head and shoulders above the rest.

What Type Of Information Should Candidates Research?

Many candidates research a public company’s annual report, looking for sales and profit figures, understanding what industry they are in, who the officers are, and the major events of the past year. They research historically. But few of these facts will help much in making your resume standout, or impressing an interviewer.

How can you make the most of your research time? Research prospectively – to gain insight on what’s happening now and what is expected within the company.

Think of research as finding information that falls into three categories:

1) Company Goals & Challenges

2) Questions

3) Culture

The person with the most and best information often wins. Most candidates stop with the easy public research (at the end of the list below). Few candidates dig deeper to find information that their competitors don’t have. Your best source of information is people within your target company. Insiders have the juicy details, non-public information, and gossip that can be of huge value to understand the company’s goals/problems, develop questions, and understand the culture.

Learn how to research a potential employer more effectively and find some less apparent research sources … http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/07/4-killer-ways-to-use-research.html

Source: http://recareered.blogspot.com Article courtesy of the http://www.recruitingblogswap.com Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for http://collegerecruiter.com/ college students  looking for internships  and http://collegerecruiter.com/ recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.