Demonstrating knowledge about the employer is an excellent way to communicate your interest. For some companies, this is as important as your ability to do the job. Going into the interview with a thorough understanding of the company will allow you to spend more time “telling your story” and discussing the details of the position.

More often than we would like, employers who recruit on campus tell us that some students are not prepared and have not researched their organization. Naturally, employers want to hire people who know about their company and are excited about contributing to their mission.

Information you will want to know about the company may include:

size of organization
location of facilities
structure of organization - by product line, function, 
   past, current & potential growth
types of clients
product lines or services
potential markets
price of products or services
present price of stock
structure of assets
primary competitors
name of recruiter or others with hiring responsibility
training provisions
relocation policies
length of time in assignments
recent items in the news
others you know in the organization – especially Davidson alumni

It is also important to research issues, trends, problems, and jargon of the field. Get this information from people in the field, company literature, public and career libraries, trade journals, newsletters, business magazines, and directories. Prepare a list of well-researched questions for the interviewer.

There are a number of different places to do employer research:  

Guide to Researching the Employer
The Career Service Office's comprehensive guide to researching potential employers, including small and large companies, non-profits, organizations, institutions, and governments using print and electronic resources. 

Websites
Davidson eCareers provides a searchable database of employers with which we have an ongoing relationship.  Each listing has a link to the employer's homepage.  You can also do a Google search using the name of the company or organization you are interested in. Additionally, LexisNexis Company Dossier, Encyclopedia of American Industries, and many others provided by College Library have a variety of company information.  Go to Business Resources for a full list and access to these sites.  Employer profiles are provided by Career Services through the Vault Reports websites. (Students with davidson.edu domain email addresses may download ebooks from Vault for free.  Click on the link and then request a password, which will be valid for 24 hours.)

Annual Reports
These are usually available on the website or through the company's public relations department. Some are also available for free through the online Annual Report Service.  Public businesses are required to publish annual reports; private businesses often do as well.

Investment Reports
Value Line Investment Survey, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s contain analyses of public businesses whose stock is available for purchase.

Advertisements
In addition to magazines ads, most firms will send brochures about their products and services if you request them. These give a general picture of how the company presents its reputation, breadth of products and services, and quality.

General Media
Skim newspapers, magazines such as Financial World, Barron’s, Business Week, and Fortune, and trade journals published by major cities.  To quickly locate news items, use one of the electronic indexes available through the College Library or the N.C. Live Collection.

Information Interviews
Many small organizations have little or no information available to the public. Many, however, will be happy to provide information if you ask for it. Write the head of the organization and ask for specific information; mention that it is for general inquiry into your field of interest.

eCareers Alumni Mentor Network
Use the Mentor Network in Davidson eCareers to locate Davidson alumni who work for the company you’re researching. Mentors in this network have volunteered to provide career information and guidance to Davidson students and graduates.

Other Alumni Resources
Ask the Careers Services office to search the college's alumni database, classified by location and vocation, for contacts at the company you’re researching. Though  these alumni have not specifically volunteered to grant informational interviews, most are open to requests from Davidson students and graduates.

Your next task is to organize the information you have gathered into a profile. There are two reasons to do this: first, many interviewers will be impressed to know that you have developed such a profile, and second, it will give you the data you need to handle the interview and make a decision about any job offers that may be tendered.