Get the Right Job Target Your Top 20 Companies

Get the Right Job – Target Your Top 20 Companies

By Larry LaBelle, Training Tamer Inc.

Why Should You Target Your Top 20 Companies?

If you’re looking for a new job, will it be the right and perfect job for you or just another job? In today’s economy, many of us are driven by our personal financial condition to take any job to get employed again, be able to pay our bills and get rid of the fear and stress associated with long term unemployment.

Often times, this seems like best, most logical short term choice but in the near and long term, it can be a disaster. If you accept a job that doesn’t full use your talents, you have a manager whose style doesn’t support you, you have to work outrageously long hours or the company’s culture is 180 degrees from yours, you won’t be happy and probably won’t stay long. And if you get down and don’t perform, you might lose the job. So how do you get the perfect and right job and company for you? Let’s see!

The very first step is to find the top 20 companies you’d like to work for and then try to get a job in one of them. The key to making this work is to first create a set of criteria for researching and selecting these 20 companies. There are two categories of research information: Primary and Secondary.

Primary Research Criteria

There are 6 primary research criteria. First, you want to research their products and services to see if they are a fit for you given your background, experience and personal preferences.

Second you want to check out the company’s history and corporate culture to see if the company’s ethics, work environment, dress codes and values align with yours.

Third, you want to determine the company’s mission and goals (both short and long term) to see if where they are and where they are going is a match for you.

Fourth, you want to check out the company’s financial status to ensure that the company is financially stable and won’t be doing layoffs anytime soon. Any company that is publicly traded on the stock exchange has an annual report containing this information. You can get it from their website (if it’s available there) or call the company and request a copy.

Fifth, you want to check out the company’s organizational structure. If you like to be able to touch people at all levels of the company, you won’t want to work in a firm with a complex and multi-layered org chart. Sixth, you want to check to see if the company has an office in your local area so you don’t have to move or commute a long distance each day. Now some companies allow work at home employees and if they do, it won’t matter where the company is located. Always ask about this, even if a company doesn’t support it at the moment. Who knows, you may be the first to get it.

The sixth primary research criteria is to determine whether the company has the kind of job you want. If you were a trainer and your target company didn’t do any training, you’d probably rule them out. If they do, check out the salary range for these positions to make sure they meet your needs.

Secondary Research Criteria

There are 5 secondary research criteria. First, check out the possible career advancement paths and opportunities that are available to you. Second, how complete and comprehensive are the benefits the company offers and what will you have to pay each pay period for them? Also, how much are the co-pay amounts for health, dental, and vision plans? How do the benefits compare to what you’ve received in your previous job? Remember, benefits are worth between 25 and 45 percent of your base salary to look at this closely so you don’t leave money on the table.

Finally, what type of employee training and ongoing support does the company provide? Do you get comprehensive training when you start to you don’t have struggle during your first 3-6 month and doing the old “fake it till you make it” routine to get by?

What Are Sources for Finding This Information?

Below is a list of sources for gathering research information on your Top 20 Companies.

•Find Companies though Family, Friends, Co-Workers, etc.

•Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Book of Lists(available at Library)

–Provides information on top 200, top 100 and top 50 companies in the Tampa Bay Area

•Tampa Bay Business Journal

–Provides information on activities in local businesses and also discusses new companies that are moving to Tampa

–New companies will be creating jobs and if you contact the parent company before they create their new office in Tampa, you can beat the competition by applying before they move here and start advertising for their jobs (the hidden job market at its best)

•Chamber of Commerce Member List

–Use Google or Yahoo to locate the chamber’s website

–Search for “Chamber of Commerce, Your City, Your State”

–You can go to two meeting FREE before you will be asked to join

–You can get a list of the current membership with names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses – Awesome resource

•Online Yellow Pages or White Pages

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•Hoover’s Online

–Provide a free trial

–Search for companies using the Companies search field in the upper left corner of the screen

–Site provides information on company: Address/Phone, Company Description, Industry Information, Key People, Biographies, Company Financials, etc.

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•Vault

–Search for companies using the Companies search field in the upper left corner of the screen. Set your search type to Company using the mini menu above the Search field before entering a company name in the Search field

–Site provides information on company: Address/Phone, Stats, Company Description, Info on Company from Community, Employer Ranking, Employee Reviews, Salary Reports, Discussions Related to Company, Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity Information, etc.

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•Reference USA

–Can access at most local libraries

–Must have a library card to access the database

–Can access the database from home via the Internet

–Database provides information on all sizes of companies from small mom and pop shops all the way up to the major corporations but less personnel and financial information is available for small companies

–Use the Custom Search so you have more search criteria fields to help you find companies (e.g. # employees search field to find companies with the # employees between X and Y)

–Site provides information on company: Address/Phone/Fax, Business Profile, Industry SIC and NAICS Codes, Location Map, Business Demographics, Management Directory, Company News, Stock Data, Business Expenditures, Historical Data, UCC Filings, Nearby Businesses, Competitor’s Report and Brands & Products.

•Wetfeet

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–Provides a trial subscription

–Use the Company Profiles link on left side of screen

–Provides info on Key Facts, Key Financial Facts (revenue amount and growth rate), Personnel Highlights (# employees and growth rate), and a Company Overview

•Edgar SEC Filings

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•Jobatorial

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–Contains pro and con information about companies submitted by current and past employees

•Use Google or Yahoo to find company’s websites (if not available from earlier research)

–Go to site and do in-depth research on company

Check Blogs on company’s website, if any

–Print out info and write down any questions you have

•Check out Public Opinion on Companies

–User Google’s Usenet Service

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Enter the company name in the Google Search Box at the top

•Check out Public Opinion on Stock Performance

–Silicon Investor’s Stock Talk

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–Raging Bull

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Criteria for Picking Your Top 20 Companies

Below are the criteria I use to select my top 20 companies.

•Company’s financial health & employee growth

•Company pay scale meets your needs

•Comprehensiveness of benefits

•Company has jobs in your field

•Corporate culture matches your needs

•Size of company fits your needs

•Commute distance works for you

•Flex time or work at home options available

•Whatever else is important to you

Work Your Top 20 Companies to Get Insider Help

Once you’ve picked your top 20, you need to prioritize them from most to least important to you. Then start mining these companies for jobs start from the top of the list. For each company, you want get an insider from your personal network or LindedIn connections who can be your champion in helping you win a job in the company.

You champion can get you the hiring manager’s name and contact information, tell you about the company’s problems and any new initiatives they’re undertaking (so you can position yourself as the best candidate to handle them) and bring your resume to the hiring manager with a personal referral. This last part is the most important. Remember, HR staff and hiring managers will typically consider referred candidates before anyone else since they were referred by an existing employee who they know and trust. It also means they won’t have to pay any recruiter fees for this person either.

Before you ask your champion for help, be sure to build a strong relationship with himfirst and find a way to help him. That way, your champion will be much more inclined to want to help you! If you take the time to nurture a trusting relationship and provide help before seeking assistance, 90% of the people will want to help you and 70% actually will; otherwise, only 4% will help you. That’s a quantum leap and one you want to take full utilize if you want to win a job fast!

Happy Hunting & Remember to Win That Job!

Your Top 20 Companies