Job Search Unplugged: How to Research (Part 3 of 4)
"This is the kid, calls me 59 days in a row, wants to be a player. There
ought to be a picture of you in the dictionary under persistence kid." - Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street"
Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, is one of my favorite movies. In the scene referenced by the quote above, Bud Fox (played by Sheen) brings a box of Gordon Gekko's (Douglas) favorite cigars to his office, hoping to secure a few minutes of his time.
(Please note, I don't advise you bring gifts to contacts... unless you're playing a character in a late 1980's movie about investment banking :)
This blog is going to be about conducting research for your informational interviews. Follow these steps and you will be better prepared than 99% of job seekers!
1- Do a Google search on your contact's name. Print out relevant articles, bios, etc.
2- Search for your contact's name on LinkedIn. Print out the profile. Also take a look if there are any links to blogs, Web sites, associations, etc.
3- Search LexisNexis for the past year on your contact's name.
4- Repeat #3 on Google News.
5- Search Google News for information on the company. Set up an RSS feed from Google News to send relevant articles to your blog reader every day. (If you need help with this, post a comment and I'll walk you through the process).
6- Research the company's Web site, especially the news, press room, investor or media areas. Print out a few recent press releases.
7- Find and sign up for a few industry-related blogs.
8- Find out if your contact is on Twitter; also follow anyone else who works at the company.
9- Compile a summary of all this data in a couple pages that you can bring to your meeting.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, is one of my favorite movies. In the scene referenced by the quote above, Bud Fox (played by Sheen) brings a box of Gordon Gekko's (Douglas) favorite cigars to his office, hoping to secure a few minutes of his time.
(Please note, I don't advise you bring gifts to contacts... unless you're playing a character in a late 1980's movie about investment banking :)
This blog is going to be about conducting research for your informational interviews. Follow these steps and you will be better prepared than 99% of job seekers!
1- Do a Google search on your contact's name. Print out relevant articles, bios, etc.
2- Search for your contact's name on LinkedIn. Print out the profile. Also take a look if there are any links to blogs, Web sites, associations, etc.
3- Search LexisNexis for the past year on your contact's name.
4- Repeat #3 on Google News.
5- Search Google News for information on the company. Set up an RSS feed from Google News to send relevant articles to your blog reader every day. (If you need help with this, post a comment and I'll walk you through the process).
6- Research the company's Web site, especially the news, press room, investor or media areas. Print out a few recent press releases.
7- Find and sign up for a few industry-related blogs.
8- Find out if your contact is on Twitter; also follow anyone else who works at the company.
9- Compile a summary of all this data in a couple pages that you can bring to your meeting.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
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