Job Search : Helpful Tips

1.   Never go to an interview without industry information. The interviewer will expect you to not only know about the company but their industry as well.

2.   Many of the articles you read about your target company will mention their competitors. The competition can be possible targets in your job search..

3.   If you have an office interview and are meeting with several people, do a search for information about those people. This type of information might come in handy.

4.   DO NOT BRING UP PERSONAL INFORMATION you found on Social Media

5.   Organizing your job search information will save you time. Example:

   a.   Industry reports are done once a year do don't keep printing and reading the same report for new information. Set up an organization system so that you do not keep running and re-reading the same reports.

   b.   If you have 2^nd and 3^rd interviews, do not re-run the journal searches unless you want to look at something you have not covered. Start from the date of your last search.

1.   The company’s website is part of their PR and like your resume, will not tell you anything they consider to be detrimental to their image. It is your responsibility to make sure you have all the information not just what they want you to know.

2.   The various public company databases pull the data from a range of SEC filings which means they are reporting mostly current information. They may give 2-15 years of financial data but the rest is current. To find out older information you need to look at older SEC filings.

3.   Several of the company databases will give you access to current and older SEC filings.

4.   SEC filings can give incredible information on a company. Example:

   a.    Annual Report – look a

      i.    President’s Letter or Letter to Shareholders – compare what is said to what actually occurred

      ii.   Management Comment – analyzes company’s performance

      iii.   Footnotes – if they changed their accounting procedures they explain why in Footnotes. Sometimes the “why” is very interesting.

   b.   10K

      i.   Part 1 items 1 – company’s description of their lines of business

      ii.   Part 1 item 3 - description of any legal proceedings the company is involved in

      iii.   Part 2 item 7 – management’s discussion of the company’s financial condition

5.   Subsidiaries and Divisions of public companies must be treated like a private company. They report to the parent and their information is part of the parent company’s report.

6.   If while searching SEC filings or news articles, you find information that concerns you (red flag), do not overlook this. Depending on what you find you might need to look further than 2 years or use other terms when doing a search of articles on the company.  

1.   Industry reports are usually updated once a year and dated.

2.   When looking for articles with an industry focus use the DOCUMENT TYPES setting that many of journal databases offer.

3.   Associations collect information on their industry from industry insiders. Many associations sell the data they collect but can put a surprising about of data on their web site for free. To identify associations go to:  

   a)   Associations Unlimited

   b)   NetAdvantage – it will be part of the Industry Survey

   c)   Plunkett Research Center