2. Outline
• Why is this important?
• Company Information
• News
• Industry Trends
• Questions
3. Why is this important?
• Assists in matching your skills
and interests with the company
• Provides a good first impression
• Can make you standout in the crowd
• Increases your confidence
• Employers expect it!
4. Sources of Company Information
• Company Websites
• Business Directories
• News (trade magazines, business
newspapers, etc.)
• Career Center Library (Koldus 209)
• Personal/Network Contacts
5. Company Information (con’t)
• Things you may want to know:
– Vision, Mission, and Values
– Products/Services
– Facts/Figures
– Customers, Competitors, and Markets
– Corporate History
– Latest News
– Their Industries / Their Place
6. Company Websites
• “About Us”
• Annual Reports
– Often under “Investors” section
• News
– Let them do the work for you!
Ex: Solutia
http://www.solutia.com/en/Default.aspx
7. Business Directories
• Provides some basic information
• Often allows searching by:
– Geographic
– Industry
– Size
• Provides some additional leads
Ex: Hoover’s
ReferenceUSA
8. Company News
• Company Websites – All Good News
• Business Directories
• Web (e.g., Google News, Industry Blogs…)
• Trade Magazines (C&EN, Chemical Week,
ICIS Chemical Business, etc.)
– Business Source Complete
– ABI/Inform Global Complete
The two business databases above will allow you
to search those trade magazines for a company,
as well as set-up search alerts.
9. Industry
• Business Source Compete
– Contains Datamonitor reports
• Kirk-Othmer and Ullmanns
– Process Chemistry and Industry Context
• C&EN’s Facts & Figures (~ July Issue)
– Various rankings and other metrics
• Plunkett’s
– More business/financially oriented
