You have identified a company for which you
want to work. Your first objective is to get an interview - a sales
call - with the highest-level decision maker in the company. To get
that interview you must demonstrate how you can benefit the
company. To determine how you can benefit the company requires
diligent and resourceful homework and research. Do your homework as
if you were the CEO of the company and were thinking, "How can I
improve this company? How can I grow sales, increase profits, cut
costs, speed up innovataion?" With these guiding thoughts, the goal
of your research of the company is to discover ideas, suggestions,
observations that could lead to economic improvement.
Whether your
expertise is in manufacturing, sales, accounting, research and
development (R&D), or anything at all, conduct your research as
if you were in charge of that function; and also answer the
question, "How can I improve the production process, in order to
shorten deliveries, improve product quality, reduce scrap?" Or,
"How can I improve marketing, finance, human resources?" and so
on.
There are numerous
sources of information about nearly every company. Information is
in the library, in stores, in retired employees, in databases, on
the Internet. You want to learn all you can about the company, its
people, its products, it markets, its competition, and its
future.
If you follow the
research routes (outlined here) you will learn more about the
company than is known by most of the company's employees. No other
candidate competiting for the same job will do this research.
1. Call the company and request sales
literature, annual reports, technical information, product
brochures, price lists. You may have to say you are a potential
customer, a possible investor, or a consultant doing research for a
client interested in buying product. These are all possibly true
statements.
2. If the product is available at retail, visit
the stores. Buy the product if affordable, use the product. Talk to
store personnel. Get the names of the salespeople who sell to the
stores. Get the store's opinion on the company, ideas for new
products, what competitors are doing.
3. If the product is sold through a
distribution system, visit a local distributor. Ask about the
quality of the product, the skill and training of the sales force,
new market opportunities, technical support.
4. If the product is sold directly to
customers, call some. Ask the customers' opinions on delivery,
reputation, innovation, sales force, warranty issues.
5. Call the company's 800 number. Analyze the
experience.
6. Call the company's advertising agency and
talk to the account executive responsible for the client. Ask where
you can see or hear the advertising. Find out at what trade shows
the company exhibits.
7. There are magazines for nearly every
industry. Call the magazines and get articles on the company.
Whether or not your target company is a member of a trade
association, there are often such associations that can provide
good information.
8. Talk to salespeople and employees of the
company and of its competitors. Talk to ex-employees of the company
and competitors.
9. Get the competitors' literature.
10. Call suppliers to the company and to the
industry. If the company makes chewing gum, talk to people who sell
flavors. If the company makes the entire product in-house, talk to
people who supply services such as printing or sales
automation.
11. Lexis-Nexis is a good Internet search
engine to use when your target company's name has appeared in
print.
When doing your
research, constantly ask about problems, changes in the
marketplace, areas to improve, trends that affect the company, new
product ideas.
You now are prepared
to write a compelling impact letter to the company's CEO. Develop
an effective show piece for your interviews. Craft thoughtful
needs-analysis questions for your interviews. Then hit the road
running when you are hired.