Research: What Separates the Hired from the Not HiredTargeting Your Skills to the Company’s Needs
Go to the Web site of a company that you’re interested in work-
ing for. If you don’t know of any companies that fit the bill, go to
http://www.hoovers.com. In the site search section, chose “search by
industry.” Then enter the name of an industry you’re targeting,
like “fashion.” Hoovers will come up with a long, healthy list of
companies for you to investigate, including the corporate Web
address for each of those companies.
When you’ve gotten to the corporate Web page of a compa-
ny you’d like to explore, have a look at the section of the Web site
that is announcing current job openings. Is your job there? What
kinds of specific words are used to describe the job title and its
responsibilities as well as the requirements for skills and educa-
tion, and especially personal traits and competencies?
Now look back at your skills summary page in Chapter 2. Are
your skills a good fit with this company, or do you think that you
might need to pick out some other skills from your arsenal to
emphasize to this particular employer?
After exploring the whole Web site, what are the
personal traits and competencies that appear to be
called for by this company and this job?Is the company looking for loyalty or risk taking? Does it prefer
the use of time-tested conventional methods or innovation? Is the
company looking for highly independent or more team oriented
people? Do they expect you to come in and “hit the ground run-
ning” or learn more slowly as you go?
Researching a company from information that theysupply in
print or on the Web can obviously put you way ahead of the com-
petition—and more at ease in the interview, because you know
whom you’re talking to.
There is, however, something missing when you operate only
from the information that the company wantsyou to hear about
it. It’s important to also look at what other people are saying