Researching Companies to Identify the Right Fit
Making a career change will take time and effort. Ultimately, the time you invest in learning about companies and industries of interest will pay off in generating new ideas, connections, and opportunities for your career.
There is abundant information to be learned on company websites. Making it a habit to peruse company websites is an important first step to laying a foundation for the next steps of your career. There are some key areas of company sites that you should focus on that will be useful. It is good practice to compile this information for easy reference.
“Effort is one of those things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it.”
– Carol Dweck, Mindset
Structuring your Research
When you are conducting your research, it is important to know what to look for and to find a way to keep all your information organized.
Building a research dashboard, a one-page visual tool where you summarize and organize the information you have found through your research, is a good practice to get into the habit of.
You can lay out your dashboard in any way that makes logical sense to you, but here are some examples so you get a sense of your end result.
Starting Your Online Research
Review the following steps for your online research.
End result?
A quick guide that will help you structure your decision making!
Additional Advantage: If you are able to secure an informational interview or an interview, you can use your dashboard as a quick cheat sheet when answering or asking questions. Prospective employees are always impressed by a candidate who is prepared and organized.