How to Research a Potential Employer

Just because you nailed your interview and got the job offer doesn’t guarantee that your potential employer is a perfect match for you, and it’s better for you if you find out the facts before you agree to take the job. And having as much information before even an interview has its benefits: you’ll be better equipped to answer questions about the company and its practices, you’ll know how far you can negotiate for benefits and salary and you’ll know if the interview is worth your time in the first place.

An employer can run credit checks, do background investigations and insist on drug tests on a potential employee. But what options do potential employees have?

At the most basic, you can type the company’s name into a search engine, like Google. Newspapers, and even most television stations, post their stories online, so if your potential employer has been in the news – for good reasons or bad – you can easily find out. Headlines with words like ‘scandal’ are always a warning to be careful, but be aware of more subtle clues. If a company is accused of negative behavior towards clients, it may be a sign that they don’t take care of their employees either.

Understand, however, that information posted online may be heavily biased. If a dissatisfied employee has posted information to his or her blog, it is important to take that sort of info with a grain of salt. However, you can contact the author of this sort of piece and try to get a feel for how serious their situation is.

If the company is large enough, there might be financial information or company profiles online. For some large companies, there is even information about workplace conditions and employee satisfaction online, although you shouldn’t count on being able to find information about salaries or benefits.

If the company you’re looking at has their own website, it’s always worth a read. At the very least, you might be able to tailor your answers to interview questions to details about the company. That can improve your ability to get the job, and it demonstrates your initiative to employers. Many websites will include press releases about the company and links to positive articles. Some also post staff bios for important members of the company and other details about their operations.

Lastly, take advantage of your networks. You may know someone who works there, so talk to them about how they are treated, work place conditions, etc. Many companies prohibit their employees from discussing salary, but there’s plenty of other information an employee can give you that can tell you if you want to work in a particular organization.

If you don’t personally know anyone who works for a given company, ask around. A friend or relative might. You can also use your online contacts. One of the best social networking sites for this sort of thing is LinkedIn, but MySpace and Facebook contacts can also be full of information. Generally, all you have to do is ask.