Have you managed to secure a job interview with a company you don't know much about? Are you investigating which companies might have employment opportunities? Do you have a job offer that you're not sure about taking? There are traditional ways to investigate companies, like reviewing information on the company website, but employers and recruiters already know what's on their website. They're looking for you to give them something extra
There are more ways to conduct job research today than there were even a few years ago. Blogs, online job networking resources and discussion forums are all ways to find out more about a company or a job. These are excellent sources for locating insider information and asking questions you're worried would sound stupid during an interview, as well as a good way of appraising the company's strengths and expansion prospects.
Career Networking Websites
Online job searching networking does work. Sites like Monster and LinkedIn can help you get in touch with other networkers at specific companies, with college affiliations or in a certain geographic area. In addition, if you're a university graduate, your university might have an alumni career network you can access.
Business Blogs
The world of blogs has expanded and exploded in the last few years, with analysts, ex-employees and business reporters churning out lots of content on all the minute decisions made by corporations.
As About.com notes, "A business blog can provide a 'voice' for a company that educates and informs website visitors; it is more easily updated than traditional web pages. These are several good examples of company blogs, like the Google blog, that are supported by the company. They tell potential employees about the company’s culture."
Blogs are a great source for candid, hard-to-get information that can give you even more insight into issues that the company may, or may not, want to share. If the blog lists a lot of derogatory information, it's best to keep this to yourself, but if you can find a point that you can turn into a positive for yourself, such as expansion into a new area of business, this could prove to be a job-clincher.
Discussion boards
Search online for company-specific discussion boards to help you get the inside scoop on career fields and employers that interest you. You will be able to research a specific job or the company hiring process. For example, on Vault.com's Morgan Stanley board, you will find discussion on what you can expect to be paid as a financial advisor, what type of background check will be conducted if you're offered the job, along with a variety of other topics relevant to employment with the company.
