Researching/Locating Employers

Researching Employers
As you develop your marketing strategy, you will want to develop a list of employers to contact regarding employment opportunities. Remember, the most effective job search campaign is one that is focused on employers who will probably be interested in the skills and abilities you have to offer. There are several ways to find employment opportunities:

CareerBeam, L.L.C. 

CareerBeam offers the best company and industry research tools, international databases and lead generation technology available in the market. There is also a career development seminar series that has assessments, professional résumé and cover letter builders and search strategy resources.

 

VAULT® Online Career Library
The VAULT® Online Career Library is now available through the Ohio University Office of Career Services. Ohio University students on the Athens campus are able to view a large number of valuable career-related resources. Library items include career and industry guidebooks, employer and occupation profiles, industry overviews, career advice articles and much more. If you are looking for interviewing advice, information on internships or a specific company, the occupational outlook for various careers, or any career-related subject, link to the VAULT® online library.

Use your Oak email address to sign up for a password, which will then be forwarded to you by email. Contact staff members at career.services@ohio.edu or at 740-593-2909 if there are any questions.

To download Vault® guides for FREE, you need Adobe Reader. You may already have this installed on your computer; if you do not, you can download it FREE and install it in 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your connection.
Vault® recommends using the Default Download version with Adobe Reader 8.x.

Download Adobe Reader
Upgrade to Adobe Reader 8.x

Career Resource Center
There is a good selection of directories with contact information for businesses, industries and a variety of other organizations. Most of these directories have descriptions of these organizations including such information as size, their products or services, location(s) and other useful data. For students seeking teaching positions, directories of public and private school systems can also be found in the Career Resource Center.

Many individual organizations have provided informational literature(brochures, annual reports, position descriptions) for our resource center.

You may pick up your own copy of two national publications relating to the job search and employers who hire college graduates in Career Services:

• National Association of Colleges and Employers publishes "Job Choices" which includes 3 volumes: Volume 1 lists employers of business and liberal arts graduates; Volume 2 lists employers of science, engineering and technology graduates; and Volume 3 highlights issues relevant to minority students. All issues include articles and information on handling your job search.
• The American Association for Employment in Education's "Job Search Handbook for Educators" contains articles on seeking and applying for teaching positions.

On-Campus Employer Contact Opportunities
Career Services provides several activities through which you can make contact with potential employers on campus.

• Three career fairs are scheduled throughout the academic year. These include the Ohio University Fall Career Fair; Ohio University Winter Career Fair; and the Teacher Recruitment Consortium in the Spring Quarter.
• Some employers schedule on-campus interviews to discuss opportunities with students. Some seek summer or break employees or interns. To interview for full-time opportunities requiring completion of a degree, you must be registered with Career Services. Most organizations come to campus during the fall and winter quarters.
• Career Services co-sponsors alumni networking receptions or programs with several of the colleges. Alumni who come to such events are interested in sharing information with current students about what they are doing, how they found their positions, preparation needed to work in their fields and other helpful information.

Alden Library
The Ohio University library maintains both the Standard and Poor's Guide to Corporations and Dun and Bradstreet's Directory. These publications contain information about many corporations and are cross-referenced by geographic area and product or service. Alden Library also has information on "Fortune 500" and "Fortune 1000" companies as well as other helpful publications in which you may research organizations.

Business and Professional Associations
Each profession has its own trade or professional association to which practitioners in that field belong. If you are not sure which association exists for your particular field of interest, you should check the Directory of National Trade and Professional Associations in the Career Resource Center.

You should explore publications of the appropriate professional association for information about recent developments and who is doing what in the field. Some associations list position openings and provide the opportunity for candidates to list their availability in their newsletters or journals.

Note: If you have not already joined the professional association that relates to your chosen career field, consider doing it now. It is usually much less expensive to join as a student member!

Contacting Organizations Directly
If there are specific employers in whom you have an interest, contact them and request more information about their organizations. Almost all organizations have informational brochures about their products and services, annual reports (if they are "publicly held" companies), pamphlets or brochures about their activities, newsletters or other publications. These are usually available for the asking.

If you are nearby, you can often pick up literature in the organization's reception area. (It is always a good idea to ask before you take anything!)

Networking
Networking is a very effective method of identifying potential employers and actual openings. It involves:

• developing and maintaining contact with people who might know of job openings;
• letting your networking contacts know what type of work you are seeking; and
• asking them to share news of possible openings with you and your resume with people they know who might have openings.

Your network may include friends, relatives, neighbors, former or current employers, faculty, etc. Networking can bring job opportunities to your attention that you may not otherwise hear about.

Some people with whom you connect through your network may be willing to actively assist you by distributing your resume, referring you to employers, or "putting in a good word" for you. Do not ask for, or expect, special favors from people you do not know very well. You do not want to impose on their good will.

In order for a network to be productive, you must maintain regular contact.

• Keep your network informed of what you are doing -- any progress you have made.
• Let them know the results of any referrals they may have given you.
• Don't forget to say thank you for any assistance they give you!