Chapter 2 Part 2 – Understanding Companies

Posted by admin on Feb 16, 2010 in 2. Understanding Companies, Chapter 2 Pre-Interview, |Read The Book for FREE | 1 comment

So you have short listed the jobs and companies you are applying to. The next step is equally important. Understanding companies will not only help you to prepare for your possible interview in the future but more importantly, it will help you to prepare a killer cover letter and CV for your application. Below are some effective ways to know about the company you are applying to.

 Digest the Job Ad
Either it is from Jobstreet.com or a newspaper ad, it is very important for an applicant to understand the job ad. Job ads often give brief info about companies or departments that are hiring so give extra attention to all the details. At the same time, lines such as “We are expanding….” or “For our new office in China…” can indicate the reason behind their recruitment drive. For example, knowing that a company is expanding to China, your ability to speak Mandarin or your vast knowledge in China’s market economy may give you the extra advantage.

When there are many positions on a certain job ad, try to see a pattern amongst all the position. For example, if a company is recruiting a sales executive, an assistant sales manager and sales manager at the same time, it may indicate that the company is expanding in a bigger manner such as setting up a new sales office. You might want to do further research on current business news to find out if the company has recently announced new market, product or acquired a new company.

Also take note on the closing date. Some companies have a closing date that goes beyond 1 month while some will have a short period for application. A short period may indicate that the company is shorthanded and requires staff ASAP. This could work in favor of candidates that can start immediately.

Also note how often same job ads appear over different days and different medium. Some companies choose to advertise vacancy in different newspapers on the same day or different newspapers on different days. This gives a sign on how serious is the company looking for candidates. Also for multiple ads, expect a tougher competition to win the job.

 Company website and the Internet
The most accurate and frequently used method to find company info is the company’s official website. When there are 1,000 applicants applying for 1 position, it is expected at least 600 applicants will visit the website as a way to prepare themselves for the application and interview. How can you do it differently? Make use of the information available outside the company’s website. Get to know about the industry, competitors, trends and business news. For example, for companies that are listed in Bursa Malaysia (KL Stock Exchange), you can browse through BursaMalaysia.com.my and find the Company Announcement section along with Annual Reports for past years. This alone will give plenty of info.

Major newspapers like The Star and NST have their own website and online newspaper. Often they also have integrated search engine to search for past news. You should use this feature to search related news on the companies you are applying to. If all these fail, you still have the powerful Google to help you in searching for this info.

An important note is the availability of email addresses and contacts in Company’s website. Never use these contacts to find info about the company unless you cannot find it with the above ways. You do not want to give a wrong first impression.

 Ask People
This method works if you know anyone close to you that are connected to company you are applying. If you have relatives or friends working in the company or partnering companies, it could be very easy for you to find out things like why is the company recruiting? Which department/team will the newly hired be assigned to? Who will do the selection? What criteria are they looking for in a candidate? On top of that, it does help to have relatives or friends working in the company as having ‘insiders’ information about the people behind a recruitment campaign is very valuable.