The same resources you use for information about jobs are also useful for information about organizations. Job boards often have information about the organizations in their job postings and also in the career information sections. Another benefit of browsing job postings is that you may get ideas for organizations that are not household names. In addition to Vault.com and Monster.com, which have mainly private sector jobs, you want to look at USAJOBS (http://www.usajobs.gov/), the federal government’s official job site for information on public sector jobs. Idealist (http://idealist.org) is a good resource for nonprofit jobs.
Trade or professional associations usually have member directories, which are not just useful for finding people (at the networking stage in step 4) but also good for finding companies. A local chamber of commerce can help identify companies in a specific geography.
Business and news publications do profiles of organizations as well as people. These publications often produce top lists that also are useful organizational resources.Fortune magazine lists the largest companies in its Fortune 500 issue. It then segments the companies by geography and industry and profiles select companies.Fortune also tracks Most Admired Brands, Top Companies to Work For, and other categories. Fast Company lists the most innovative companies. Inc. lists the fastest-growing private companies. These lists are a great way to familiarize yourself with individual organization names and their relationship within their peer groups.
Organizations create groups or pages on social media sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow these groups or pages to get breaking news about your organizations of interest. By looking at profiles attached to these organizations, you can get a feel for the culture and environment.
For financial information on organizations, you have several options:
- Private companies are not obligated to disclose their financial information. Dun & Bradstreet’s Million
Dollar Directory has information on larger private companies. You might also look at industry reports for mentions of specific private companies.
- Public companies are required to file financial statements with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You can request these statements with the investor relations department of the company, or some may have their statements available online. Some companies collect this data for many organizations and make it available in a one-stop shop, such as http://www.annualreports.com or http://www.annualreportservice.com. In addition to just financial data, the 10-K financial statement is useful because a company is required to explain its business and to disclose challenges and trends in its business that may materially impact the numbers and data they are reporting. This section, often called risk factors, is a great summary of the critical issues for that company.
- Nonprofit companies have to file Form 990 with the IRS that lists operating costs, reserves, and salaries for top staff. Organizations that review charities, such as Guidestar (http://www2.guidestar.org), often have the 990 forms available.
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