1) job requirements (i.e., What are your responsibilities if hired?),
2) location/s (Where is the company located and is relocation a must?),
3) future viability of the company (i.e., Is the company stable and will the position be there tomorrow?),
4) possible career direction (i.e., What will you ultimately be doing?),
5) personal abilities and qualifications necessary to be employed in that field (e.g., if you want to be a physician’s assistant you
have to have the right training and qualifications),
6) compensation (i.e., money),
7) working conditions and political issues in the organization,
8) knowing about the products and history of the company and
9) the future of the field you are in (e.g., psychology, art, history, engineering, nursing, physical therapy etc.).

Lets briefly examine each of the areas to be researched and make suggests on how to research them (at the end of the 9 areas are work sheets corresponding to each area). At the end of each individual area you will find a list of career library and Internet resources that can assist you.

1) JOB REQUIREMENTS.
This refers to the training required, duties of the job or the career track (e.g., accountant, staff accountant, senior accountant, etc.). If the position you are interested in is well defined like a physician, electrical engineer, journalist or nurse than the resources at the end of this paragraph will help you. If the position is not well defined and many positions in large organizations are not, your best source of information may be the people who do the work either in the target company or a similar competitor company (e.g., commissions clerk in Blue Cross or Prudential). The title commission’s clerk does not correspond to a well-defined vocational trade or professional title. Even positions that are well defined such as ‘Office Manager’ or ‘Paralegal’ may be quite different from one company to the next. Obviously it is smart to research these positions with employees of the target firm or a very similar firm. As an added comment, students often ask if Human Resource (HR) departments are good sources to speak to regarding positions in the company. It seems like they would be, but HR departments have bad reputations with job seekers. If you can get information about in house positions from HR departments, do it, but unless it is a position the company is currently recruiting for it is usually very difficult if not impossible to get HR departments to talk about positions in the company.

Career Library Resources: College Majors and Careers (10 B1), Occupational outlook handbook (10 B5), Dictionary of Occupational Titles , Encyclopedia of Careers (10 E1–E4), Guide for Occupational Exploration (10 B4), America’s Fastest Growing Jobs (27 B3), The 100 Best Careers for the 20th Century (10 B6), 101 Careers, A Guide to the Fastest Growing Opportunities (10 B7)

Internet resources:
www.missouri.edu,
www.career

2) LOCATION.
When you are applying for a position make sure you understand where the job is. It may be that you are required to relocate immediately or in the future if you want the job. It may also be that you eventually want to relocate with the company. Make sure you know the company policy/position on relocation. How long will your commute be? Are the jobs available in geographic areas that are of interest to you? Remember if you like warm weather and beautiful locations you must be aware of possible future relocation to advance and they may be to Newark, New Jersey, if the home office is there. Are you prepared to do this? This information is best obtained from the company representatives and/or their own brochures or web cites.

Career Library Resources: Jobs Worldwide (19 A6), Job Hunters Yellow Pages (27 A1), Job Hotline USA (27 A2), The Florida Job Bank (28 A1), Discover America Directory (28 B9)

Internet resources:
www.career.com,
www.topcat

3) FUTURE VIABILITY OF THE COMPANY.
The saying “Don’t Hitch Your Wagon to a Falling Star,” applies here. You must know something about the state of the organization you are interested in. Is the company or organization you want to work for stable and solid?

Career Library Resources: Local Chamber of Commerce, Standard and Poors, Employee opinions.
Occupational Outlook Handbook (10 B5), Career Paths (10 A3), The Career Adventure (10 A7),

Internet resources:
www.chamber.com,
www.webchamber.com,
www.uschamber.org

4) POSSIBLE CAREER DIRECTION.
Where will this occupational choice lead you? Because you achieve a business degree are you guaranteed a position in business? If you get into ‘business’ where will you be in say five years? It is important to research the path you will follow. You can do this most effectively by looking at what has happened to other people on the same path. Most career directions are not mysterious, other people have followed the path. What if you want to be the POPE in Rome? The POPE is the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. Follow the histories of other POPES. It is probable that one would first have to be a priest and have all the qualifications necessary to be a priest then be promoted to many other positions in the church. Finally, one must be a Cardinal or prince of the church including mastering all the duties, responsibilities and politics associated with the leadership role of cardinal. Few ever make cardinal much less POPE. It is a lot like professional sports, many are interested, and few ever achieve the goal. This type of occupation certainly requires alternatives.

Career Library Resources, Talking to people who do the work is valuable.
Career Paths (10 A3), Career Book (10 A8), The Encyclopedia of Careers (10 B3)

Internet resources:
www.umanitoba.ca,
www.pathfinder.org,
www.careerperfect.com,
www.jobprofile.com

5) PERSONAL ABILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS.
The assumption here is that before you start your job search and do research on a company position you are already trained for the position to an adequate level (e.g., degrees, licenses, experience, etc.). Even if you have the general training for an occupation many factors can still conspire too keep you out of the position. Many good positions have what we can refer to as soft factors that impact the hiring decision. Some of these include previous experience, certifications, licenses, apprenticeships, specific training in that area, certain presentation skills in the interview (i.e., saying what the prospective employer needs to hear).

Career Library Resources, company job descriptions, employees who actually do the job for the target employer or for competitor firms, Encyclopedia of careers, web sites that speak about that type of employment or about the target company.
College Majors and Careers (10 B1), Occupational Outlook Handbook (10 B5), 101 Careers, A Guide to the Fastest Growing Opportunities (10 B7), Encyclopedia of Careers (10 E1-E4), College Majors and Careers (11 A1)

Internet resources:
www.zianet.com

6) COMPENSATION.
To some people money is a secondary concern to other people it is a primary concern. Whether it is secondary or primary concern it is important to have a very good idea of the money paid for a job. Employers usually adhere to the law of supply and demand. If the position you want requires considerable training and very specific training and few people can fill the position it will usually pay more. If however, many people can do the work and there are few available openings and many candidates for those openings then the salary will probably be lower. If the area is flooded with trained people in that occupation even if it is very technical the position may pay less.

Career Library Resources: Occupational Outlook Handbook (10 B5), College Placement Council Salary Survey (see one of the counseling staff), Occupational Trends Salary Information (27 G1)

Internet resources:
www.education-tocareers.com,
www.salarysearch.com,
www.homefair.com,
www.career. com

7) WORKING CONDITIONS AND POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE ORGANIZATION.
Upon first observation many people would never consider this as much of an issue. Most people feel that you apply for a job and either get hired or not. Knowing the working conditions and the politics of a company is probably the most important issue you will face in employment. The truth is that politics and company attitudes are all important. When you initially apply for a position and possibly are interviewed, politics are already at work. If you are up against another candidate who happens to be what is called a ‘ringer’ (i.e., an inside candidate already tapped, or a friend of some ones who has any degree of hiring authority) you may already be rejected without having said a word. If you go into the interview or even submitted a resume and have said the wrong thing or omitted something that should have been said, your chances of being hired are degraded to some extent. The best candidate will be the one who knows what the company wants and is able to (honestly as possible) say in both the resume and the interview that they can provide what the company needs. You may also want to look at the history of a position you are applying for. If the last six candidates have been terminated within six months you may come to the conclusion that that will also be your fate. If you accept the position knowing these facts, fine! At least you know the facts and have a reason for accepting the position (e.g., best training, most money, best stepping stone to another company, etc.). As a point of interest never talk to only one person regarding an organization. You could catch an individual on a ‘bad’ day and get a very distorted picture of an organization. Remember that in any organization no matter how good it is there are always a certain percentage of employees that are disgruntled for some reason.

Resources: Information of this type are best acquired from ‘first hand sources’, (i.e., employees of the company). General information on the difficulty associated with an occupation can come from any descriptive source about that type of employment (e.g., books written on the subject, for example, What is it like to be a Neurosurgeon?). A university alumni directory, which will list alumni that are involved with various companies, may make your research easier because these alumni (who do the work or at least very similar work) are usually willing to talk to you.

Internet resources:
www.jobprofiles.com,

8) KNOWING ABOUT THE PRODUCTS AND HISTORY OF THE COMPANY.
This information is useful and courteous. An employer should not get the impression that they are doing you a favor by hiring you. An employer who gets the idea that they are doing you a favor by hiring you will probably pass on the chance to get you. You must show what you can do for the organization. You must be someone who appears interested and can make a contribution to the organization. You show this by being up to date on the company (e.g., culture, customs, products, locations, etc.). This kind of information should be gathered on the organizations you are most interested in and not all organizations you look at. It is somewhat time consuming to get.

Resources, This type of information can come from company quarterly reports, brochures, Standards and Poors, books written about companies, general internet, etc. What Color is Your Parachute? (10 B8), The Career Adventure (10 A7)

Internet resources:
www.lycos.com

9) THE FUTURE OF THE FIELD YOU ARE IN.
Many career counselors would say that you need to do what you are suited to by virtue of your personality, abilities, and comparisons to others who are successful in the field, values and history. This is all true, but you also need to know if employment prospects are going to be bad in a field. Every occupational area has good and bad news associated with it. Sometimes a position pays well but is stressful. Sometimes a position pays less well but is highly suited to you. Sometimes a position pays poorly and is not suited to you. In this day and age with things changing continuously the consumer (i.e., you) must be informed. It is costly to pay for training in a field that has no future and invest your time in a company that is doomed. Remember that even if the government and futurists say a field is stable or good, a local market can saturate with certain types of occupational areas though it is very viable nationwide. Let the consumer beware, because no one including Universities, headhunters, employment agencies, well-meaning relatives, etc. will apologize for ruining your career. It is difficult to see the future clearly even with effort.

Resources, Books by futurists are available that talk about distant potential of various types of employment. The government publication ‘Occupational Outlook Handbook ‘ talks about ten year projections on all kinds of standard positions.
Occupational Outlook Handbook (10 B5), America’s Fastest Growing Jobs (27 B3), 100 Best Careers for the 20th Century (10 B6)

Internet resources:
www.careerhunter.net,
www.job.tufts.edu

Worksheets

#1) Job Requirements:
Position title/s_______________________________________________

Requirements of the position (job duties) __________________________

Information from other competitor or very similar companies _______________ ___________________________________________

Career Center Library or Internet information about the position including salary, duties description, training required, future outlook of the position __________________________________________________________

#2) Location:
Will I have to relocate to get this position if so where______________________________________________________

I would like to be located in _____________________________________

Company locations in and out of the USA___________________________

#3) Future Viability of the Field of Work:
Data from publications indicates that the stability of this type of position_____________________________________________________

Futurists say that this type of employment and position will __________________________________________________________

Local Chamber of Commerce representatives indicate that this type of position is __________________________________________________

#4) Possible Career Directions:

Occupational Outlook Handbook indicates that future directions for this career include _______________________________________________

People that work in this field indicate that the career path usually takes this direction____________________________________________________

The Career books indicate that this career will usually follow this path ___________________________________________________________

Alternative career paths could include ______________________________

#5) Personal Abilities and Qualifications:
Licenses, certifications needed for the position ___________________________________________________________

Special training needed for this position ___________________________________________________________

Degrees needed for this position ____________________________________________________________

#6) Compensation:

Compensation based on the Occupational Outlook Handbook____________________________________________________

Compensation based on the NACE Salary Survey______________________________________________________

Compensation based on Employee interviews____________________________________________________

#7) Working Conditions and Political Issues in the Organization:

What employees said about the conditions and political atmosphere of the company____________________________________________________

#8) Knowing About the Products and History of The Company:

Company's main product/s ______________________________________

Brief History of the Company (e.g., founded when, issues of strengths/weaknesses, profitability, future viability, etc.)
___________________________________________________________

Main Locations (both in the USA and overseas): ___________________________________________________________

#9) The Future of the Organization and the Field you have Chosen:

What futurists say about the field __________________________________

What the Occupational Outlook Handbook says about the field ____________________________________________________________