Research is the key to finding appropriate job openings, targeting the best possible employers and performing well when you go to job interviews. Learn what’s unique about a company compared to other firms in its industry. Learn why it’s prospering–or why it isn’t. Where is this company going? Is it favored by stock investors? Is it privately-owned by a family, or has it been acquired by private equity investors who plan to resell it over the mid-term? What are its hottest-selling products and services? Is it investing in research and new facilities so that it may prosper in the future?

Also, as many people who have been laid off from failing startup firms have learned the hard way, determining a company’s level of financial stability can be one of the most important factors in making a career decision.

The more you’re willing to dig deep at the library or your college’s career planning office, and the more adept you are at using the Internet for research, the better your chances of success in a job search. If you are willing to ask questions of businesspeople and of employees who currently work for your target employers, you will enhance your job search even further. The two secrets to successful job research are tenacity and focus. Know what to look for and where to find it.

Once you’ve landed an interview, you should research both the prospective employer and its industry even further.In this manner, you’ll know what questions to ask before you agree to take the job, and you’ll present yourself as a knowledgeable potential hire who is truly interested in the company and its business.

Here are the seven keys for research that can lead you to a great employer:

Quality-of-Life Benefits:

Many companies offer benefits that help employees balance their personal and professional lives. The concept is that employees who are healthy and comfortable with their personal and family lives make better, more productive employees. To that end, many companies include fitness programs and family services such as extended maternity leaves and child care or elder care, whether on-site or off-site in the form of referral services. Other popular family-friendly benefits include flextime, flexible benefits spending accounts, adoption assistance and telecommuting. In many cases, benefits are listed on employers’ web sites.

Work-Life has become a popular phrase for family-friendly benefits and programs among major employers such as Morgan Stanley, Intel, Abbott Laboratories, Baxter and Aramark. For additional information, you can study such organizations as the Alliance for Work-Life Progress at www.awlp.org.

Growth Potential and Job Stability:

A firm’s growth potential should be among your top priorities. Companies are always trying to maintain or increase productivity, or the ratio of sales per employee. If a company’s sales are sliding, or if it is running out of cash, the job picture starts to collapse. A little extra research into a company’s finances and true potential for growth might save you from a future layoff.

Of course, employers sometimes have to resort to layoffs due to conditions outside of their control. For example, travel industry companies worldwide cut hundreds of thousands of jobs in the revenue slump following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

As a job seeker, you’re forced to look out for your own best interests while you sort through thousands of potential employers in dozens of industries. This means that good research is vital. For example, if you put salary at the top of your list, you may have the wrong priorities. From time to time, some of the highest-paying firms have been among those cutting the largest numbers of employees. If you are looking for job stability, your biggest challenge is to pick companies that are more likely to hire now and less likely to have layoffs in the future. That’s why a firm’s growth outlook should be one of your guiding lights.

However, the goal is internal growth caused by expanding sales. Generally less appealing are firms that post a quick spike in growth through big mergers. (In many cases, merged companies lay off people who suddenly find themselves filling jobs duplicated in newly consolidated offices. Also, companies that grow excessively through acquisitions may be taking on loads of debt that can become hard to handle later. However, there are occasional exceptions to this rule, where firms are enjoying soaring demand for products or services and find it difficult to hire quickly enough to keep up.) Companies that are growing rapidly through internal expansion include those opening new stores, distribution centers or offices, developing exciting new products, moving into new markets (including international markets) and creating hot new technologies, retail formats or services. Those types of expansion frequently mean great career opportunities, including the chance for rapid job promotion.

Where can you look for growth companies? If you’re tenacious, you can find opportunities where others will find only rejection. Identifying real prospects for growth takes more than a quick glance.

Banking is a good example of an industry where smart research can lead to interesting job opportunities. We will continue to see large numbers of mergers and consolidations in banking during coming years. As a result, some jobs will be cut. Nonetheless, diligent job seekers can find excellent positions in this industry by digging deep and thinking creatively. For example, a few years ago, careful research led to a fantastic career move for a mid-level banking executive in Texas. Despite the fact that newspapers were full of stories about thousands of layoffs at Citicorp at that time, she left a unit of Bank of America and landed bigger pay and responsibility at Citicorp in a rapidly growing call center unit that handled customer service requests from all over the nation. How did she find the job? It was listed in the help-wanted ads of the same newspaper that was full of bank layoff stories. Here’s an extremely important point for you to remember: like this successful job changer, you should look for opportunities in growing divisions that serve special niches, even when the company as a whole is cutting jobs.

Additional key factors for strong corporate growth, and thereby the best job prospects, include:

1) Companies or divisions with a growing share of a promising market.

Management’s ability to anticipate or create change in the marketplace makes for a growing company with great prospects. For example, Sam Walton revolutionized the department store business by realizing that consumers want everyday low prices on name-brand merchandise. He created Wal-Mart, while competitor Sears suffered by maintaining an old-fashioned policy of special sales events on private-label goods. Wal-Mart rapidly became one of the largest creators of new jobs in the private sector. Sears was forced to slash its ranks.

Microsoft made its way to the top with unique products serving a soaring market when it developed highly functional software for personal computers. Microsoft created thousands of millionaire employees through the immense increase in the value of its stock plans. Starbucks leapt to the top of the coffee industry by providing exactly what customers wanted: fast, consistent, gourmet coffee in a pleasant, upbeat setting. Today, the talented management team at Starbucks is successfully rolling the concept out on a global basis.

The point to these stories is that you shouldn't invest your career in a company with mediocre prospects. With perseverance, you can target your own list of employers that are posting growth due to competitive advantages or growing market demand. Your best bets are companies taking reasonable risks in order to move ahead. Those risks may include investments in advertising, research and development, new technology, improved techniques on the manufacturing floor, testing of new products and the opening of new retail store formats. For example, Chico’s FAS stores scored a hit by filling a niche in the women’s apparel market, and Genentech became a leader in the biotechnology field by risking vast amounts on research. Also, don’t overlook the potential of the export market—many American firms find much of their growth by creating products and services that enjoy terrific demand overseas as well as in the U.S. For example, Heinz sells more of its ketchup and other food products outside the U.S. than it does at home.

2) Sales and profits: past and present.

The companies most likely to move along at a good clip are those with an exciting mid-term history. Firms with an average annual growth in sales of 10% to 15% over the last three to five years are generally promising. Many small and mid-size firms grow at much faster rates and find themselves hiring continuously.

3) Beware of fads.

Unfortunately, a few companies post meteoric growth in businesses that turn out to be mere fads. The restaurant industry suffers from this problem on a regular basis. In recent years, companies selling bagels, frozen yogurt, rotisserie chicken and the like enjoyed impressive, nationwide growth only to collapse like a house of cards a couple of years later. Here’s another example: the 1990s produced a rash of new dotcoms that were fueled by fad investors. Many of the biggest web-based busts were companies that planned to steal market share from traditional retail stores by selling items like pet food and living room furniture over the Internet. Most of these fad-based firms wasted valuable years in the careers of employees in addition to billions of dollars of venture capital—only a handful truly succeeded.

How to Find and Use Expert Opinions:

Superior sources used by sophisticated job researchers include reports written by: 1) stock analysts; 2) professional market research firms; and 3) journalists at business magazines and industry “trade magazines.” Many major libraries have large collections of industry-specific trade magazines that can give you clues that competing job seekers will overlook. For example, Retail Traffic Magazine, www.retailtrafficmag.com, publishes lists of the fastest-growing retail chains. Virtually every other industry is covered by one or two trade magazines that will give you leads to growing companies. Many articles in these magazines contain the names of executives you may want to contact. Also, most industry trade magazines publish help-wanted ads in the back. The Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media is a good index to magazines, organized by industry. You can find this directory in major libraries.

Next, move on to reports from experts. Marketing and investment professionals are looking for some of the same clues you should use as a job seeker, and reports written by full-time analysts who cover specific companies or industries can help you find firms that are growing and hiring. Reuters Investor, www.investor.reuters.com, is the best source for stock analysts’ reports. Here, you’ll find online access to industry and company coverage written by the nation’s best analysts. Most of the reports have a cost, but many are free of charge, and others have prices as low as $5 to $25. Learn to use the “Advanced Search” feature at Multex Investor to find exactly what you want.

Professionally written market research can be found at Marketresearch.com, www.marketresearch.com. This market research broker charges varying fees for access to the reports. However, many of the reports are reasonably priced, and the insight you gain into industries, markets and leading companies can be extremely helpful. Web sites such as this offer the ability to search for reports by a wide variety of criteria, including company name and industry.

Other Basic Resources:

Annual Reports/10-Ks/S-1s: Companies that sell their stocks to the public, including most of the firms covered in this book, publish annual reports that contain a wealth of information. Annual reports and 10-Ks cover yearly results, financial statements, management practices and other vital information for publicly held firms. S-1s provide the same type of information on companies that are selling stock to the public for the first time. You can find copies of these reports at large libraries. Online, the best place to acquire this information is at the site of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They have a user-friendly service called EDGAR that enables you to search for companies and access their financial reports at www.sec.gov. Look especially at the five-year “summary financial statement” in the back of these reports. Also, look for growth in sales and earnings. If these are falling, dig deeper to find out why. Faltering sales or profits can lead to layoffs or to a merger with another firm (which could result in deep job cuts).

Also, you can find a wealth of financial information on publicly-traded firms at Yahoo! Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com.

See Chapter 4, “Important Contacts for Job Seekers,” for additional places to get basic corporate data.

1) Check out its bond rating.

There’s no sense in trying to become a financial analyst on your own. Instead, go to your library and turn to the Bond Guide published by Standard & Poor’s (New York, NY). This monthly booklet rates thousands of corporate bonds, based on a company’s ability to pay principal and interest when due. If you’re considering a major corporation with a bond rating of less than BB (an indicator that a company's debt is riskier than "investment grade"), you should do a lot more investigating before you continue chasing a job at that company.

Look up your firm and industry in an Internet search engine such as Google or a portal such as Yahoo Finance,http://finance.yahoo.com. There, you may find unusual articles that were recently written about a company’s product breakthroughs, treatment of women or minorities, human interest stories, training programs or stories written from other unique slants.

4) Study other business books and guides.

Search at a library or at an online bookseller like Amazon.com for recent books regarding major companies. For example, if you want to apply to Morgan Stanley for a job, don’t fail to read The House of Morgan. With a little research, you can turn up many other excellent books about specific companies, from banks like Bank of America to publishers like Gannett.

5) Explore industry-specific web sites.

See Chapter 4, “Important Contacts for Job Seekers,” for hundreds of sites from dozens of different industry sectors. In particular, study the industry associations for the sector you want to work in.

6) Research benefits and pension plans.

For additional information about corporate pension plans, start with the government agency charged with protecting and regulating pensions: the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K St. NW, Washington, D.C.20005-4026, 202-326-4000, www.pbgc.gov. They can answer certain questions over the telephone.

The U.S. Department of Labor publishes a useful book titled “Protect your Pension.” They can be contacted at: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room N5635, Washington, D.C.20210, 866-444-3272 or 202-219-8776, www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/main.html.

The Social Security Administration, 800-772-1213, www.ssa.gov, can provide you with information regarding your potential Social Security benefits.

NOTE: Generally, employees covered by wealth-building benefit plans do not fully own (“vest in”) funds contributed on their behalf by the employer until as many as five years of service with that employer have passed. All pension plans are voluntary—that is, employers are not obligated to offer pensions.

Pension Plans: The type and generosity of these plans vary widely from firm to firm. Caution: Some employers refer to plans as “pension” or “retirement” plans when they are actually 401(k) savings plans that require a contribution by the employee.

Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Pension plans that do not require a contribution from the employee are infrequently offered. However, a few companies, particularly larger employers in high-profit-margin industries, offer defined benefit pension plans where the employee is guaranteed to receive a set pension benefit upon retirement. The amount of the benefit is determined by the years of service with the company and the employee’s salary during the later years of employment. The longer a person works for the employer, the higher the retirement benefit. These defined benefit plans are funded entirely by the employer. The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed by the Federal Government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. These plans are not portable—if you leave the company, you cannot transfer your benefits into a different plan. Instead, upon retirement you will receive the benefits that vested during your service with the company. If your employer offers a pension plan, it must give you a “summary plan description” within 90 days of the date you join the plan. You can also request a “summary annual report” of the plan, and once every 12 months you may request an “individual benefit statement” accounting of your interest in the plan.

Defined Contribution Plans: These are quite different. They do not guarantee a certain amount of pension benefit. Instead, they set out circumstances under which the employer will make a contribution to a plan on your behalf. The most common example is the 401(k) savings plan. Pension benefits are not guaranteed under these plans.

Cash Balance Pension Plans: These plans were recently invented. They are hybrid plans—part defined benefit and part defined contribution. Many employers have converted their older defined benefit plans into cash balance plans. The employer makes deposits (or credits a given amount of money) on the employee’s behalf, usually based on a percentage of pay. Employee accounts grow based on a predetermined interest benchmark, such as the interest rate on Treasury Bonds. There are some advantages to these plans, particularly for younger workers: a) The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. b) Benefits are portable—they can be moved to another plan when the employee changes companies. c) Younger workers and those who spend a shorter number of years with an employer may receive higher benefits than they would under a traditional defined benefit plan.

ESOP Stock Plan (Employees’ Stock Ownership Plan): This type of plan is in wide use. Typically, the plan borrows money from a bank and uses those funds to purchase a large block of the corporation’s stock. The corporation makes contributions to the plan over a period of time, and the stock purchase loan is eventually paid off. The value of the plan grows significantly as long as the market price of the stock holds up. Qualified employees are allocated a share of the plan based on their length of service and their level of salary. Under federal regulations, participants in ESOPs are allowed to diversify their account holdings in set percentages that rise as the employee ages and gains years of service with the company. In this manner, not all of the employee’s assets are tied up in the employer’s stock.

Savings Plan, 401(k): Under this type of plan, employees make a tax-deferred deposit into an account. In the best plans, the company makes annual matching donations to the employees’ accounts, typically in some proportion to deposits made by the employees themselves. A good plan will match one-half of employee deposits of up to 6% of wages. For example, an employee earning $30,000 yearly might deposit $1,800 (6%) into the plan. The company will match one-half of the employee’s deposit, or $900. The plan grows on a tax-deferred basis, similar to an IRA. A very generous plan will match 100% of employee deposits. However, some plans do not call for the employer to make a matching deposit at all. Other plans call for a matching contribution to be made at the discretion of the firm’s board of directors. Actual terms of these plans vary widely from firm to firm. Generally, these savings plans allow employees to deposit as much as 15% of salary into the plan on a tax-deferred basis. However, the portion that the company uses to calculate its matching deposit is generally limited to a maximum of 6%. Employees should take care to diversify the holdings in their 401(k) accounts, and most people should seek professional guidance or investment management for their accounts.

Stock Purchase Plan: Qualified employees may purchase the company’s common stock at a price below its market value under a specific plan. Typically, the employee is limited to investing a small percentage of wages in this plan. The discount may range from 5% to 15%. Some of these plans allow for deposits to be made through regular monthly payroll deductions. However, new accounting rules for corporations, along with other factors, are leading many companies to curtail these plans—dropping the discount allowed, cutting the maximum yearly stock purchase or otherwise making the plans less generous or appealing.

Profit Sharing: Qualified employees are awarded an annual amount equal to some portion of a company’s profits. In a very generous plan, the pool of money awarded to employees would be 15% of profits. Typically, this money is deposited into a long-term retirement account. Caution: Some employers refer to plans as “profit sharing” when they are actually 401(k) savings plans. True profit sharing plans are rarely offered.

Plunkett Research Online and Plunkett’s Industry Reference Books:

1) Internet-Based Services: Plunkett Research Online, www.plunkettresearchonline.com, is a reference service that is subscribed to by the nation’s leading university placement offices, libraries and information offices. You can use it to filter prospective employers by location, industry, size and more. You can then export contact information for those companies into spreadsheets or text files. In addition, you can use the site to research the latest editions of our industry analysis. Many additional tools for job seekers are included.

2) Printed Almanacs: Plunkett Research also publishes industry-specific almanacs for the most important industries. These are top-notch resources for job seekers.

Industry-Specific Books from Plunkett Research:

Publications from Plunkett Research Written Especially for Job Seekers:

Our books will give you in-depth coverage of specific industries and the leading firms in those industries, along with trends and developments in technology and services. You will find these books in public and academic libraries, college placement offices, human resources offices, corporate libraries and government agency libraries. For sample chapters and additional details, you can preview as well as purchase these books at www.plunkettresearch.com.

Plunkett's Companion to The Almanac of American Employers is our book that provides profiles on 500 additional, rapidly growing corporate employers. This companion book covers smaller firms than those in the main volume of The Almanac of American Employers.

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