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Graduate Careers Australia

Background Research: Be Prepared!

Researching Potential Employers - Steps Nine and Ten

Step Nine: Look at Company Websites

Go direct to the websites of the companies, government departments and other organisations you have identified and check them out in more detail. Find out about graduate recruitment programs, vacation programs, internships, cooperative programs and work experience opportunities. You can also do a search on the internet to identify additional organisations. Type the following in you search field:

[your occupational group/discipline] employment Australia

[your occupational group/discipline] work Australia

[your occupational group/discipline] job/s Australia

Step Ten: Research Industry Information and Publications

Business publications and professional journals are a terrific source of information about organisations, key people, current issues, innovations and professional development. They may be published by professional associations, industry organisations and some newspapers. The Financial Review and Business Review Weekly are two general business publications. Find out from your networks which publications are specific to your field.

There are also industry-related websites which can be a useful source of information for industry news, potential employers, actual jobs and ideas for areas of industry to approach or research about work. For example:

Once you have identified a list of relevant organisations and selected the ones you wish to target, your research will need to become more refined. Here are some additional steps to focus on specific information about potential employers, so that you can tailor a job application to the requirements of the organisation and be better prepared for an interview. You will find these tips are useful even if the organisation has not advertised a vacancy and you are approaching them directly for information or for possible employment.

Where available, gather information about the organisation from:

  • Job advertisements
  • Job documentation such as duty statements and selection criteria
  • The Human Resource staff or contact person listed in the job advertisement
  • Current or previous staff
  • Business plan or strategic plan
  • Policy documents
  • Annual reports
  • Websites
  • Newsletters, brochures
  • Government directories
  • Newspaper articles, press releases, speeches

Research specific information about the organisation, such as:

  • Services or products
  • Location/s
  • Length of time established
  • Competitors within the industry
  • Growth pattern
  • Reputation
  • Parent companies or subsidiaries
  • Size of company, number of employees
  • Structure of the organisation
  • Financial information
  • Recent developments, new products or projects
  • International operations
  • Listing on the Australian (or other) Stock Exchange

Possible questions to ask the contact person in the organisation:

  • What are the key responsibilities of the position?
  • What direction is the section/organisation taking?
  • What are the key challenges for the position?
  • What are the expectations for this position and the person in it?
  • How will these expectations be assessed in practice?
  • With which people or sections would the successful applicant be working?
  • What is the composition of the workforce?
  • What is the organisation’s approach to professional development?
  • What is the culture and general atmosphere of the organisation?
  • What are the key priorities for this position during the next six months?
  • What are the quality requirements/standards for this position?
  • If there is a vacancy, why is the position vacant?

Authors: Barbara Mackie, Careers and Employment Adviser, University of Western Sydney & Karen Cavanaugh, Careers Adviser/Information Officer, University of Technology

The authors would like to acknowledge the input and advice from the Careers staff at both UTS and UWS in the final version of this guide. Special thanks to Seymour Maddison and Malcolm McKenzie from UTS and Jackie Simpson, Elizabeth Ross, Leigh Mabin and Ron Kelly from UWS.

Information on researching the organisation and the position has been prepared by Barbara Mackie, University of Western Sydney and is based on the excellent book by Dr. Ann D. Villiers, How to Address Selection Criteria – Improving Your Chances of Being Shortlisted For a Job. 3rd Edition (2000), d.m. Press, Canberra, Australia.

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