Change the Career - How to Research the Job Market in Three Easy Steps

Once you've decided that you really want to change your career direction, you'll obviously start to think about what type of job could be right for the new you. But when you start your job search, you need to have several different kinds of information. You'll need to research industry trends, find out details about the particular companies you're aiming for, and perhaps even do some research on the human resources manager of the company you think you might want to work for.

You'll want to keep in mind questions such as the following:

- What do I need to know about the industry I want to work in, that will help me to ask and answer intelligent questions?

- Where can I find out more information about the companies I've selected?

-  What kind of information do I want to know about each of these companies?

-  What would I like to know about the company (or companies) that I really want to work for so that I stand a better chance of writing a fantastic covering letter and then get an interview?

Step one: Do the necessary groundwork

You may wonder why you have to research the job market and think that it's enough simply to scan the job adverts in the newspapers. But only a small percentage of people find jobs that they love through these ads. If you research the job market thoroughly, you'll have a clearer idea of what you're attracted to. You'll also be able to design your CV and covering letter more effectively and more intelligently when you've gathered useful background information.

Researching industry trends will help you to decide whether or not you want to stay in the industry you originally chose, or whether you really want to move to something entirely new. If the trends show that you're in a declining industry, it may be time for a change. Remember, too, that when you have an interview, it'll help you to ask informed questions (which always impresses personnel officers), and will help you to answer questions from a richer perspective.

How much time you spend on this initial research depends, of course, on the level of the job you're seeking. If you're hoping to land a high-level executive position in the same industry, you may already know most of the required information. But if you're seeking a high-level position in a new industry, you may need to spend several weeks on your job market research. If you're looking for a specialised position, you may not need to know as much about industry trends, but you'll want to do several days' research on your chosen organisations.

Step two: Start broadly and then narrow down your research

In the early stages of your research, you'll begin by researching industry trends. The main things you'll be looking for are:

- the major growth areas

- the major players

- the major challenges and problems for this industry

The first step in doing this research is to visit your nearest city or university library. Ask the reference librarian for help in finding reference guides and publications containing information about industry trends.

If you're not sure which industry you want work in, there are several good references and reports on attractive jobs and desirable companies. The Financial Times website www.ft.com/companies provides very valuable information on this topic, as does the UK Trade & Investment website (www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk) which has well-organised information about trends in various business sectors. The Economist website is another useful resource, providing business briefings by country (www.economist.com/ countries). In addition to these resources, some of the top business schools have websites that give good guidance on where to go and which directories to look at.

Step three: Research your chosen companies

The next step is to narrow your research by gathering information about the specific companies that you're aiming for in your job search. The key facts that you'll probably want to know about for each of these organisations are:

- size of the organisation (sales, profits, market share, numbers of employees)

- strong and weak points

- key competitors

- organisational culture

- how the corinpany is organised

- key strategij; challenges

Much of this in/formation is now easily available on the Internet, which will save you a lot of time. Once you've found an organisation that you're interested in, get hold of a copy of their annual report. You'll probably be able to find this on their website, or if not, simply phone the company and ask them to send you a copy.

If you've chosen a local company, find ways to talk to employees about what it's like to work there and what its strengths and weaknesses are. You can also ask them about competitors, and about the key strategic challenges that the company is facing. If you don't know anyone who works there, you might consider attending local business meetings such as the Chamber of Commerce meetings, or other professional gatherings.