COMPANY RESEARCH & SELF EXPLORATION

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1 COMPANY RESEARCH & SELF EXPLORATION Company research has a tremendous impact on your job search outcome. It is possible to miss out on a great opportunity if you don t adequately research and explore your target companies beyond what you find through an online search or a company s website. You will need to dedicate a significant amount of time to learning about various companies and your potential fit. Your research will also help you customize your cover letter and resume, as well as, identify network connections within a company you can leverage for an information interview or referral. You must be prepared to use all of your investigative skills to find the perfect company match for you, your specific skills and interests! Get Started! As you begin your initial research, consider the following questions: 1. What are the top five companies you re interested in working for? 2. What industry are those companies aligned with? 3. Why do you want to work there? 4. What role or position do you want in that company? 5. What does it take to work there? 6. Do you have any contacts at these companies? Or in the industry? 7. What unique skills and experience do you have to offer? 8. What are your skill gaps?

2 Assessment & Exploration of Careers and Industries It is critically important that you narrow down your interest areas through research so that you can appropriately direct your job search efforts. The below section is meant to take a deep dive into the industry and functional areas you are interested in and provide you with some clarity with regards to your job search. Narrowing your focus should not be confused with limiting your options. When screening cover letters, resumes and candidates in interviews, the difference between individuals who appear focused on the job at hand, the company s unique competitive needs and who demonstrate an awareness of the industry market forces is strikingly obvious. Without a focus it is nearly impossible to masquerade as an ideal candidate for any position. Think about latitude and longitude - coordinates that describe a destination you are choosing to travel to and apply that thinking to selecting career coordinates. The industry you choose is important because the market forces within the industry impact the way companies view their needs for employees. If you feel an affinity for some industries, such as healthcare and finance - don t be afraid to focus on them. You will quickly find that at the job function level there will be some overlap - similarities across industries that you will discover in your research. These points of symmetry and differentiation become very useful talking points in interviews and can set you apart. Here s the simple math. If you focus on 5 industries, targeting the top 20 companies in each industry and can think of 3 potential functions you could be qualified for, you would have a target list of 100 employers and a primary focus on three functional areas within each firm. Anything you learn and discover will be useful in any job application with any firm in those industries, so your pursuit of job openings along those coordinates becomes much easier to manage. Start here: the 15 core industries that Smith OCS is currently focused on. In each of these 15 industries we have dedicated staff actively building corporate relationships with Smith and the students emerging from our programs. For each of these industries we have already prepared some research to help you understand what is driving activity and investment among employers. Choose 5 to start with: Aerospace & Defense Consulting Consumer Packaged Goods Energy Financial Services Government, Nonprofit, Education Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Hospitality Logistics & Transportation Manufacturing Media, Entertainment & Sports Professional Services Real Estate & Construction Retail Technology Next think about the functional roles you feel suited for and think about where in the organization that role is likely to take place - internal management operations, outward-facing in a marketing area or on product or service delivery. Select at least three roles. Consulting Management Consulting Strategic Consulting Technology Consulting Management Operations: Primarily focused internally at systems and process excellence Business Analyst CRM Analyst Cyber Security Analyst Enterprise Architect Finance Strategy Financial Audit Logistics Analyst Performance Management Procurement Planning Program Manager Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Supply Chain Analyst System Integrator Systems Analyst Tax Audit

3 Marketing & Communications: Primarily focused on market penetration and customer intimacy Big Data Analyst Business Analyst CRM Integrator Project Manager Product & Service Delivery: Primarily focused on improving quality, functionality, ease of use, etc. Big Data Analyst Cyber Security Engineer Data Architect Data Engineer Data Scientist Materials Planning Order Fulfillment Planning Product Manager Production Management Production Planning Project Manager System Integrator Systems Analyst Map your choices here and use Smith reports and information resources to input the top 20 companies for each industry. As you explore the companies and industries and look at job descriptions for the roles you are interested in, note in the right column the most valuable transferable skills you will need to highlight in your approach to each company and for each role. INDUSTRY INTEREST Industry of Interest Function (role & tasks) Companies of Interest Transferable Skills Within the self- exploration phase, you will gain valuable insight as you identify the professional areas you should avoid based on your skills and interests. You are encouraged to be honest with yourself! This exercise will ultimately contribute to your overall job satisfaction as it will help you to eliminate those professional opportunities and roles that do not play to your individual strengths. STRENGTHS Accomplishments (professional or personal) Favorite Projects (full-time, internship or school) Leadership Roles Volunteer/Leisure

4 IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES / AREAS TO AVOID Skill Gaps Projects you Disliked Roles/Tasks Disliked Positions of No Interest Network Creation Building your network is as important as maintaining it! As you embark upon your MS program, you will inevitably come into contact with many individuals who will inform your job search efforts. These individuals may range from alumni to LinkedIn contacts to faculty members to current students. It is necessary that you develop a system to both connect with professionals and to build the relationship through strong communication and regular, but appropriate, follow up. Below is a chart to help log some of your connections to ensure that you do not miss any potential opportunities. SMITH COMMUNITY CONTACTS The person who can help you most could be sitting right next to you! Smith Contact Organization Experience/Insight Next Steps FRIENDS & FAMILY Use academic contacts, Family, former colleagues, neighbors everyone to build your network! Contact Name Relationship Organization Address Next Steps NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Smith Events Professional Organizations Online Resources Other

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