Find Out About Employers
Why is it important to find out more about employers?
What type of information should I focus on?
Where do I start?
Regional job search
Employers presentations and careers fairs
Using the internet
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
Why is it important to find out more about employers?
Employers are often critical of graduates who do not know enough about the company before applying for a job. Not knowing enough about the company you are applying to can be interpreted as a lack of commitment to the company itself. Many graduates blame lack of time as the main reason for not researching a company, however, it is an important task and is time well spent.
It is always useful to be able to show that you know more about the company than the information contained within it's glossy graduate recruitment brochure so try to gain information from less obvious sources - providing they aren't out of date!
Here are some things to think about
What does the company produce or what services does it offer?
Where are they based?
Do they have offices elsewhere?
Is the company planning an expansion - perhaps into Europe or further afield?
How big is the company? How many employees or departments does it have?
What links do they have with other companies? Are they managed as part of a group?
Who are their major competitors?
What is their profit like? What about their turnover?
Are they an ethical company? What is their Corporate Social Responsibility record?
Have there been any recent developments for the company?
What about recent press coverage?
Where do I start?
The Careers Service is always willing to help and has a range of useful hard-copy resources based within the Careers Information Room and on-line support tools which will help, including -
Employer information
The Employer Information section of the Careers Information Room is organised into sectors and includes information in the form of -
Graduate recruitment brochures
Annual reports and company figures
Company's own in-house publications
Employer videos and CD-ROMs
Recent press releases
Ethical employers
For a list of the sector groupings and for web links to employers within each sector please visit our Employer Links By Sector.
Employer Directories
The Careers Service keeps copies of official guides to graduate opportunities. These are the Prospects Directory and The Hobsons Directory. Free copies are available from the Careers Service for all students and recent graduates.
Other publications such as the GTI Target Series, The Hobsons Series, The Graduate and specialised Prospects publications are available for a range of sectors and will provide further information about certain professions and industries including information about major players in these areas.
The Careers Service is always willing to help and has a range of useful hard-copy resources based within the Careers Information Room and on-line support tools which will help, including -
Employer information
The Employer Information section of the Careers Information Room is organised into sectors and includes information in the form of -
Graduate recruitment brochures
Annual reports and company figures
Company's own in-house publications
Employer videos and CD-ROMs
Recent press releases
Ethical employers
For a list of the sector groupings and for web links to employers within each sector please visit our Employer Links By Sector.
Employer Directories
The Careers Service keeps copies of official guides to graduate opportunities. These are the Prospects Directory and The Hobsons Directory. Free copies are available from the Careers Service for all students and recent graduates.
Other publications such as the GTI Target Series, The Hobsons Series, The Graduate and specialised Prospects publications are available for a range of sectors and will provide further information about certain professions and industries including information about major players in these areas.
Regional job search
If you would like to focus your job search on a particular location the Regional Job Search section of the Careers Information Room contains a regional information including -
Regional directories of employers
Regional development information
Recruitment agency lists
Resources from other university careers services within each region
Vacancy bulletins from each region
If you would like to focus your job search on a particular location the Regional Job Search section of the Careers Information Room contains a regional information including -
Regional directories of employers
Regional development information
Recruitment agency lists
Resources from other university careers services within each region
Vacancy bulletins from each region
Employers presentations and Careers Fairs
The Careers Service offers a series of occupational presentations during both semesters and invites local, regional and national employers to host events throughout the year. Check our Workshop Listings on a regular basis to see who might be running CV clinics, hosting presentations or organising interviews.
Careers Fairs such as the annual Graduate Fair run by the three Liverpool Universities, The Kaleidoscope Public and Voluntary Sector Fair and the Media Jobs Fair offer students and graduates the chance to gather information on a range of employers and the opportunities that they offer. For more information visit our Careers Fairs pages.
The Careers Service offers a series of occupational presentations during both semesters and invites local, regional and national employers to host events throughout the year. Check our Workshop Listings on a regular basis to see who might be running CV clinics, hosting presentations or organising interviews.
Careers Fairs such as the annual Graduate Fair run by the three Liverpool Universities, The Kaleidoscope Public and Voluntary Sector Fair and the Media Jobs Fair offer students and graduates the chance to gather information on a range of employers and the opportunities that they offer. For more information visit our Careers Fairs pages.
Using the internet
The Internet is a valuable research tool and you can either use our ready made sections; Employer Links By Sector, Professional Bodies By Sector or use search engines such as Google to aid your searches.
Remember that in order to gain a good overview of a company you'll need to read the full website and not just the recruitment or graduate sections!
The Internet is a valuable research tool and you can either use our ready made sections; Employer Links By Sector, Professional Bodies By Sector or use search engines such as Google to aid your searches.
Remember that in order to gain a good overview of a company you'll need to read the full website and not just the recruitment or graduate sections!
Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Information on smaller companies can often be harder to find than information about larger, blue-chip organisations. However, the Careers Service collects information on smaller companies, especially those in our region and this will be included in our Employer Information section in the Careers Information Room and, as most companies now use the web as a marketing tool, the Internet is also a good place to start.
If you are hoping to work in smaller company when you graduate you'll need to understand how this differs from working within a larger company. Visit our pages dedicated to Working with SMEs for more information and useful links.
Information on smaller companies can often be harder to find than information about larger, blue-chip organisations. However, the Careers Service collects information on smaller companies, especially those in our region and this will be included in our Employer Information section in the Careers Information Room and, as most companies now use the web as a marketing tool, the Internet is also a good place to start.
If you are hoping to work in smaller company when you graduate you'll need to understand how this differs from working within a larger company. Visit our pages dedicated to Working with SMEs for more information and useful links.