Points to consider for researching employers

Are you clear about what information you are seeking and why? For example:

You might know that you want to work in a particular sector, but want to investigate which organisations operate there, as a starting point for identifying potential employers.
You might be applying to one or more organisations in a particular sector and need to find out more about the context in which they operate, the issues they face, perhaps their opportunities for future growth, etc.
You might know you want to work in a particular role, say Human Resources, but are uncertain about the sector in which you want to work. You need to understand more about sectors and employers which could be of interest to you.
You might be preparing to attend careers fairs, forums or networking events and need to prepare some good questions in order to make a positive impression and have productive discussions with employers.
You might be interested in a specific employer and need to find out more about them in order to prepare your application.

Could you identify at least one point about an employer that differentiates them from others operating in the same environment?

Sources of Employer information

Our directory of organisations list by business sector. These are organisations with whom we have had recent contact, either through events such as fairs, forums, presentations, visits or through the provision of information about graduate programmes.
Careers Tagged is a search tool from The Careers Group. Enter tags for the sort of organisation, job or sector you want. Tip try a tag like "advertising" or "human rights" and combine the results with other tag(s) such as "employer" or "graduate recruiter" or "vacancies".
Typical graduate employers are found in the Prospects site, Inside Careers, GTI Target series.
Employer Associations and Professional bodies (try Careers Tagged tofind these).
The Alliance of Sector Skills Council
Company presentations.
Careers fairs.

To locate organisations:

Yell - online directory to search for companies by product, service, name and location in the UK. Results include basic contact details and weblinks.
Kompass - a global database of companies to search by country, product and service. Gives basic contact details and weblinks only.
Kelly - online directory to search for companies by product, service, name and location in the UK. Includes basic contact details and weblinks.
Local employers (libraries, town halls) - see www.directgov.gov.uk for listings.

To get specific company information:

(Be aware that with some sites a fee is charged for more detailed data.)

Carol: Company Annual Reports OnLine - offers access to company annual reports and other financial information
Hemscott - website with detailed information on business and financial information, A-Z of company data including summary analyses, annual reports plus news and commentary.
Hoovers - search for company information by sector, industry, country and A-Z list. Provides a summary of market position of individual companies with financial data. Recent news and commentary with relevant press releases.
Freepint - offers basic contact details and financial information on companies plus free newsletter and portal of useful websites. More detailed company reports have to be purchased.
Northcote - includes company reports and other corporate information.
BUBL- includes company listings, business directories and links to business sources on the internet.
Companies House - Provides basic details on all registered companies. A charge is made for company accounts and annual returns.
Financial Times - up-to-date news on the markets, industries and companies

Specialist Business Libraries

Such libraries can be worth a visit in person as they contain collections of printed information such as business and telephone directories, company annual reports, business and trade journals, market research surveys and reports, country directories and economic statistics. Also frequently available are financial and press information on CD ROM plus free use of the internet and other electronic sources. Visiting the library's website can also link you to many useful gateways and portals. The following libraries in London are particularly useful –

City Business Library, City Business Library, Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH Tel 020 7332 1812 (open Monday to Friday 09:30 to 17:00) (except public holidays).
Business Information Service at the British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB Tel 0870 444 1500 (open Monday to Friday 09:30 to 18:00)
Westminster Central Reference Library, St Martins St London WC1 Tel 020 7641 4634 (open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 10:00 to 17:00)

Ensure you are up to speed with our ideas on Exploring job ideas and accessing Current Vacancies, the information about the King’s Career Networks, as well as the other information available in the Students section or hit "home" key to return to the top of the page for links to information by sector.