Why doing your research is important

• To explore your career options before you decide which career path to follow. Develop an understanding of different sectors, jobs, types of work, further study options, self-employment options. See also the  Career planning section for further advice on planning your career and exploring your options.
• Gain an understanding of entry requirements for roles and sectors. What different employers look for in candidates, what skills and experience do they require? Is further study needed?
• Help you to decide which employers to contact. Do not send out hundreds of applications or e-mails to many different types of organisations, send fewer well researched and targeted applications/CVs to employers you know something about.
• Make it easy for the employer to see your suitability - present yourself effectively and show how you are a good match to the organisation/job. First you need to clearly understand who they are and what they want.
• Given two candidates with similar experience and skills, most employers would offer the job to the one who has demonstrated a greater enthusiasm for the role and understanding of the role/organisation.
• To prepare for interviews - you have to be able to answer the critical question of why you would like to work for that employer and not sound like you would take any job. Doing your research will also help you to formulate intelligent, appropriate and relevant questions to ask during the interview.
• It will help you to evaluate a job offer if you gain a real understanding of what the organisation does, where your role fits in the organisation and what will be expected of you.

What to look for

When researching careers, sectors, roles and employers.

Sectors

• What is happening in the labour market?
• What roles are available in the sector?

Internal factors

• What an organisation does
• Organisation culture
• Company aims

Recruitment

• Do they recruit graduates?
• Do they offer graduate schemes, graduate level jobs, and graduate internships?
• What are the entry requirements? What skills, experience and degree classification or subject do they require?
• How and when do you need to apply?

External factors
Gain an understanding of what is happening in the environment in which the organisation operates and how they are affected by external factors including:

• Economic conditions affecting their market
• Customers
• Competitors
• What is happening in their industry - trends, competitors, and the future?
• Growth - how, where and why it is growing?
• Achievements – new launches, have they received any awards?
• Relevant professional/governing bodies
• Political issues
• Recent changes or affects on the company - regulatory issues, mergers
• Quality standards

Resources to use

From the Careers and Employability Service:

•  Employer Fairs are a chance to speak to employers/employees, find out more about them, what they do and what they offer. Also a chance to speak to employees, find out more about their role and what they do, is their role something that would interest you? However we do suggest doing some research before you initiate such conversations to show that you already know something about them.
• Labour Market Information - find out what is happening in the labour market, see where there is growth, decline and changes
• Career Mentoring Network - network with graduates (mentors) from University. The mentors can help you to explore careers in a particular sector or industry, give you an 'insider's guide' to application procedures and talk about the skills needed for a particular role. Mentoring is a supportive relationship intended to give you advice and information to help you to manage your own career.
• Recruitment/graduate sites including Graduate Prospects and Targetjobs that hold company profiles. See the Vacancy sources and top tips page for further links.
• Job advertisements and job descriptions
  - Useful to find out what different employers are looking for in recruits. It is useful to start looking at these even before you are ready to apply; this will give you an idea of what preparation and skills development you need to undergo whilst you are still a student. 
  - Look out for any vacancies with an organisation you are interested in, even those in a different department or at a more senior level than you are qualified for, these can be a valuable source of information i.e. names and contact details of the people in charge of recruitment. It can be an opportunity to contact them about getting some experience, enquiring about other, more relevant, opportunities to you, or even just asking for the name of the person in charge of the department you want to get into.
  - See the Vacancy sources and top tips page for further details.
• Networking – do your own live research, build up a network of contacts starting with friends and family, academics, careers staff, previous employers. Speak to people about what type of role/organisation you are looking for and /or what they do. Further information on Networking.
• Graduate destinations - find out about graduate destinations of former graduates from your course – see if any of their career destinations appeal to you. See the section What Huddersfield graduates do

Watch online video clips from a range of professionals and employers

 Gain an insight into their career path, how they broke into different roles and sectors.

• icould
• BraveNewTalent
• Career player
• Careersbox

Employer and Industry Information

• Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR)
• British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
• Business Link
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Inside Buzz - browse in-depth company profiles
• Local Government Employers
• Target Jobs - independant advice on top graduate recruiters
• The Trade Association Forum
• UK Business Park - details of different sectors and activity within the sector such as business growth, who is recruiting and expanding.
• See also Industry insights and Explore types of jobs sections on Graduate Prospects.

Other resources:

• Graduate Prospects occupational profiles provide details on a range of different occupations, typical activities and duties, entry requirements, typical employers and vacancy sources.
• Company websites.
• Request a company/annual report.
• Employer insights - from Targetjobs
  Each Employer Insight contains information that a student cannot easily find from looking at a recruiter’s website: what the jobs are like, company culture, core competences, selection procedures, current news, and more...
• Professional bodies - If the organisation is in a sector with a professional body check out the professional body websites fo further information on the organisation and sector.
  Totalprofessions.com Explore the Profession Finder, featuring more than 270 Professional Bodies, to see how membership of a Professional Body can improve your career; find out how professional bodies can assist your career aspirations in the Sector Summaries and use the Job Search area to find your next role.
  Journals - see journals relevant to specific roles and sectors - these are great resources for finding out about what is new, current and/or changing in a sector, details of organisations and also job vacancies.  A range of journals are available in the student libraries on campus.
• Sector Skills Councils - links to list of sector councils and employers within those sectors.
• Financial Times for up to date business finance news.
• Search engines - type the organisation name into a search engine – see what information you retrieve.
• Search for the organisation in the local and national press – article archives are often available online. A list of local and national press is available via British Media Online.
• Online blogging and networking - to get job leads or make potential career contacts. Employers often use social networking sites to connect with potential recruits as a way of finding out more about a candidate beyond a CV. If you are interested in a particular organisation then try and find out who the directors / managers are and check them out on Linked In a professional networking site, also try  Facebook and Twitter. Large organisations and SMEs often use these networks for marketing purposes and to advertise jobs so they can give a useful insight into who is recruiting, when and how. Remember to ensure that you and online your details are professional at all times - it is essential that you make a good impression. See the Application process page for further advice on ensuring that your online details are professional at all times; personal photos and comments on your online profiles could make a bad impression.