Research and preparation  

Before you apply for a job or attend an interview, always research the company to give you the best chance of success. A company’s website is always a good place to start, but other useful sources of information include:

• Company reports
• Press reports
• Sales information
• Recruitment information

Company reports

Annual and interim company reports include financial information as well as useful information about a company’s operations.

• Check the company’s website.
• Request a copy from the company itself or ask the library or careers centre to do this for you.
• The Aldrich Library (Moulsecoomb campus) has a company reports collection with hundreds of recent reports.
• Order reports from Companies House for a fee. 

Press reports

Press articles are a valuable source of information on a company.

• Use Google to find news articles.  Check the Financial Times in particular.
• Use the library to check back issues of the trade press and periodicals in your sector for advertisements from the company.
• Search for newspaper and trade press articles using the university’s Online Library.

Sales information

Read the sales information on the company’s products and services. Company brochures and websites will give you an idea of what the company sells or the services it offers.

Recruitment information

Bigger companies often have information on the type of person that they recruit and what it’s like to work for them.

• Graduate recruitment websites will give you information on companies that are currently recruiting to graduate schemes.  For example, Prospects and Target jobs.
• Visit our Occupations directory for links to sites relevant to your chosen career.
• Directories of graduate recruiters are available to take away from all careers centres.