Why Company Research Is Important in an Executive Job Search

As an executive-level job candidate, you know your field inside and out, which is why conducting a job search can initially seem like an easy task. But if you haven’t searched in years, you might find that the task is more involved than you first thought.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of highly qualified executives looking for work just like you, which means you need to give yourself an edge in order to obtain an interview—and hopefully snag a position. One way to increase your odds is to conduct thorough research on each company as you write your resumes.

Companies Need to Know You Can Help Them

As you already know, companies are in the business of hiring top talent to help their business excel. As an executive, you play a pivotal role in driving the direction of the company, which means hiring managers need to know you can actually help them before they’ll be willing to hire you.

At the executive level, it is often easy to fall into a pattern of shipping off your resume without tailoring it to a specific company because your qualifications should suit any company’s needs, right? Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

Each company has very specific needs, and they want to hire an executive who can meet those needs. This means it’s up to you to find out what those specific needs are by conducting thorough research, then aligning your qualifications (experience, accomplishments, education, etc.) to those needs.

In addition to reading job postings, reviewing company websites, and even finding press releases and other news on each company, you can identify key challenges, goals, and other critical information to help you write a winning resume that proves you are the right person for the job.

You Need to Know You’re Applying With the Right Companies

Another great reason to conduct company research during your job search is that you need to know that you are sticking with the career plan you devised for yourself years ago. By jumping on board with a specific company, you have to take on its mission in order to successfully do your job.

If the company conducts business in a way you don’t agree with, has a bad history of customer service, promotes products you don’t like, or simply is known for a troubled organizational culture, unless you will be responsible for correcting these issues, it’s a good idea to continue searching for companies that fall in line with who you are personally and professionally.

Of course, this goal can really only be accomplished by taking a good, close look at the companies you’re interested in working for. So as you conduct your job search, take the time to research companies to ensure you will be a good match.