Finding a Job by Targeted Networking - Part 3

Building the company list
Building a company list is the next step in targeting your networking.  With this list, you have identified your target companies, so that you can networking into them.

Having read the earlier articles, you should now have an idea of what you are looking for in a job.  Ranking each quality as critical, important, or “nice to have” will give perspective as you are looking for companies with those qualities.  This information is useful to rank each individual company to build up your target list. 

To create the company list, use a spreadsheet. Start by creating a title row in the first row.  It should contain: company name, ranking, web address, and information about the company that is important to you.  For example, your biggest concerns might be commuting distance (Important), flexibility of hours (critical), salary (important), and an environment with low politics (important).  One other note: don’t bother collecting data for its own sake, that is just a waste of effort.

With the title row of your spreadsheet filled out, add in a new row every time you identify a company name in your field and area you could reasonably consider for a job.  Enter company names even when you don’t know all of the data you are looking for. You can put in question marks for placeholders for missing data and the overall rating.

Finding names of companies in your area and field is straightforward, but can be time consuming.  You can usually find resources at your library and on-line.  Also look up your local chamber of commerce as they often have publications by field. You can talk to a local technology group or organization for your area as their membership lists are a great place to start your company list. And as you network, write down names of companies that are new to you. 

Find out information about companies the same way: on line, the library, or talking to people.  Articles about the company or their products can be great sources of information.  As you collect company data, some companies will be your lowest rank. Don’t drop them off your list.  Keep track of those that you have no interest in – as you list of companies is large, some names will pop up again that you will have rejected previously but forgotten about. However, don’t invest effort in finding out more information about the lowest ranking companies.

As you build up your company list, rate each company as you collect enough relevant information.  A simple rating method is best, such as 1 to 5 or A to F. You can use this rating to sort your list of companies to keep your “target” companies on top.  Your rating should reflect how well the company matches what you are looking for in each of the categories.  When doing this, evaluate each opportunity as objectively as possible.   

Next: how to target your networking to your target companies.