Job seeking from a hunters perspective Blog

What constitutes a target company? October 29, 2009

While at a networking meeting for unemployed professionals this morning, I realized that a number of the members di not fully understand what a target company is.

A target company is not the one that you just sent your resume to.  They may or may not be the ones close to your residence or in your geographical area.

A target company is one that you know about, that you have heard about, a company that you would love to work for.

It also may be a company that is not currently hiring.  Does that mean it would be a waste of your time not to send your resume.  If that is the attitude then the company is not a true target company.

A target is that company that you would love to work for and that the time you spend working on landing that position is well worth the effort. This is the company that you should be networking your way into. It is a company that you want to keep these contacts fresh and informed. It is a company that you want to help even though you are not working there yet. This will work in your favor in the end.

I was talking with Phil about one of his target companies. The one we talked about had products that he was really interested in. The company also had a community program that was inline with Phil’s personal beliefs. This company does not have a position open currently. That is not going to stop Phil from developing a plan to stay in their radar without being a pest and will eventually land a position there.

My target companies are Ahura Scientific and Design Continuum. Ahura is a medical industry company and I like their products because of the manner in which they help people. I like their mission and vision.

Design Continuum is a company that helps other companies design better products, a more efficient process, a cost effective product to realize better profit margin. They help other companies achieve things that they themselves do not have the resources for.

So sit down and write a list of companies that you think you want to work for. Then do research on these companies. Look at their websites, if publicly traded look on sec.gov for their 10K and 15K reports, talk to people in your network to find people that work for these companies. This may eliminate some companies on your list. This is okay because your list should be no more than 15 companies, 20 maximum.

Check on these companies once a month , check the website, look at the news, and talk with contacts.  Record new things that you learned so you will be prepared when the interview comes.

Remember this is a company that you really want to work for. So if you are working and get the offer from your target company, you need to be prepared to make the move or you will give up any chance of working for that company.