Re: Researching companies (was Testing)

[lori m long <llong -at- UNM -dot- EDU>]

On Fri, 10 Mar 1995, Melissa Hunter-Kilmer wrote:

> > I'm a newcomer to this group, so if I've done this incorrectly, I
> > apologize (and please, somebody yell at me so I don't mess up again!)

>    The form looks fine.  It's just the content that bothers me!

Thanks for the input! :)


> > If you have a phone number for the company, my favorite trick is calling
> > and making friends with the receptionist.  The person who answers the
> > phone usually has a tremendous amount of information about the company
> > and the people working there.  (HINT:  Call around 3:00 in the afternoon,
> > or some other suitably dead time of day for phones.)

>    Argh!  This brings back horrible old memories.

>    Long ago, I was a receptionist for a branch of Xerox.  I hated it when
>    callers tried to chat me up.  I was there to connect them to their party,
>    period.  I was not there to become their friends or give them job leads.
>    Those who tried to monopolize my time got on my bad list very quickly and
>    when I recognized their voices, I cut to the chase as soon as possible.

>    While I tried to get rid of these misguided folks in a polite way, lots of
>    other people were trying to call in and were *not* pleased to get busy
>    signals.  There was *no* time of day when the phones were dead.

>    I recommend networking instead.  They say that you can network your way to
>    the President in, what was it, seven steps?  Put out the word that you are
>    interested in finding out about XYZ Company.  Eventually -- and yes, it
>    can take a while -- one of your contacts will say, "Oh, yeah, my husband's
>    cousin used to work there.  I'll give you her number."  You'll get far
>    better results this way.

I agree that networking is valuable.  I must apologize for the lack of
clarity in my statement.  I thought we were talking about small companies
that are difficult to research.  I was not addressing finding the
POSITION that's open.  I believe the position and its requirements can be
obtained from the ad.  I'm talking about things like company policy,
company philosophy, and where the company is going in general.  This
information is tremendously helpful both on the resume and during the
interview.  For a company the size of Xerox, I would recommend getting
info from the library or the DOL.  In smaller companies, the receptionist
usually does have some dead time to spend on the phone and fewer incoming
lines to deal with.

There are no right anwswers -- I tend to follow the commandment "Don't be
a jerk" when searching for a job.  If a receptionist seems busy, or I
hear other lines ringing -- if there is ANY indication that she/he might
not want to chat -- I end the conversation and pursue other avenues of
research.

Lori