Job market research is an essential first step in your career marketing campaign. You’ll benefit from doing it right whether you are a, “dismantled,” or “forked” former federal employee, downsized from a corporate job or failed start-up, or you have just decided it is time to move on.
Often, I have told job search classes and clients that job interviews are a bit like the Sunday-morning talk shows. You have your talking points–accomplishments on the resume and research about the company. Unlike the politicians on TV, though, you have to keep your facts straight. So, it is critical to do your research, and then fact-check it.
A checklist for Web content writers I came across a few years ago suggested research guidelines and best practices I have followed for years. Key points include:
- Use reliable sources,
- Trace information back to primary sources,
- Speak with relevant experts,
- Recognize the value of personal experience, and
- Make any research your own.
When you apply research skills to your own job search, you’re not preparing a media product for publication. Nonetheless, you will avoid interview faux pas, like mixing up companies with similar names (there are three companies called SPIN in Philadelphia, for example), by following best practices.
Use reliable sources.
It is important to use reliable information sources whether you are researching a company before a job interview or writing content for publication. Anyone can publish anything on the World Wide Web at little or no cost. No supervisors, editorial boards, or fact-checkers work to avoid serious errors at many websites.
It’s easy, for example, to use your favorite AI app or website to acquire information on an employer. But certain AI sites do not link to sources. And, in other cases, AI sites “hallucinate,” or make stuff up, such as non-existent court decisions and alternative history.
Trace information back to primary sources.
It’s easy to create an “audit trail” for yourself when conducting job market research. Most of the information we need for your job search is available on the Web. You just have to link it to your interview prep notes.
For example, I found a blog post on the 10 best paying jobs and started writing my own post on the topic. My next step, before quoting the source post was to follow its links back to primary sources. When I looked at the source document, I found the blog did not accurately represent certain data, so I had to rewrite my own post.
Suppose I had been preparing to negotiate my starting salary instead of writing a blog post? I would have gone in front of the hiring team with the wrong information.
Take similar steps when you do your own job market research. For example, if you find a blog post on the top ten players in your industry, check the blog’s source to see if the list is accurate.
No source of information is 100% reliable because errors and bias creep into the most carefully vetted work. Nonetheless, you will be able to confidently cite a source when a job interviewer looks skeptical or says your facts are wrong.
Speak with relevant experts.
Another good way to validate the information you find online is to speak with industry experts. This step also helps you broaden or reinvigorate your network of industry and professional contacts during your search. You will find it relatively easy to touch base with experts if you are doing a search in your current industry because you probably know the key players. If they know and trust you, you’ll be able to have one-on-one conversations to ask questions, or bounce data off them.
My favorite way to connect with experts that don’t know me is through professional organizations. For example, I participate in Zoom meetings and webinars run by two organizations related to career coaching and resume writing where I get the opportunity to discuss ideas with them and ask questions.
If your professional or industry organization holds in-person meetings that you can get to, that’s even better. You will establish a stronger connection when you meet people face-to-face. I have generated follow-up lunch meetings, and even job interviews by connecting with experts and managers at in-person professional events.
Remember that the experts are not always correct. Nonetheless, it is important not to work in a vacuum. Listen to other people’s ideas, ask questions, and then form your own opinions based on facts.
Recognize the value of personal experience.
Personal experience, sometimes called “anecdotal evidence” is not highly valued in formal research, but it is important for job search preparation. You know a lot about your business and industry if you have worked in it for many years, so incorporate this knowledge into your job market research and interview preparation. It’s even better, of course, if you can find statistics and primary sources that confirm what you know about your business. Then, you could be seen as one of the industry experts.
Make any research results your own.
Experts on content writing and research writing emphasize the value of presenting original ideas and crediting ideas you got from others. While you are not going to post or publish your job interview prep notes, or the research you use to select job targets, it is still important to think through the information you have gathered, decide whether it is correct, and credit others for statistics, analyses, and concepts that are not your own at an interview. Your prospective employer is seeking someone that can solve problems, and not just regurgitate information. Best of all, you will feel more confident when you have solid research at your fingertips when the interview begins. Now, you will be the expert!
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