It is called Everybody's Business: An Almanac, The Irreverent Guide to Corporate America, edited by Milton Moskowitz, Michael Katz, and Robert Levering, originally published by Harper & Row in 1980. This book answers all these questions and more, and it is entertainingly written and comprehensive. The book includes more than 300 large companies, and their criteria for deciding who to include was based on size, product/service identification, importance, and interest. Of course, there are literally thousands of companies they couldn't include. So how do you find information on these companies?
The best source is usually the company itself. Some librarians and career counselors will recommend that you look at the Dun and Bradstreet Directory, or in the previously mentioned Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys, both of which can be found in the reference section of most libraries. The information in these books is quite basic, however: an alphabetical listing of officers, products, standard industrial classification, sales range, and number of employees. Generally, this is not the kind of information you're seeking at this stage. What you're looking for is something that has more meat to it. You will want to find out what the company does, what types of people they employ, what their future plans are, what their business philosophy is, and related information. The best way to find this out is from the company's annual report.
If a company is a public company, which means it is owned by share holders, it will generally publish an annual report because it is required by law to make its finances public. Some libraries and career centers stock annual reports, but it is not a common practice. However, it is easy to call a company and ask for one. No one cares why you want it.
You may be a potential investor.
In any event, once you get your hands on one, you will find that the format for annual reports is somewhat standard. The first few pages usually include a letter from the company president informing the share-holders of the company's progress over the last year. The next section is devoted to the company's activities, and the activities of their subsidiaries. The last section includes the financial information, and generally there is a listing of the company's executives and Board of Directors.
The purpose of reading the annual report is to familiarize yourself with the company. The more experienced you become, the more you'll get out of reading annual reports. But initially, you should certainly be able to learn what direction a company is moving in; what new divisions have been formed; what the president's primary concerns for the new year are; and what kinds of people work for the company,
If a company is privately-owned, which means that it is not required to make its finances public, this kind of information is much more difficult to obtain. If the firm is a large, privately-owned company that is well-known, it might have been written about in a national trade journal, newspaper, or magazine, which would make it worthwhile to do some research on the firm. You might want to check the periodical indexes, notably the Funk and Scott Index, and the Wall Street Journal Index. If it is a small company, a listing in a local chamber of commerce or county business directory may be all you will be able to find about them, unless they, too, have been newsworthy. In this case, you can check the same periodical indexes listed above.
If a company is not incorporated and is run as a sole-proprietorship or a partnership (which would include many accounting firms, law firms, marketing research firms, consulting firms, and advertising agencies), an annual report is normally not available. In this case, you might find information from a trade association.
Another excellent source of information is the company newsletter.
Many firms, hospitals, and community organizations publish newsletters. Some of these groups will send their house publications to out siders who request them. To find out if a company publishes a house newsletter, consult the listing (arranged according to the publications' sponsors) in Working Press of the Nation, Volume 5: Internal Publications Directory, published annually by the National Research Bureau, Inc., in Burlington, Iowa.
As you look through all this research material, keep in mind your objectives at all times. What you're trying to target is what you want to do, and where you want to do it. So, as you begin researching occupations, industries, and companies, keep a list of the things that interest you. You should come up with some possibilities. In the meantime, don't forget the library's other resources. Look through the books on occupations that the library staff has compiled. Review audio- and videotapes that interest you. K they have a computer, use it; it certainly can't hurt. Look at any bulletin boards where jobs are posted. Are there any listings that interest you? Why are they interesting? Is it the job? The industry? The company?
Once you have completed some of this research, you have to isolate at least one occupation and/or industry of interest before you can proceed to the next step. If you're still not sure what you're interested in at this stage, take a stab at something - anything- because it is time to get out of the library and into the marketplace.
When you think of it, you probably do have some idea of what you might like doing. After all, you are not completely uninitiated. Look at your work experience. What have you learned about jobs and organizations? Maybe the only thing you've learned is what you don't want to do - ever again, if you can help it. Although negative, that information is helpful in narrowing down the occupations and industries to consider.
Now consider your parents, relatives, neighbors, and friends. Hasn't your father mentioned that the Eighties will bring about great changes in the banking industry? And doesn't your next-door neighbor work for a computer company that is attempting to expand into telecommunications? If these areas hold any interest for you, it is great. If not, pick something that does, or else you'll fall into the same trap that is a common problem among college graduates.
Some graduates like the library research phase so well, because it's so similar to the kind of research they did in college, they hesitate to leave the library. They keep on saying, "I need to know more. I'm still not sure what I want to do. There are a couple of industries and companies that look interesting, but..."
There are no "buts" about it. The skills identification and library research phases are only a part of the process. They're interesting, and they're fun to work at if you're research-oriented, but you can't dwell on them in hopes of staving off your entry into the marketplace. It's time to move on to field research.
