Career and Job Research

This guide provides resources to help you research careers, search for jobs, write résumés, gain interview skills, and more.

Why research a company?

Researching a company

Reasons to search for company information:
  • to prepare for a job interview
  • to decide whether or not you want to apply for a job there
  • to see where the company (and "branches") is located
  • to find out how many people work there
  • to get specific information on what the company is and does

Search in ProQuest Business


Using ProQuest Business Collections

ProQuest Business by default searches three separate databases including

  1. ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry

  2. Research Library: Business

  3. The Wall Street Journal

You can search for information on specific companies or industries in ProQuest Business by clicking on the link to the database in this box

(click on image to enlarge)

screenshot showing 3 ProQuest Business databases


Type in your search terms, or keywords, to find relevant information in ProQuest Business. Be sure to limit to full-text articles if you need access immediately.

  • A search for information about the growth of Starbucks franchises might look like this (image below): 

(click on image to enlarge)

search in business database


Tips:
  • Try different search terms to get to the most relevant articles.

  • If you get too many titles, try adding another search term to narrow and focus your results.

  • You can limit by year of publication.

  • You can limit by full text (which means you will only get articles you can read in entirety).


How do you know which articles meet your needs?

Your search results list looks like this. 

  • Read the abstract, or summary, to understand the key focus of the article or report. Is it what you are looking for?
  • Use the menu on the left to further focus your search for the right information.

(click on image to enlarge)

results in database

Advanced Google Searching

Company websites and annual reports

Search the Google box below with your company name as your keyword. A company's annual report, if it has one, will give you great information about the company, so you might also want to add "annual report" to your search (with the quotation marks).

Google Web Search