Many of us will find ourselves with extra time over the summer that we would not have during the school year. Whether you’re using this extra time to work on your fitness, pick up a new hobby, or just read, relax, and kick back, it is never a bad idea to spend some time doing industry and company research that is relevant to your future goals.
Let’s talk first about industry research. “Industry” is a word we use to refer to a particular form of work – a sector. We can classify a workplace into an industry based on principal product or activity, as determined from information on annual sales volume. If you aren’t quite yet sure what you want to do with your career and are still considering your areas of interest, reading about different sectors will give you helpful insight into career paths, outlooks, and options. In addition, as you make steps to get closer to interviewing and landing a job, recruiters and interviewers will expect you to have base knowledge about the industry you plan to enter.
Here are some key things you should know:
- The competitive landscape – Who are the key players? What makes them important?
- Current industry trends and hot topics in the media
- Immediate forecasts and challenges facing the industry (and potential solutions to overcome these)
- How the industry has changed recently
Here are some helpful resources that will aid you in finding this information:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Overview of Industries: http://www.bls.gov/bls/industry.htm
Here, you will have access to “Industry at a Glance”, which includes profies of the nine major industry divisions. Each profile contains facts about the industry and links to more data, including an “At a Glance” table, employment, hour, and earnings.
The Career Guide to Industries: http://bls.gov/oco/cg/home.htm
This guide provides information on available careers by industry, including the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training and advancement, earning and benefits, employmet outlook, and lists of organizations that can provide additional information.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://bls.gov/oco/
This provides information on careers from an occupational perspective and is a companion to the career guide.
Resources at UChicago
Business and Economics Library (University of Chicago) Subject Guides
http://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/industries
Standard & Poor’s netAdvantage
http://www1.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/nand/search/eresources
Access this electronic resource via the University Library. Here you’ll find excellent industry surveys of over 50 large industry segments.
Wetfeet.com’s Industry Insider Guide
This is available in the Career Advancement Library. Thirty leading industries from accounting to venture capital
Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources
This is available in the Regenstein, Z7164.C81E93. This is a useful listing of information sources on detailed subjects, industries, and business topics.
More Online Resources
MBAJungle > Research Industries
Vault.com > Industry Channels
http://www.vault.com/hubs/industrylist.jsp
Learn About an Industry or a Specific Company
http://www.virtualpet.com/industry/howto/search.htm
JobStar Industry Research
UChicago Career Advancement 