Whether you’re looking for a job, searching for business partners or evaluating the competition, finding authentic information about a specific business online is often hit-and-miss. The company website contains facts, of course, but if you want to know what’s going on, you can’t rely on their word alone.
Where do you go when you need facts, objective data and get a feel for the company culture? The following five sites get you where you want to go.
- Crunchbase: Crunchbase is a powerful resource for connecting companies and professionals as well as matching businesses with investors. For example, the InsureOne Crunchbase profile gives researchers an immediate overview of information, including what the company does, the number of employees it has, its location, initial public offering status, social media accounts, website, and contact information.
A simple click provides more detailed information, such as specialties, core mission, services offered, geographical reach as well as the company’s unique position within the industry.
- Glassdoor: Glassdoor is the place for you if you’re looking for a job. A recruiting and job search site, Glassdoor provides a growing database of company reviews that encompass a wide variety of topics.
Company information includes the following:
- Company reviews
- CEO approval ratings
- Benefit reviews
- Salary reviews
- Interview reviews
- Company culture
Glassdoor is different because reviews and insider knowledge come from current or former company employees. After all, they know the company better than anyone.
The data at Glassdoor is valuable even if you’re not looking for a job. Hiring managers use Glassdoor to find skilled and informed candidates. With over 60 million unique visitors each month, the goal of Glassdoor is to help people find a job they’ll love. But, Glassdoor also offers specific details pertaining to a company’s culture, industry, management and size.
- The Library of Congress: The Library of Congress (LOC) provides a massive wealth of company research resources online. The LOC company research guides give you the tools to search for information about private or public companies in the U.S., non-U.S. companies, and related news. You can even conduct peer group/competitor comparisons.
- Yahoo! Finance: Discover the latest company news, search for company information using a name, industry or region, find out the latest trends and keep an eye on the stock market at Yahoo! Finance. Upload your portfolio and build watch lists to stay informed, find the best recruits or choose your next job.
- Vault.com: Are you curious about what it would be like to work in a specific industry? Check out Vault.com. Current and former employees let you in on the company secrets with reviews about the working environment, job demands, and benefits. Vault.com offers recruiting services for employers, resume uploads for job seekers, interview and resume preparation advice and career path assistance. As an added plus, Vault.com also provides internship listings. The information at Vault.com is invaluable even if you aren’t looking for a job or hiring an employee.
Whether you require facts about a company, want to know what it’s like to work for a specific business or industry, hire talent or see what the competition’s doing, research is easy if you know where to go.
