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HOW TO IMPRESS AN EMPLOYER: doing your homework on companies for speculative applications or interviews.

ContentsEBSCO’S BUSINESS SOURCE COMPLETE:...........................................................................................2

COMPANY PROFILES FROM DATAMONITOR.................................................................................2

PRODUCT REVIEWS.......................................................................................................................3

COMPANY INFORMATION.............................................................................................................3

MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS........................................................................................................4

MARKET RESEARCH INFORMATION FROM MINTEL.......................................................................5

MINTEL OXYGEN: Finding Reports.................................................................................................5

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS MADE EASY (FAME).........................................................................................7

SEARCH TO FIND A SPECIFIC COMPANY REPORT...........................................................................7

FIND COMPANIES MATCHING TWO OR MORE CRITERIA (e.g. LOCATION AND INDUSTRY)...........7

CREATE A PEER REPORT FOR A COMPANY..................................................................................10

EXPORT A LIST TO EXCEL..............................................................................................................11

Which database to use?..................................................................................................................12

Researching a specific company..................................................................................................12

Creative Job Search: researching a specific industry....................................................................12

This workbook will help you research background information on companies, industries and markets for whom you might want to work.

The workbook will:

Identify 3 key databases to which Swansea University students and recent graduates have access: EBSCO Business Source Complete; Mintel; FAME.

Each resource has valuable information which isn’t available on freely available websites.

Your prospective employer will want you to demonstrate an interest in and some knowledge about the company.

Prepare for an interview or tailor your application by:

Researching the direction the company is going. Think of ways to demonstrate that you can be an asset to the company. Identify some of the issues facing the company or industry.

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Find out about their range of products and how they’re innovating. Who are their main competitors? How is the market carved up? Prepare two or three interesting questions based on what you’ve read about the

company.

EBSCO’S BUSINESS SOURCE COMPLETE: company profiles, company information, product reviews and market research reports.

Business Source Complete is a huge database of (mostly) full-text articles from scholarly journals and from business weeklies. It also contains about 30,000 Datamonitor company profiles, published within the last year or so.

Go to iFind Research (on the ISS/Library home page) and locate the database under A-Z of Databases under “B”. Login with your Athens username.

COMPANY PROFILES FROM DATAMONITOROn the Business Source Complete home page click on More (on the blue toolbar) and then Company Profiles

On the next screen search for the company you want and then click on the Datamonitor pdf link

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Each Datamonitor report has the same format containing: Company overview; Key facts; Business description; History; Key employees and biographies; Major products and services; Revenue analysis; SWOT analysis; Top competitors; Company view; Locations and subsidiaries.

PRODUCT REVIEWSReturn to BSC home page (click on New Search). Search on a product and select Reviews and Products as the search field:

COMPANY INFORMATIONAccess to hierarchical corporate structures, financials, industry, employees.

Click on Company Information on the blue toolbar and enter a company name (or keyword)

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MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS[N.B. If you’re interested in the food, drink, leisure, e-commerce or technology markets, Mintel (page 5) is a better resource. However our subscription to Mintel does not cover every consumer market, so it’s advisable to also search Business Source Complete].

Click on New Search.

Enter the name of a market or industry e.g. automotive, fashion.

[Tip – use the Thesaurus to identify the correct term].

Click Search.

Limit your results by selecting Show More from the Source types filter box on the left of the screen.

Then select Market Research Reports

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MARKET RESEARCH INFORMATION FROM MINTEL

i) Mintel Oxygen market research reports include analysis, commentary and data.

NB: Swansea University subscribes to the following industry categories only: e-commerce; food; leisure; technology; drink.

Access it here: http://ifind.swan.ac.uk/discover/Record/615958

ii) Mintel Global Markets Navigator contains industry and country data containing market size, market share and forecast data for thousands of consumer goods categories worldwide.Access it here: http://ifind.swan.ac.uk/discover/Record/616042

MINTEL OXYGEN: Finding Reports

You can use the Search box (top right) to search for reports or browse via “Reports”:

Report home page

Resources on the right show summaries to download. You cannot download the entire report - you can only download individual sections. “Executive Summary” will give an overview or click on “Report Contents” to show the sections of the report.

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Within a section of a report you have the following options: Download as a document (Rich Text Format, suitable for Word) Print: you can only print individual sections of a Report Export to Basket: collect sections in your “Basket” (accessed via Tools /

Export Basket) and then download them as a single .rtf file.

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FINANCIAL ANALYSIS MADE EASY (FAME)

SEARCH TO FIND A SPECIFIC COMPANY REPORTEnter the name of the company, e.g. VAX. Click on

VAX Ltd. Standard report should be displayed - scroll up and down the report to view sections or use the menu on the right.

TIP: To start a brand new search, click on (top left of screen) to

return to the home page and then Clear Search by clicking o to start afresh.

FIND COMPANIES MATCHING TWO OR MORE CRITERIA (e.g. LOCATION AND INDUSTRY)e.g. find law companies in South Wales

This is useful if you wish to send your CV to relevant companies.

Users can select one or more criteria to perform a more advanced search. The criteria headings are listed in the centre of the home page. Criteria can be selected in any order.

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Users can also view criteria by Alphabetical List or by searching.

First criterion:

Select Postal Regions from the Location menu:

Expand Wales by clicking on the + sign, then select Swansea(SA), Cardiff(CF) and

Newport(NP) and click on

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Second criterion:Select Industry > UK SIC code (2007) > expand code 69 (Legal and Accounting

activities) > Select “691. Legal Activities”) > Click on

At the bottom of the home page in the Search Strategy box the steps for the latest search are listed and the number of companies which have been found at each step. Click on View list of results.

You should have about 5 companies in your list.

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CREATE A PEER REPORT FOR A COMPANY

A Peer Report compares a company to its standard peer group. A standard peer group is defined as 10 companies with the same SIC code (industry) and similar turnover. This is useful if you want to discover a company’s competitors. The more visual interface (bar charts & pie charts) makes the information easier to understand.

Search for Vax Ltd and view the standard report

Click on Peer Report on the right hand side of the screen, and select type of output, e.g. a chart or table.

The variables displayed can be changed by clicking the Options button or using the left hand Variables menu.

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EXPORT A LIST TO EXCELTo either export a list of companies from a results list OR to export a whole company report, the method is the same.

Click on the Export icon: displayed at the top screen.

Choose a name for your file & select Excel 2007 > OK. Save.

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Which database to use?

Researching a specific company

Large, international companies Try: Company Profiles from EBSCO Business Source Complete; or tryProquest Business Collection.

Large British / Irish companies Try: FAMECompanies in e-commerce; food; leisure; technology; drink industries

Try: Mintel Oxygen for market reports

Other industries Try: Industry or market reports from EBSCO Business Source CompleteTry: Industry or market reports from Proquest Business Collection

Creative Job Search: researching a specific industry

Large British / Irish companies Try: generating a list of companies in an industry + area using FAME (N.B. This will only include companies with a turnover > £1.5m)

Companies in e-commerce; food; leisure; technology; drink industries

Try: Mintel Oxygen for market reports

All major industries Try: Industry or market reports from EBSCO Business Source CompleteTry: Industry or market reports from Proquest Business Collection

Access all our databases from here: http://bit.ly/OGlVVU

Contact us for help: buslib@swansea.ac.uk

How long do I have access to Swansea University subscribed resources after I’ve graduated?

Final year undergraduate students – computer accounts, email, Athens usernames expire 31st August of the year of your graduation.

Masters students – expire 31st October, unless an extension on dissertation submission has been granted.

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