Research Guides: Career Resources at NYU Shanghai: Researching Employers

Summary

Focus On

Imagine you are an independent consultant about to meet with a prospective new client.

You'll want to focus on the following:

How the organization see themselves, their culture and values — what differentiates them from others in the field
What the organization is most known for
What recent news the organization was mentioned in and why
What are the biggest and/or current initiatives/projects/products/clients
What is the size of the organization — for e.g., no. of employees, offices in which part of the country/region
Who are the key decision-makers — so that you are to recognize important names, and their background

Rationale

Interviewers are unlikely to test you your knowledge of a company.

They might ask a question like “Tell me what you know about us,” but they’re generally just looking to ensure that you know the basics.

Objectives

Remember, this research is for yourself! By the end of the research:

You are informed about what this organization is all about
You can understand the context during your interview
You have an intelligent conversation with your interviewer(s)
You feel prepared and confident

Doing it Wrong

You're doing it wrong and wasting your time if you are:

Memorizing the names of their board members, and their sales numbers last year
Knowing every location which they have an office in, and the precise year they were founded

Industry information

Databases that cover a broad range or many, multiple industries

BCC Research This link opens in a new window
Go to My Categories
Covers a large number of horizontal markets, with reports generally more than 100 pages long (!). Most appropriate for STEM fields.
FitchConnect This link opens in a new window
Formerly known as BMI Research, FitchConnect contains proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts covering many countries and industries. Their research features country risk, financial markets analysis, and industry research.
Select 'Sign in at New York University" to access the database.
Emerging Markets Information Service (EMIS) This link opens in a new window
Emerging Markets Information Service contains articles, news, financial filings for publicly held companies, and analyst reports in emerging countries in Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe.
Requires NetID and password.
First Research This link opens in a new window
Go to Browse Industry Profiles
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Go to Industry Reports > Browse Reports > Specialized Industry Reports > View All Industry Reports
Covers U.S.-centric industries
Requires NetID and password on and off-campus.
MarketResearch.com Academic This link opens in a new window
Covers 7 broad industries: Service Industries, Consumer Goods, Demographics, Food & Beverage, Heavy Industry, Life Science, Public Sector, and Technology & Media. Each report will contain competitive analysis, market trends, product Innovations, buyer behavior, & market share.
Mintel Academic This link opens in a new window
Go to Mintel Academic > Trends or Category Overview
Covers consumer vertical markets (such as automotive, beauty, food service, health & wellness, personal care , & travel), as well as 'themes' (e.g. Brexit,
E-Commerce, Ethical & Green, Healthy Lifestyles, Premium & Luxury, & Social Media).
Requires Net ID and password on and off-campus.
Passport This link opens in a new window
Go to Industries
Covers fast-moving consumer products (FMCGs) such as alcoholic drinks, apparel and footwear, beauty and personal care, luxury goods, pet care, & soft drinks.
Requires Net ID and password.
Value Line This link opens in a new window
Go to Markets > Industries > View all industry analysis
Covers mainly horizontal markets such as steel, reinsurance, railroad, diversified natural gas, brokers and exchanges, as well as an overview of funeral services, wireless networking.

Databases that focuses on specific industries/specialized

eMarketer This link opens in a new window
Go to Reports or Topics > Topic Shortlist
Focuses on digital technology, such as e-commerce, and advertising & marketing.
A valid NYU NetId and password is required to access this resource
Faulkner Advisory for IT Studies (FAITS) This link opens in a new window
Focuses on IT, security, & communications technology.
Gartner Reports This link opens in a new window
Go to Explore > Hype Cycles or Magic Quadrants
You can also search for a specific IT company. Focus is on business IT.
When you click on the database link, you will be prompted to answer questions that will help customize your Gartner Reports profile. You may adjust those profile settings once you are on the database homepage.
Risk.net This link opens in a new window
Covers risk management, derivatives, regulation, commodities, and asset management. Suitable for regular news scanning if you are keen in this field.
Skift This link opens in a new window
Go to Research > Reports
Covers aviation, business travel, destinations, digital marketing, digital media, distribution, hospitality, millennials, mobile, online travel, social media, start-ups, & travel tech. They also provide latest news on those sectors.
Sports Business Research Network This link opens in a new window
Go to Quick Links
Mostly quantitative data specific to sports (including cheerleading, eSports, & eyewear), sporting goods, market segments, and 'fan markets'.
UNWTO Elibrary This link opens in a new window
Go to Tourism Market Trends
Mostly detailed reports in PDF.

Organization profiles

Business Insights: Essentials This link opens in a new window
Covers U.S. businesses, industries, and products.
Emerging Markets Information Service (EMIS) This link opens in a new window
Emerging Markets Information Service contains articles, news, financial filings for publicly held companies, and analyst reports in emerging countries in Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe.
Requires NetID and password.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Factiva is a resource for U.S. and international newspapers (html full text only, no images or print layout versions), news transcripts, trade journals, newsletters, industry snapshots, and market data charts for recent stock prices. Coverage dates vary from title to title, but primarily span the late 20th century to present.
Requires NetID login from on or off campus.
Foundation Directory Online This link opens in a new window
Foundation Directory Online is a database of over 100,000 public and private foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S. It provides comprehensive information on grant-makers and their grants. Includes Candid's "Foundation Grants to Individuals Online".
GuideStar: the National Database of Nonprofit Organizations This link opens in a new window
Candid's GuideStar provides data on IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Users can search nonprofits according to their operating budgets, size, location, and National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE). Highlight include a financial trends analysis snapshot for each organization and downloadable form 990s.
To access the premium section of Guidestar, you must register and create an account. Once registered, NYU users are permitted to download 1000 records per month. Registration can be done on this link here.
Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Hoovers contains public and private company profiles. Includes key executive profiles, industry coverage, and detailed company fact sheets.
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Mergent Intellect is a directory of public and private companies in the US and worldwide. Includes contact information, financials, and key personnel. It provides information from Hoovers Online and Dun and Bradstreet but with additional downloading capabilities.
Pitchbook This link opens in a new window
Research and analyze companies, deals, funds, investors and service providers across the entire private investment lifecycle.
Users must create an individual account using an NYU email address at the above link. Accounts reset annually on August 1st and users must re-register. Users must always use NYU Libraries' link to log in.

Daily download and print limits are restricted to 10 rows, with a monthly maximum of 25 rows. Screen capture is prohibited. For bulk data access, please go to PitchBook via WRDS. If you do not have a WRDS account, please refer to the WRDS guide for more information.
ReferenceUSA This link opens in a new window
Contains detailed information on millions of U.S. (verified & unverified) business.
ReferenceUSA allows users to create personal accounts for saving searches and search criteria.

Annual data available for download beginning in 1997 for research and analysis purposes. Access is available through NYU FDA (Log in with your NYU credentials to view) or through Infogroup Historical Business via WRDS (WRDS account required).
LSEG Workspace This link opens in a new window
Individual account creation required before you can login. Account requests require a mandatory 7-10 business day processing period. Users with existing accounts may log into the web interface here. LSEG Workspace provides access to fundamental financial data on public companies, merger and acquisitions, financial market data and quotes, analyst reports, and private equity and venture capital. It features powerful screening and charting capabilities. This product was formerly known as Thomson ONE, Eikon, and Refinitiv Workspace.
Each user is permitted to view and/or download up to 150 pages of analyst report content ("AMR") per 24 hour period. Faculty may request expanded AMR access - pending availability - by emailing the Business Library team using our form.

Users may log in via the LSEG web platform, or optionally via LSEG's Mac and PC software.
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage allows users to research companies, industries, and funds (mutual funds & ETFs), as well as to access financial news and directories, and financial education materials.
Please clear your browser's cache and cookies before attempting to access this resource.
Uniworld Online This link opens in a new window
Uniworld is a source for multinational business contact information. It allows screening for companies by industry, geographic location, size, or keyword. It is ideal when you are looking to find American firms operating in other countries or foreign firms operating in the United States.

Popular Business Newspapers & Magazines

Caixin Global This link opens in a new window
Caixin Global provides financial and business news in China. It is the English language platform of Caixin, an independent media outlet in China with a Public Trust Committee to guarantee its integrity. Our subscription allows complete access to Caixin paid content, including their CX Flash brief stories and a weekly audio roundup of news.
"Locked" articles requiring subscription are only accessible from on campus. Click "中文" to view the Chinese language version. Please register for an account once you are on the homepage of the Chinese language version. You will have access to full-text content after the registration is complete.

Please refer to this document (use your @nyu.edu to access) for instructions on how to register with your @nyu.edu email address.
Create your free New York Times Account This link opens in a new window
Current NYU students, faculty, and staff can activate complimentary access to The New York Times digital news content using their NYU email address. After using this link to create an account, NYU users should access NYTimes content by directly logging into the NYTimes site. This complimentary access includes New York Times audio, but excludes NYTimes cooking and puzzles.

Please disconnect from any VPNs and open an incognito or private browser to create a NYTimes account. For additional help and troubleshooting, see our step-by-step sign up instructions.

Bloomberg Businessweek
Available from 2014/08/25.
More information less...
EBSCOhost: Available from 1929.
The Economist
Available from 1997.
More information less...
Gale Cengage Economist Historical Archive: Available from 1843 until 2014.
Financial Times
You have access to FT content as long as you are on campus, dormitory, or connected to NYU Shanghai VPN. No registration is required.
Harvard Business Review
Available from 1922.

Create your free Wall Street Journal account This link opens in a new window
Current NYU students, faculty, and staff can activate complimentary access to The Wall Street Journal digital news content using their NYU email address. After using this link to create an account, NYU users can access Wall Street Journal content by directly logging into the WSJ site.
For additional help and troubleshooting, see our step-by-step sign up instructions.

Sources

Summary section adapted from "how to research the company you’re interviewing with." Ask A Manager. 2015. Retrieved 18 Sep 2017. http://www.askamanager.org/2015/03/how-to-research-the-company-youre-interviewing-with.html.