How To Find Target Companies For Your Job Search

If you are looking for resources to help you find target companies for your job search, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll find lists, databases and tools to help identify potential employers. Conducting a proactive job search requires that you have a plan. Your job search plan needs to go beyond just spraying-and-praying your […]

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Conducting a proactive job search requires that you have a plan.

Your job search plan needs to go beyond just spraying-and-praying your resume to hundreds of job postings.

Instead, learn how to build a company list of top employers for your job search.

The following list of 9 different sources provides you with options to grow your familiarity with new companies and target opportunities BEFORE they are advertised!

How To Begin If You Don’t Have Any Ideas?

My guess is, you probably do have some idea of places you would like to work or a job or two you would be interested in.

Maybe you heard about a company in the news or have heard people rave about the company they work for. This is a starting point. Add these companies to your target list. You have to trust in the exploration process.

Also, think about companies you are a customer of. How great would it be to work for them?

1. Best Company Lists

Every year, the following resources update their list of “best places to work” or “best companies to work for.” Use each list to get you started:

Glassdoor.com’s Best Places to Work
Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
American Opportunity Index Top 100
Search for “Top 100” and “Best Employer” lists for your city

Step 1:

Go through the list and identify 3-5 companies that sound interesting. You don’t need to do a lot of outside research. Just read the write up.

Step 2:

What, if anything, do the companies you’ve selected have in common:

Industry
Number of employees
Geographic location

Step 3:

Find more companies that have similar qualities. How many more? It depends, but generally, you want at least 50 companies on your target list. To find more companies, use some of the databases and tools below.

I’m going to use a common example to help you see what you can do to expand your list of target companies.

Let’s say you would love to work for Google because it is innovative, sounds like a good place to work and most importantly, they hire people who do what you do…technical writers, for example.

Your next question should be, what companies are similar to Google or do what Google does?

2. Databases

Once you know the industry name (sometimes related to NAICS codes), you are ready to use it for your list building. You are looking for the names of companies that fall into the same or similar industry.

Most databases cost money to access. But here is a free one.

CareerOneStop Business Finder

This free database can provide good information when you finally get it. Start your search at the Business Finder page.

Enter the Business Name, Industry or Occupation or select a Zip Code.

Your Local Library Has Databases

There are lots of research tools out there, but if you are not a researcher by nature, I suggest you go to your library and ask for help researching companies within a specific industry.

Libraries also have access to databases you may not, such as Reference Solutions (formerly known as ReferenceUSA). As a member of the library, you have access to this database at no cost. And you may be able to access it from home.

Crunchbase

Without subscribing, Crunchbase allows you to search by industry, number of employees, headquarters and other criteria. However, you will only see a limited number of results. It is valuable for researching a specific company.

3. Lists & Directories

Here are some other list resources for you to check out:

Your local Chamber of Commerce
Professional and Industry Associations
See what companies are sponsoring events or offering presentations.

4. Alumni Databases

Your college or university either has a database of alumni or a LinkedIn page you can use to help you identify popular companies alumni work for. If you aren’t familiar with how LinkedIn’s alumni pages work, check this article out.

5. Find Out About Small Companies

Smaller companies account for a good share of jobs. The thing is, smaller companies are harder to find. They don’t have the marketing budget, they don’t have the employee network, they are running lean and mean. So how do you find out about them? Here are places to check:

Recipients of Venture Capital funding
Members of Chambers of Commerce
Professional associations
Local economic development site

If you really want to work for a small employer, I suggest you search all these resources. Plus, check your local newspaper regularly for news about companies and projects in your area.

6. Use the Power of Google

You can search for companies using Google, for example:

“Best Marketing Companies in Detroit Michigan”

Also set up Google Alerts to increase your odds of finding out about new companies.

7. Use Artificial Intelligence

One of the many benefits of AI is that it does the research. Using real-time internet search is usually more accurate. For that reason, I recommend using Claude.ai, Perplexity.ai, Gemini or Copilot.

The secret to getting good results is asking the right question. And the more specific you are the better.

Start with a prompt like this:

Create a list of employers in [Rochester, NY] that have hired [digital marketing] roles.

But don’t stop there.

Ask a followup question like “What industries do these employers represent?” This should help you target other employers in those industries.

And to uncover more opportunities, ask this followup question: “What startups in the Rochester, NY area hire digital marketing professionals?”

Treat AI like you are giving instructions to someone. Refine the results by asking more questions within the thread.

8. Ask People You Know

Friends & Family

Friends and family members may LOVE their employer. But don’t ask if they are hiring. Instead, ask if they like where they work and why.

Service Providers

You can also ask service providers (hairdressers, accountants, financial planners, mechanics) if they know about companies that are in your industry. You might say something like:

“Have you heard about any tech companies in the area?”

Past Co-Workers/Colleagues

Some of the people you used to work with may have moved on to other companies. Ask them the same question:

“Have you heard of any tech companies that are doing great things?”

Clients/Customers

Your past clients or customers, suppliers or vendors also have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry. Ask them what companies they are watching.

9. Job Boards

I’ve saved the easiest for last. Using job boards will show you what companies are advertising jobs. This is an obvious place to uncover employers, not just for the current job they have open, but for future jobs too. Add these to your target list so you can take proactive steps to meet insiders before the next opportunity is posted.

DO NOT ELIMINATE COMPANIES YET

You may have quite a long list as you go through these lists and databases. That’s great.

Actually, it is better to have more companies than not enough. Focus on the top 10 first. Here’s what to do:

Create alerts on each company’s job board.
Follow each company on LinkedIn and if available, select “I’m Interested” on the company’s LinkedIN page.
Keep researching the other companies on the list. (You don’t want to miss out on any opportunities that might be immediately available).

Before you take a company off your list, have a reason for taking it off your list. Just because one person says they don’t like the company or they have a few bad reviews doesn’t necessarily mean it will be bad for you. Continue pursuing each company until you have solid information (or better yet, land a job interview).

Put It In Writing

List all the company names on a spreadsheet or even better on your marketing plan.

Your spreadsheet will help you keep track of:

Contacts you know at each company
People you want to meet at each company
Career page link
Jobs you applied for and status

Don’t Go Away…You’re not done yet!

You aren’t just looking at what jobs they have posted. They may not have anything listed.

Your next step is to find people you can have an informational meeting with inside each of your target companies.

In order to do this, you need to identify who you know or are connected to inside the company. Here’s how to find the names of people within target companies.