Do Your Homework

It should really go without saying, but I'm always surprised by how much people don't know about the organizations that they work for (in any capacity).

I'm not talking about digging up dirt or finding out things that you don't actually have a right to know. I'm referring to current events that affect your employer, or things they've done that are in the news. Additionally, this could encompass the organization's history or initiatives and partnerships that they're currently involved with.

There are quite a few ways that you can learn these things. Most companies have internal websites where news and other information about the company is posted, in addition to what is available on their external sites. Additionally, you can search for the organization's name in Google News or another news aggregator website to find articles, pictures, and video involving the company and their activities. You can also do this to find information on competitors, the industry as a whole, and trends that may affect them. And of course, there are the social media platforms that companies are increasingly taking advantage of, like Facebook and Twitter. Odds are good that your company has some kind of presence there by now (and if not, it needs one, yesterday).

Why keep track of all this? Well, for one, it can help you do your job better. For example, I've been able to learn about flooding shutting down a facility before the official communication from the company was received. Another example are the multiple times I've found about about problems with products before official recalls were issued, allowing me and my coworkers to brace ourselves for the increased workload. But another reason is that it makes others see you as a resource and someone who knows what's what with the business, and someone who is capable of thinking strategically and using new information to good effect. It will impress those you work with and those you work for if you know what's going on.

I'm sure there are ways of learning about a company, organization, or industry that I would never even think of on my own. They don't call it the Information Age for nothing -- with more ways to learn and keep tabs on the world than ever before, there's no excuse to not be informed.

A Piece Of Your (Hired) Mind

If you're looking for work right now (and, statistically speaking, there's a reasonable chance you are), part of your job search process should be finding out as much as you can about possible employers or clients. And what better way to do that than to hear from the people who have actually worked there?

Two sites that let you do just that are Glassdoor and Jobinions. Both of these sites let you read anonymous reviews, both positive and negative, of companies from past and current employees. Glassdoor also includes salary information for various positions (real numbers for specific positions and companies, too, not the abstract ranges you'll find at some job sites for general titles across an industry).

Of the two, Glassdoor has much more information, as Jobinions was just started this week and thus far only has two reviews. That said, Jobinions has big plans, including eventually creating reports on companies that give a summary of company characteristics based on the reviews submitted.

Of course, these sites will get better the more submissions they receive, so you should feel free to contribute (in fact, Glassdoor lets you see a lot more information if you do so). If you do that, be sure to follow some basic guidelines:

1. Post anonymously. Should be obvious, but still worth pointing out.

2. Be civil, fair, and mature. Criticism is fine -- that's why these sites exist, after all, not just for the benefit of prospective employees, but also so that employers can identify issues in their organizations and compare them to others. However, anonymous or not, you'll just look silly if you post critiques that are petty or immature.

3. Share the positive as well as the negative. If you really don't have anything positive to say, then fine, but it's good for companies to get credit where it's due. Plus, different people like to work for different types of organizations, and a place that other people hate may be just your thing.

I'm sure there are other sites out there like this as well. If you know of any, feel free to share them in the comments.