How did you choose what company to work for?

Hi!
My first job out of college was through a temp agency at a tech company. That is what lead me to my career at Dell. It was and still is an exciting company! My advice is to choose a company where you can be excited about them and/or their products and services. You can find a good job but your heart needs to be in the company to be happy there.

Good luck!

An additional consideration - focus on the attributes of the industry and the company you want to work for - rather than focus on a specific company. Do you want to work in a slow growth industry with long term stability and steady profitability? Or, are you more interested in a fast paced, constantly changing industry where agility and adaptability are valued. Also, consider Gretzky's quote - "skate to where the puck is going" when you are contemplating industries, companies and categories. Once you have defined your attribute list (i.e. fast growing, technology, software, under $100M in Revenues etc.), then you can use you attributes as a filter to decide on which company to work for. And, be prepared to change jobs and companies multiple times. Focus on learning and growing at every step - and when you feel things slowing a bit in your growth curve, it may be time to consider another role at your company, another company or another industry. Good Luck!

Firstly it all depends on your field of interest. Lets say you love coding or have interest in networking.

Then you start preparing accordingly and start exploring options in that respective organisation.

So it totally depends on your area of interest.

Thanks & Regards

Aman chaudhary

For me, my first company was based on the area of my graduation. I was keen to get into telecommunications that being my Engineering field. Though I had to wait a while for the right job field to come my way, it was always worth waiting and choosing the field you have a passion for. Every company has its pros and cons. Putting some efforts in researching what a company profile(what is it known for, the rating of the services it provides,..) is can help you choose when you have multiple options.

Hey,

I have been in your situation before. I wasn't sure about which company I wanted to commit to. After an extensive amount of research and thinking about which company offers values that I felt are a reflection of who I am as a person, it made it much easier for me to make a decision. What is important is that you find a company that sparks that fire within. A company, that you can see yourself working for long term. Think about what truly makes you happy. Ask yourself: Do I see myself working here every single day? Do I see myself committing to the tasks that are expected for me to do? Afterwards, you should have a better idea of which company you would want to work for.

As long as it's a job/company that offers great skill sets that will benefit you in the long run, you should be fine.

I hope my bit of advice helps!
Best of luck.

Hi Sarah.

That's a great question, especially since you want to make sure the company you choose is the best fit for you and your career goals. We are very fortunate in this age to have so many resources available at the hands of technology. tYou can do quite a bit of homework on the companies you are interested in before you interview with them. A couple sites offer free information on companies, including reviews of the company from an employee standpoint and salary information. Glassdoor and LinkedIn are two of these sites. I chose Dell because of the collaborative culture, the fast pace, and the excitement of the constantly evolving technology industry.

During your interviews, ask as many questions as you can to gain a perspective on the company culture, the team you will be working with and gauge your potential career path.

Best of luck to you!

Wendy

This is a great question and I am impressed you are thinking about this so early in your career.

I understood this after working for 2 years, when I changed my company. I saw an amazing change in the culture and team work and I realised how bad my first experience was.

In today's world most of the companies are very active on social media - LinkedIn, Instagram etc. Once you've decided the industry, narrow down your search to a few companies, follow and review updates and posts from these companies. This will give you an initial feel of how happy the employees are and what's the leadership culture. I am very fortunate I work for an organisation which very frequently asks if I am physically and mentally ok.

Research about industry awards they've won - especially things like 'Best place to work', HR & People related awards. This should help you decide where to apply.

I hope this helps you. Good luck!

Thanks,

Jai

First thing that you have to do is, decide the field of your interest.

Then make a list of companies which works in your area of interest.

You can further sort the companies according to the technologies they are working in.

And finally prepare according to the company's job profile to get into it.

While choosing a great company is important, I have found that having a great manager and team is even more critical. You could be in any company doing great work, but if you don't like your team you will have a hard time succeeding. To find a great manager, look for a good fit for you - what is the team culture like? Does that fit with your values?

I started working for my company after a summer internship. I interned at a couple of companies during college to get a feel for the company culture and work. Luckily, I found a great fit with my last internship and decided to continue on and start full time! Interning was a great way to sample different companies to figure out if it would be a good fit without the long-term commitment. I highly suggest interning if thats available to you.

In addition to what you can learn about a companiy's priorities, challenges, and culture on their website, publicly-traded US companies are legally required to file certain disclosures with government regulatory agencies and that too can provide valuable insights to prospective employees. For example, a company's Annual Financial Statement (10-K) is usually available on their website or can be found through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Cutting edge/emerging technology, Vision of the company, demand on consumer/enterprise market, Company performance, Stock trend, Brand, Work life balance and of course Pay.

In my case, that kind of happened organically. But, if you really want to work for a specific company, the best way is to network with the people who work there.

In my case, I have a friend who transitioned to the company I wanted to work for, and she let me know about the opportunities for me in that company.

On the other hand, if you don't know anybody in the company, you could try with social and professional networs. LinkedIn (linkedin.com) is a good start. Try to attend to events such as job fairs, or events that the company sponsor, and talk to their representatives.

Also, you can follow them on social networks, to get to know them, and the kind of activites they are involved in.

Hope this helps!

The most important thing for me was to make sure I would be proud to work for that company. Do your research on the company, are they involved in the community, are they fast paced, do they have open door policies, do they have a reputation? I want to feel like the company I work for is fair, competitive, and compassionate. That motivates me to be the best I can be at representing that company. There has to be a balance between you professional life and your personal life and working for a company you love will make all the difference.

It's important to first identify what your interests are. Once you have figured out what your interests are, I would do a self-assessment and figure out what skills you bring to the table that will help you perform activities within your career interests. You also need to be honest with yourself and identify your weaknesses so that you can work on improving them. Once you have figured out your interests, skills and areas for improvement you can begin to focus on the type of career that will allow you to utilize your skills while at the same time enjoying what you do every day. Then you can start to look into the different companies that are out there that offer the types of positions that interest you the most. You can always research a company to see what types of benefits they offer which may ultimately be the deciding factor.

Hi,
that is a great question, in my career I have found that I do not choose the company as much as I choose the job I am applying for. then I research the company and find out if I am interested in them and what they do. A lot of choosing a company also depends on what your career and skills are, you can learn a lot about a company by their website, annual reports and their culture by reading about them and their careers/jobs and employment opportunities.
hope this helps a little...good luck.

For the most part, I agree with the answers provided above. It's important to look at a company holistically when applying for a position. Research on the company will help you determine if the company meets your interests and aligns with your objectives. Prior to actually working at a particular company, it can be difficult to know exactly what to expect going in. The onus is on you, however, to be as informed as possible when applying and interviewing.

Keep this in mind also- all experiences, good and bad, will help you hone in on what you want from your employer and what you want out of your career. Take advantage of this early, especially while interning. Absorb as much as you can about every aspect of a job, company or industry from whatever opportunity you decide to take. Be bold and take the risk.

Hi Sarah,

Lucky for you know it is very easy to find out what are the core values of the company, their challenges and upsides. You should look at several factors to see which is better for you - locations, values, growth, etc. What is important to you?
Good luck!

First thing is to know where your interests lie. Next is to see what you are good at. Keep in mind that they might not be the same. Doing this will give you an insight about choosing the right career for yourself. Then you can go about searching for opportunities in that career.

I chose to work for Dell for two main reasons:
1. The salary they offered was in the range of my salary goal.
2. I felt that Dell is a company committed to doing the right thing. During my internship I saw that they truly meant it and followed through on their commitment to have team members do community service etc.