Title: Industry or Career Research Weight: 20% Type: Individual Purpose: To learn about the importance of researching prospective employers ahead of time to help you prepare targeted cover letters and resumes as well as prepare for interviews with higher chances of success. Instructions: "Can you tell me what attracted you to our company?" Are you prepared to answer this question during a job interview? All too often, students show up for an interview dressed to impress and prepared to answer questions about themselves, but balk when the conversation turns to the company itself. It isn't necessary to memorize the entire profile of an organization, but it is smart to spend some time browsing their website, especially any section titled "About Us." What you learn about a company's mission statement, values, or overarching vision can help you tailor not only your interview but your cover letter and resume to best fit the job you are applying for. Another effective tactic is to come up with a few questions to ask the interviewer about the company that shows that you have researched the employer. For example: "I noticed that company XYZ focuses a lot on giving back to the community through various programscan you share a bit more about that?" This not only shows you know about the company, but that you're interested in learning more. There are few things that you have complete control over during the job search process; researching the company beforehand is one of them! Impress the recruiter with your knowledge, and hopefully increase your chances of landing the job! Assignment Find 3-5 companies or organizations you would like to work for and research them. For each company you research, answer each of the following questions: Why do you want to work for this company and how does it connect to your program at Robertson? What is this company's Mission Statement? What is something unique about this company? What other details can you provide? Provide at least 3 details about the company. What roles are provided? Full time, part-time, casual? What are the benefits provided to full time employees? Part time employees? Casual employees? Is this job unionized and what are the key points of the union agreement