ELT111 - Finding Potential Employers in Electronics: Beyond the Basics

Beyond the most basic name and address information, what do you need to know to evaluate whether you would wish to work for an employer? Here are some things you might want to consider:

• Number of employees (The more employees, the more openings)
• Geographical location's climate, cost of living, etc. (Can you ski? How much will a house cost?)
• Length of time in business (Is this a stable company?)
• Reputation
• Financial standing (Will this company still be around in six months?)
• Compensation and benefits

Not all of these things are available from the same source; for some companies certain information may not be available at all. Many directories include information on the number of employees, years in business, annual sales, and/or credit rating.

U.S. Public companies file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports can be accessed on EDGAR, the SEC database.

1. Put in the name of the company you are seeking. When you press the Enter key, a list of forms for the company will appear, in reverse chronological order.
2. Look for the form number "10-K" in the left hand column. This will be the annual report, with substantial information about the company.

If your proposed job involves moving to another area of the country, try consulting Homefair. Homefair has calculators and information for those who are considering a move, including, a salary calculator to compute the cost-of-living differences among hundreds of U.S. and international cities; a moving calculator to compute the cost of shipping household goods; and reports on cities and schools.