Target Companies with ReferenceUSA

You're tired of a long commute every day and feel like a number in large corporation. You think that you would thrive in a smaller company where you knew everyone and fantasize about a drive a location so close you could drive home for lunch.

But how do you find these companies and get more information on them, so you can do your networking and find job leads?

You could just drive aimlessly around the neighborhoods in your area -- or you could check with ReferenceUSA (which you can get access to free through Johnson County Library -- and you don't have to live in Johnson County or even go to the library. See Research online with Johnson County Library for more information).

ReferenceUSA Business Databases allow you to customize your search for kind of employers you are looking for.

Suppose you are looking for a job

• In or near Liberty, MO
• At a mid-size company
• In technology
• At a mid- or senior level

Here's how I would suggest using ReferenceUSA.

1. First select US Businesses Search on the ReferenceUSA home page.
2. Click on the Custom Search (or Guided Search) tab.
3. Check either City, State or Zip Code under Geography
4. Check Employees under Business Size
5. I'd also select Headquarters/Branch because finding a headquarters can help weed out branches of retail, restaurants, and so forth.

Once you submit these selections, you will be prompted to select the geographical areas, employee size, and so forth. In this case, you would choose Missouri, and then Liberty, and possibly some nearby cities. You might choose 100-249 and 250-499 employees and choose Headquarters and Single Location under Ownership. When you submit these criteria, you get a list of businesses.

Drilling down on the businesses that sound interesting by clicking on individual links, you will find more detailed information. Since you are looking for a technology job, you might scroll down to Business Expenditures to check the company's technology expenditures. If it's high, it shows they invest in technology and might be a good target.

You will also find real names of contacts and their positions in the company.

Now download the data on 10 businesses at a time with the fields you need into a csv file. And now you have a list of companies to target in your job search!