You should be interested in discovering such things as:

• History of the employer, its product/service, and industry in general
• Recent restructuring and downsizing activities
• Annual sales, industry trends, competitors-local/national/international
• Corporate climate: structure, workload, private vs public, purpose, size
• Training program availability
• Promotion, decision-making policies

     Don't miss the trees because of the overwhelming forest!  New graduates usually have Big Business in their sights and may be missing 66% of the market.  That's right, over 2/3 of new positions during the last thirty years can be found in firms with 20 or fewer employees.  Because 85% of jobs are found in the "hidden" market [unadvertised, undeveloped, or as yet unavailable], it only makes sense to look in an area where you have closer contact to the management tier that actually hires.  The greater the organization, the denser the line of gate-keepers and the more tedious your goal of penetrating the interview barrier.  To up your odds of finding yourself in the 15-20% group of employed individuals, don't overlook those smaller local companies where your skills will be appreciated and allowed to grow. 

     One of the best ways to get started with your employer research is to make a visit to your nearest library--campus or community.  Libraries have numerous indexes and periodicals you need.  If you have difficulty understanding the differences between the Business Periodicals Index and the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, ask your friendly librarian to help you.

     Some extremely helpful publications are:

• Corporate Job Outlook is updated bi-monthly and provides an alphabetic overview of companies with industry fields.  It lists addresses and contact personnel.
• Hoover's Handbook of American Business  is a comprehensive two-volume set of in-depth profiles of 750 of America's largest and most influential companies examining personalities, events and strategies that have made these enterprises leaders in their fields. 
• Dun's Regional Business Directory is a listing of businesses located within your geographic area.
• Director of Executive Recruiters lists over 2150 firms offering executive search services.
• Job Hunter's Sourcebook lists profession/occupation profiles alphabetically along with sources of help-wanted ads, placement and job referral services, employer directories and networking lists, handbooks and manuals, employment agencies, and other trends.
• Personnel Executives Contactbook provides information about key hiring contacts at 30k established and emerging U.S. companies.

Begin with UA's very own Bierce Library resources at:    http://www.uakron.edu/libraries/

Information on thousands of employers and nonprofits:   http://www.symplicity.com/

Latest research into HR issues w/surveys, articles, and papers at Society for Human Resource Management

Detailed profiles of numerous firms, including interview tips, insights into individual firm's culture, job profiles, etc.:  http://www.wetfeet.com/asp/home.asp

Internet resources for academic job hunters: http://www.academic360.com/

Among the top business websites for company, industry, and competitor info at: http://www.hoovers.com/

Public companies must file financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  You can view the filings in the SEC's EDGAR [Electronic Data Gathering And Retrieval] database at:  http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm

For information on large and small, public and private companies in the high-technology industry: http://www.corptech.com

Comprehensive company database of over one million companies:  http://www.1jump.com/

Wall Street Research Net: http://www.wsrn.com/

Large d-base private and public companies, industries, products:  http://www.wsrn.com/

National database for non-profits: http://www.guidestar.org/

Numerous links to company and industry info: http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp

    In addition to the library and web, there are other employer information sources of which you should consider taking advantage. 

• Check with your on-campus career services resources.
• Check through the Alumni Directory.
• Contact the employer directly and ask that pamphlets, brochures, or current stockholders information be sent to you.
• Government Departments, Professional Associations / Journals, Volunteer Directories.
• Consult magazine or newspaper articles in national and local publications.
• Contact the local Chamber of Commerce or Urban League or Better Business Bureau for feedback.
• Conduct information interviews with company personnel.
• Canvas members of your existing network for input from respected sources.
• Concentrate on upcoming Career Fairs or Expos in your area to take advantage of "personal and up-close" information interviews with company recruiters.