Don't cram before an interview!
Instead of reading up on an industry the night before the interview, start as soon as you realize which industries interest you.
You can keep up-to-date with the industries via trade journals and blogs. It's easy to do with RSS (e.g. NewsBlur or CommaFeed), email alerts, and/or weekly or daily email newsletters.
Finding Industry Codes
What is an industry code?
SIC and NAICS are classification systems for industries. They allow you to group together companies in a specific industry in a standardized way. Once you identify your industry code, use it to search databases such as Capital IQ and identify other companies operating in the industry.
Where can I find industry codes?
SIC and NAICS codes and code definitions are available from the Census website.
Finding an Industry Report
Are you interested in a specific industry? Or have you selected a company that you want to work for?
Gaining a greater understanding of the industry will help you to land your dream job.
There are several library resources for industry reports. Capital IQ contains detailed industry reports from Standard & Poor's and is fantastic for larger industries. For smaller industries or for international reports, try Mergent Intellect, IBISWorld or Passport. See the examples below:
- IBISWorldIBISWorld provides industry research reports and profiles for over 700 United States industries as well as a wide range of industries in China. Business reports for five categories: industry market research, industry risk ratings, company research, global industry research, and economic and demographic data. Each report provides key statistics, market characteristics and segmentation, industry conditions, leading competitors, industry performance analysis and future outlook.
- Mergent IntellectSelect 'First Research' and input your Cornell email address to access industry reports.
- PassportExcellent resource for international industries, countries, markets, and products. Market research reports, statistics, and analyst reports cover consumer market sizes, country market data, forecasts, consumer lifestyles, companies and brands, and many product & location specific reports.
- Capital IQCapital IQ is a major financial platform used to find data on public and private companies, investment firms, capital transactions, and people. It includes financials for over 88,000 public companies and 825,000 private companies.
To get a industry report in Capital IQ:
- Access Capital IQ via your account or the dedicated computers in the library.
- Click the Research tab from the top menubar.
- Filter by Report Type from the drop down menu to view just the industry reports
Frost & Sullivan is an excellent resource for science and technology industries.
- Frost & SullivanIn-depth market research and strategy reports with European and global coverage of the following areas: Aerospace & Defense; Automotive & Transportation; Chemicals, Materials and Food; Electronics & Security; Energy & Power Supplies; Environment & Building Technologies; Healthcare; Industrial Automation & Process Control; Information & Communication Technologies; Measurement & Instrumentation.