Work for a Profitable Company
By Guide J. Steven Niznik

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It's a good idea to research the financial health of the companies you're job shopping, just as they might research you by conducting background checks.

If it's a mid-to-large size, U.S. public company that you're scoping out, it's a fairly simple process to check its track record, financial health and forecasts for the future. Because public companies sell stocks to raise capital, many must essentially air all of their laundry, dirty or clean. If they meet the criteria, they must regularly file financial reports and other revealing paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once filed, the paperwork is in the public domain and anyone can check it. The Internet has made that easier than ever before. There are many other resources too, such as financial news articles, best-places-to-work features, and even investor relations sections at company Web sites.

If it's a small public or privately-held company that doesn't meet the SEC's filing criteria, you might be hard-pressed to find much that will tell you anything about its financial health, unless it has been newsworthy lately or caught the ever-watchful eye of Wall Street. Typically, it's easier to find out about high-profile start-ups and promising companies about go public, than it is the obscure small company or family business. Regardless, one of the things you can do is check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints, so at least you'll know if it's not a reputable company. Another is to check SEC filings to see if the company has filed paperwork to go public. Also search the Web using the company name, to see if articles and such pop up. If you can discover the names of the executive officers, you might also search the Web for articles about their track records. Lastly, during interviews you are perfectly within your rights to ask about the company's state of affairs, such as its bottom line, five-year business plan, and competition and market demand for its products or services. In fact, most interviewers expect you to have such questions and will likely ask if you do. Better yet, it puts you in the driver's seat.

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