Community Employment Resource Centre
The
Community Employment Resource Centre (CERC) brings you this weekly column as an
extension of our on-line service. We provide
referrals to other agencies, advice on job search issues, as well as dates and
/ or information pertaining to upcoming job fairs. We invite you to use this service by dropping into or calling
either office (Cobourg: The Fleming
Building, 905-372-9372; Port Hope:
Lakeland Place, 74L Queen St. (beside Town Hall),
905-885-2372) or through our website: www.cercnorthumberland.com.
I know that when applying for a position, you should try to structure your resume and cover letter to the position and organization of interest. I have noticed though, that in many of the postings, either on the HRDC job bank or the newspapers, the employer is choosing to remain anonymous and is basically giving a blind ad. Is there any way to find out who the potential employer is given limited information?
Some organizations choose to omit their name in the postings because of
the potential for phone calls, drop-ins, etc.
Of course there is always the possibility of legitimacy as well –
especially with the PO Box number ads found in the paper. However, let’s assume the company you are
seeking is valid. Even if organizations
do not fill out their company name, so long as you have the phone or fax
number, or the address you can try a reverse lookup to determine the company
name and its location. This is not a
guaranteed approach, but it may help out on occasion. Below are the steps you would use:
·
Go to
www.411.ca
·
Click on the orange ball that
is labelled “Reverse Lookup”
·
Go to either the “Reverse
Phone by Area Code and Number” section (top left) or “Reverse Address” section
(down left side below phone number)
·
In the appropriate search
box, type in the required information (phone/fax number including area code or
Street Name and City or Postal Code)
·
Click on the “Search” button
This tool can be used on regular phone numbers, toll free numbers, and
even those with characters (1-800-expedia).
With regard to the address, if you have difficulty finding the right
street name, try leaving out the street type (i.e. Street, Road, Avenue,
etc). This would allow you to do a
broader search in case there are multiple streets with the same name.
You can then use this information to do the research on the company (for
customizing your cover letter and resume, as you mentioned), by searching for a
company website. While in the Internet:
·
Click in the address bar
(white strip below the buttons)
·
Type: “Find” followed by a space
·
Type: the company name being researched
The result will be a series of “hits” with the top one being the closest
match. Simply click on the link and
learn about the potential employer.
However, even if you have discovered who the company is, be sure to
apply in the way indicated in the ad.
Hope
this helps!!