Library Services' resources can provide you with a range of information on companies and industries. Using these materials can help you research your career path and provide you with information on specific companies and industries. By researching your potential future employers you will not only be preparing yourself for job applications and interviews, you will also be developing your commercial awareness.
Commercial awareness is an essential graduate skill, particularly for students going into the business sector. Some graduate recruiters have identified that commercial awareness is a skill often lacking in graduates applying for jobs. Therefore, improving your knowledge in this area could give you the edge over other candidates.
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The key databases that provide company and industry information are listed here. Short videos demonstrating how to locate relevant information on these databases can be found below
Business Source Premier provides UK and international company and industry profiles. Company profiles also include a company SWOT analysis
Mintel provides market research reports which include company information in the context of that particular market.
Passport provides UK and global company reports within the respective industry sector and region in which the company operates
Whilst Lexis Library is primarily a law database, it also includes full-text articles from a range of UK national and regional newspapers. Use the News link to search for newspaper articles
Online version of the Financial Times newspaper. Create an account with your Manchester Met email address - see our help guide
Financial reports of major British companies, covering over 7 million companies in the UK and Ireland.
Retail Week provides breaking news, insight and intelligence for the retail industry
The playlist below includes videos demonstrating how to locate company information on the five databases listed above. Click play to view all videos, or use the drop down menu on the top left hand corner to select a specific video.
The PESTLE analysis is a simple tool which can be used to effectively identify key external factors that may affect a company or organisation:
Library Services InfoSkills run workshops to help your studies throughout the year. You can find upcoming dates on our Eventbrite page or on the InfoSkills Workshops page.
One of our session is specifically on developing your employability skills in terms of researching your prospective employers:
Researching commercial companies for career preparation
Careers sessions are run by Manchester Met's Careers and Employability service throughout the year. Browse the full list and further details on their Events page.