Doing a little bit of company research is a very easy way to help yourself stand out from the competition in your job search. With a little bit of ingenuity, you can often do good company research even when you’re provided with nothing more than a fax number in a job ad
1. Ideally you should research the company before you apply for the job.
When you learn a bit about the company’s products and services and typical customer base, you’ll be able to edit your resume so that it shows that your skills and experience truly meet the needs of the company. You’ll also be able to write a highly targeted cover letter that addresses the company’s main needs and concerns. Very few people target their resumes and cover letters in this way, so it’s a very easy way to put yourself well ahead of the competition.
2. If you are applying to an advertised job, and all you have is a fax number, and no company name, you still might be able to determine the company name so you can target your resume and cover letter.
Try using a reverse fax directory. Some online phone directories will allow you to do a reverse search in which you enter a phone or fax number and the directory will provide the name of the company that is connected with this number. You may need to try a few directories because some directories with this function only work for phone numbers. If you use this strategy to discover the company name, it’s fine to name the company when you write your cover letter.
3. If that fails, try a little bit of detective work.
If you only have a fax number, and you’ve tried step two without any results, try a little more sleuthing. Since you have a fax number, you have an area code, so you’ll at least know the city where the company is located. There’s a good chance, based on the information in the ad or the type of job that’s available, you’ll also know the type of industry the company is involved in.
With that information, go to your local library (or go online) and get a business directory for the appropriate city. Look up the companies that are listed under the appropriate industry. Their fax numbers will be listed in the directory, so just keep looking until you find a fax number that matches the one in the ad, and you’ll know the company you are applying to. Because you’ve narrowed your options down to a specific industry in a specific city, you shouldn’t have to look through a lot of listings to find the one with a matching fax number.
4. Don’t waste your time.
If tips number 2 and 3 don’t turn up any results and you still don’t know the name of the company, go ahead and write your resume and cover letter without doing specific company research. No one else will have gone this far to try to research the company, so if you haven’t found the company name, no one else will either.
