By Jennifer Petoff, PhD, Google University Programs

Here's a quick snapshot of some tools that you can use to:

• Identify and target companies of interest

• Network, enhance your web presence, and showcase your accomplishments to potential employers

• Prepare for an interview and ultimately land an ideal position

Google Search (www.google.com)

• Locate companies and positions of interest

• Search for your interviewers online 

  • Look for common interests that you can casually bring up in conversation to build rapport 

Google Maps (maps.google.com)

• Find companies in a targeted geographic region  

  • Enter a reasonable starting address and then "search nearby" for keywords of interest

  • Search by category (eg: “category: pharmaceutical”) to identify companies in a certain industry

    • Search for a known company of interest and see how it is categorized for ideas

Google Finance (finance.google.com)

• Answer key questions about a company of interest

  • Who are the key competitors?

  • Is the company getting into any new businesses?

  • Has the company signed any major partnership deals?

  • Is the company financially sound or the target of a acquisition?

• Chart stock performance as a function of time

  • Overlay news stories that affect stock price

Google News (news.google.com)

• Research companies, their products, and key technologies

• Find out what the press is saying about the organization

• Search the news archives to review historical information

Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts)

• Set-up a daily alert to track the latest news about a company of interest

  • Delivered to your email inbox

• Establish news alerts for competitor companies to keep a pulse on the industry

Google Reader (reader.google.com)

• Set up an RSS feed on the Google News site

• Monitor stories in an easy to read format

Google Book Search (books.google.com)

• Search for the company name and see references in various books

  • Read snippets from the book or full text depending on copyright status

YouTube (www.youtube.com)

• Use YouTube to brush up on dining etiquette (interviews often include a meal)

Google Docs (docs.google.com)

• Organize all your company and interview research in one place

• Create presentations illustrating your research accomplishments that you can easily share

• Develop an interactive resume with links to relevant content on the web (eg: publications, quotes, blogs, presentation abstracts, data)

• Manage company contacts, applications, and networking interactions in a spreadsheet you can access anywhere

Google Sites (sites.google.com)

• Develop an interactive professional web presence to help employers find you

• Embed your resume plus presentations and papers written in Google Docs

• Add a custom form to your Site to allow people to contact you about your resume without exposing your contact details to the public and inviting spam

Google Profile (http://www.google.com/s2/profiles)

• Provide a mechanism to help people find you (helpful if you have a common name)

• Include key facts about yourself and link to other professional content online

• Allow interested companies and colleagues in your field to easily get in touch

• Establish a permanent email address that you can take with you no matter where you work or study

• Check other email accounts (eg: you@school.edu) through Gmail to keep your job search organized

• Manage contacts, networking connections, and job leads through the conversation-based interface

• Build your professional network through contacts

  • Anyone that you correspond with by email is automatically added to your Gmail contacts

  • Cross-reference contacts on professional networking websites to build your connections

• Use embedded instant messaging to keep in touch with your network

• Make a lasting impression with video chat

Google Talk (talk.google.com)

• Leverage status updates and instant messaging to keep in touch with your network.

• Click to call your Gmail contacts

• Send a voicemail message directly to your contacts’ email inbox

Google Calendar (calendar.google.com) 

• Keep track of networking appointments and manage informational, phone, and on-site interviews

• Access your calendar from any computer or certain mobile devices