Job Search: What’s Your Industry?

Being able to accurately assess the industry you want to work in is an important component of your job search.

As noted before, most jobs sit at the intersection of 2-3 industries. Take a moment and write down your intersections. Think about the role you want to have. Then focus on the company you may want to work for. What is its main industry? What are some others it may be connected to? Who are the main clients within it? List the industries, even if it may not seem obvious. For example, I’m a Human Resources consultant. HR is my main industry. My primary client is a preschool located in New York City. This means I’m also part of the education industry, specifically early childhood special education. This preschool is also a nonprofit organization that serves a mostly poor, Black and Hispanic population. That’s another industry that intersects with the two I described earlier.

When it comes to understanding your industry and how it may affect your job search, do your research. It should include the following: industry size, potential for growth, pros and cons of being in this particular industry, top companies, and key sectors. It’s also important to think about adjacent industries as well. Going back to my example as a HR consultant, an adjacent industry to that are business events. There’s a number of HR centered conferences, workshops, and other events where practitioners are paid to participate in, oftentimes as speakers or in other roles.

You should also look at what threats may exist for the industry you’re doing your job search in. If you’re in the retail industry, you will want information on if and how the industry will change in the next 5-10 years. The economy and the coronavirus pandemic are two forces having a huge impact on this industry. In addition, be on the lookout for lawsuits, protests or similar campaigns. Industries will never market themselves as horrible places to work. Understanding the type, scale, and timing of an industry's legal or ethical troubles can provide a better understanding of its culture and health.

With threats, recognize that "business as usual"--the products, services, and/or processes that enabled an industry's growth and success--may not be enough. In your job search, consider that those with the right talent and drive can find opportunities to succeed even in the midst of disruption.

There are a number of online resources that can be used in your industry research. Some are for-profit companies that offer some public research tools and information. Others are government websites. The data on these sites are connected to the purpose of the agency overseeing it. This information is collected from the public and is available for anyone’s use.

Keep in mind that context is important. When in job search mode, have as accurate and complete a picture as possible about the industries you may wish to work in. An example of this is researching the diversity of the industry you may be targeting in your job search. Does the industry disproportionately impact certain people, and why is that? How transparent is the industry when it comes to issues such as race and gender representation, pay equity, and other workplace issues? What does the data tell us?

In conclusion, to gain an advantage in your job search, information and context must be utilized in your research on the industry you want to work in. Understanding the overall environment and being able to provide value in that space is how you gain respect and most importantly, work!

Read on for more ways to make your job search a success: Job Search: Predicting the Unpredictable