To stand out in your job search, you'll need to develop an overall business understanding of the industry, type of business, and workplace you're applying to. Here, you can find tips for how to learn more about the industry that you're applying to.
What affects and regulates that industry? What kinds of (e.g.) actors are there that affect businesses in the industry? What kinds of rules and other things influence production, the product, and marketing conditions?
Industry concepts, rules, and stakeholders
If, for example, you want to learn more about the factors that regulate and define the pharmaceutical industry, you need to develop an idea of things like what the Danish Medicines Agency, patents, and regulatory affairs all cover; and how the government, laws, and other kinds of rules affect the industry.
Industry actors and stakeholders
If you want to look into the actors in the museum industry, you have to consider that they range from universities with national and international research collaborations to local governments with projects in education and city planning, and even to monitoring different funds that might be able to finance projects.
Industry products
To understand the products produced by the publishing industry, you need to know about different product types, fiction and non-fiction literature, and content-based subdivisions. You also need to learn about product development, audio books, and e-books; and you'll have to distinguish between core products and derivative products like podcasts and panel discussions.
Industry customers and other consumers
To understand an industry, you also have to consider the consumers of its products. In B2C (business to customer) operations, those might be end users or citizens; in the publishing industry, it's readers. In B2B (business to business) operations, these might be users or other intermediaries; in publishing, these might be retailers or educational institutions.
Brainstorming questions for industry research
- How is it regulated?
- What authorities have an effect on it?
- What actors/stakeholders are part of the landscape?
- Are they local/national/international?
- Is the industry advancing/receding?
- Are there trends or technologies that define the future of the industry?
- Are there many/few employees?
- What are their professional backgrounds?
- What is the product?
- What does product development look like?
- Who are the consumers?
Know the type of business you're applying to
To stand our in your job search, you'll need an overall business understanding. That requires knowledge of the industry, the type of business, and the particular workplace in question.
Read how to learn more about the type of business or organisation you want to work in.
