Our Job Seeker's Guide
To The Interactive Post 200
By Robert Thomason
and Jamie Hammond
WashingtonPost.com Staff
June 13, 1996
Thorough preparation for a career change in Washington used to mean hours of research in specialized libraries, dozens of telephone calls and a good deal of guesswork.
Now, the Interactive Post 200 makes it far easier to scope out the business climate, research companies, tailor your resume and prepare for an interview.
Meet Ray Sumé
Let's follow an imaginary job seeker through his search.
Ray Sumé is a computer specialist with
the federal government. Fearing imminent downsizing, Ray's looking for work in the private sector.
After arriving at the Post 200 front page, Ray realizes that he doesn't know anything about the list or how it's generated. He clicks over to an article explaining the basics of the Post 200.
There, he learns that the list of 200 is actually made up of four lists:
- The top 100
largest public companies in Washington and the surrounding suburbs
- The 35 largest financial institutions with headquarters in the District, Maryland or Virginia
- The 30 largest public companies in Maryland outside the Washington metropolitan area
- The 35 largest public companies in Virginia outside the Washington area
Not only can Ray browse the lists, he finds, but he can also search the entire Post 200.
Ray Starts His Search
Ray goes to the top 100 list. This main list is ranked by revenue. But on the left side of the page he notices that he can look at the same companies organized by recent growth, number of employees, percent of revenue from defense contracts, percent of revenue from government contracts, county, and industry.
Ray knows that he has two major strong points: His experience with the federal government, and his computer expertise. Acting on the former, he goes to the top 100 list by percent of revenue from government contracts. The first six companies all earned more than 90 percent of their revenues from government contracts. Ray decides to check out the third company on the list, Computer Data
Systems Inc., which he can see is the 45th largest
firm on the Post 200.
Ray moves his cursor to the left and clicks on the top 100 list by industry. He sees that Computer Data Systems is one of 14 companies listed
as government contractors. He wanders down the list and finds another 19 companies in the technology industry.
From a cursory review of a handful of web pages, Ray's found 33 potential employers -- all large companies and all in Washington -- on which to conduct further research.
Ray Zeroes In on a Prospect
From the list he's viewing, Ray clicks on the company that first caught his eye, Computer Data Systems. There he finds a plethora of information, starting with the company's address in Rockville, Md.; a description of what it does; recent developments; and corporate and financial basics.
Intrigued that the firm focuses on providing computer-related services for the government, Ray wants to learn more. On the left side of the page in the sidebar, he notices a link to detailed company statistics by category and clicks.
There he sees that the company's "financials"--revenue, net income, earnings per share, assets, stockholder equity, return on equity, and dividends--have more or less all done well over the past few years.
On the other hand, the firm has decreased in total number of employees, going from 3,800 in 1994 to 3,100 in 1995; and their number of D.C. employees went from 1,700 to 1,200 in the same period. Ray also notices that the company's Post 200 ranking was ten slots higher, at number 35, in 1990.
Ray's not sure how how the Post 200 defines "D.C. employees," so he goes to its glossary of terms and finds the answer.
Returning to the company's main Post 200 page, Ray notices that he can view the same detailed company statistics by year. After viewing the statistics this way, Ray decides that Computer Data Systems deserves further investigation, so he again returns to the main page to delve further into the firm.
To Apply or Not to Apply
There he sees a possible explanation for the decrease
in employees. In 1994, the firm lost major contracts; but it started to bounce back in 1995 with a strong fourth quarter and new contracts. He also notes that the company is directing its growth towards state and local government contracting. Ray's happy that the firm is bouncing back; but with his federal background, he's not sure if he likes this new focus on state and local government.
In the sidebar he clicks on "Check for Post Articles" and finds a June 3, 1996 story by Peter Behr
entitled High Tech Workers in High Demand. The article discusses overall trends in the high-tech job market. Ray also sees the name of Computer Data Systems' director of employment, and a quote from him regarding signing bonuses for programmers.
Ray likes the sound of that. He mails a resume to the employment director, emphasizing his government contract experience but de-emphasizing the federal aspect of it. A few days later Ray follows up with a call to the man, and lands an interview.
Preparing for the Interview
Now, Ray wants to know everything he can about Computer Data Systems. From the company's main Post 200 page, Ray again runs the Post articles search and reads how the government
shutdowns this past winter affected the firm. He also finds a June 13, 1996 article by Behr entitled CDSI's New Chief Executive toSplit Company Into Two Divisions, which includes speculation that the company may grow as a result.
Back on the company's main Post 200 page, Ray clicks on the "Check for AP Articles" link and sees that nothing has come across the AP wire recently about Computer Data Systems.
By virtue of its presence in the Post 200, Ray knows that this is a public company. On the main page he finds a link to its latest SEC filings and follows it. This searches the SEC's online database of financial reports.
The firm's most recent filing was a 10-Q, or quarterly report, filed on May 15. In that report Ray reads that revenues and net income are up compared to fiscal year 1995. He also notices that payroll expenses have gone down.
Scrolling down the 10-Q, Ray finds the "Management's Discussion and Analysis" section. The company attributes some of its increased revenue to "continuing expansion of the Department of Education contract." Good news for Ray, as he has done quite a bit of programming for the Department of Education.
In-depth Research
Still, Ray needs to know a lot more about this firm before he gets to the interview. He finds it in the company's 1995 annual report to the SEC, or 10-K, which provides a detailed description of the company's main businesses and how they're organized.
The 10-K also discusses the firm's overall dependence on government contracts, and what major contracts it lost and gained during the fiscal year; locations of its offices around the country; a comparison of past fiscal years; and a description of stock options, incentives and other aspects of employee compensation.
Right before the interview, Ray reviews all his information on the company and comes up with a set of questions and talking points. He also goes back to the Post 200 main page for Computer Data Systems one more time to see if any new articles have shown up in the AP or Post searches, and to check the latest stock quote for the firm.
Using the Downloadable Spreadsheet
Ray's interviewers from Computer Data Systems are impressed with his insightful questions and thorough knowledge of their company, and promise to let him know soon about a hiring decision.
Meanwhile, Ray wants to do some investigation of the other 32 companies he found in his initial perusal of the Interactive Post 200. Rather than the in-depth review he gave to Computer Data Systems, however, Ray wants to conduct basic research on the others for now. So, he clicks on this article which explains how to use the downloadable Post 200 spreadsheet.
After crunching the spreadsheet numbers Ray feels like an expert not only on government contract and technology companies in the area, but also on the D.C. job scene in general. Just as he's considering a new career in job counseling, Ray gets an e-mail from Computer Data Systems with an offer. His job hunt is over.
Don't Forget CareerPost!
Using the Interactive Post 200 wasn't Ray's only job-seeking method; he also checked out CareerPost where he was able to review career-related information, resources and links. CareerPost also features The Post's employment classifieds.
Ray recommends both sites to all his job-seeking friends in Washington, and wishes you much luck in your quest for work.
Back to top
