Different Approaches for Different Kinds of Employers
There are very different kinds of information and sources for information depending on what type of employer you are researching. Rather than lumping all this together in one place, we have created separate sections for publicly traded, privately held, nonprofits/charities, and the public sector in the United States and Canada.
Publicly Traded Firms are for-profit companies that has shares available for trade on one of the exchanges (e.g. the New York Stock Exchange or Toronto Stock Exchange).
Privately Held Firms are for-profit companies that do not have shares available for trade on one of the exchanges.
Nonprofits and Charities are those employers certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Revenue Canada, or His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK as tax exempt.
How to find out what kind of firm you are researching
United States
To check if your target firm is publicly traded in the U.S. go to Yahoo Finance and enter your firm’s name. If it does not show up, then it is either privately held or a nonprofit.
To check if your organization is a registered nonprofit in the U.S. go to the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. It will identify if your firm is a registered 501(C(3)).
If your firm is not publicly traded or a nonprofit, then it is most likely privately held.
Canada
To check if your target firm is publicly traded in Canada go to Sedar and enter your firm’s name. If it does not show up, then it is either a charity or a privately held.
To check if your organization is a registered charity in Canada go to the Canada Revenue Agency.
If your firm is not publicly traded or a charity, then it is most likely privately held.
Once you have determined what type of firm you are investigating, you are ready to get started. Click on the appropriate link below to begin your research.
United Kingdom