What’s the Right Way to Research a Company Before Your Interview?

You’ve probably heard that you’re supposed to research a company before an interview. But with a ton of information out there on every company, it can be hard to figure out what you should be looking for.

In any interview, you need to come across as interested, knowledgeable, and truly excited about the open position. By demonstrating you know loads about the company and have invested time in studying it, you’ll check all those boxes for a hiring manager.

In addition to showing you’ve done your homework, good research should help the interview feel more like a conversation. A naturally-flowing, meaningful conversation can help to smooth over mistakes and give the impression that you have good communication skills. To put it another way you won’t feel like you’re being interrogated if you can have a back-and-forth about the company and the job.

Consider the following tips to help you walk into your next job interview with an arsenal of information.

Official website

First and foremost, you must be as comfortable as possible with the products and services offered by the company. If you don’t know what the company does when you walk into interview, you will never get the job. The official website is the first place you should look to learn about all the products and services a company offers. The website can also tell you how these goods and services are presented to potential customers.

Many official websites also include a set of company values or a mission statement. By getting acquainted with these, you are equipped to answers about why you want to work there or what company values are in line with your own. Of course, your responses will ring true if you truly are enthusiastic about the open position, so make time to think about if the job really sounds like it is for you.

Social media

The company’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other social media profiles are good sources for the latest company developments. Social media channels also provide a glimpse of the company culture and what it might be like to work there. Some companies have their staff members blog about what their days are like or the fun events their company has held. While companies’ social media content may be sugar-coated, the frequency of these posts can be a telltale sign. Is the company regularly holding events and allowing employees to blog? Or is it posting about on-off events every few months.

Understanding the culture also allows you to show the interviewer how you can be a solid fit for both the role and the culture.

Other sources

Employer review sites like Glassdoor are great for finding out what’s wrong with a potential employer, since reviews on the site tend to skew negative. Take each review with a grain of salt and look for some common themes that might concern you.

A quick Google search can also turn up random bits of information, including newsworthy events like past business dealing or legal actions.

At Career Concepts, we have the inside track on what are clients are looking for in candidates and we use that knowledge to help candidates perform their best in job interviews. If you’re currently looking for some job search assistance, please contact us today.