Interview Research
17 Jul 2018
Tags:
Research prior to an interview is essential to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of the company in the interview; this is a great way to get your enthusiasm across in the interview and to show the interviewers you are taking the opportunity seriously.
Research should be broken down into two parts, research about the company and research about the interviewers.
How to Conduct Research
There are many ways to find out information nowadays but obvious starting points should include:
Company Website
Reviewing their company website, be sure to understand both the potential division you will be working in as well as the wider group’s operations.
Internet Search
Use an internet search engine such as Google to see what you information you can find, usually this will help you find recent news streams etc.
Social Media
Review their Social Media, what information does their LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter give you.
Company Sales / Marketing Literature
Download their online company brochure or should they not have this ring the company and ask for sales / marketing literature (you could also take this with you to the interview to show you have done your research).
Researching a Company
Questions to consider:
- What type of company is it, Private or Public Limited Company?
- Who are their directors?
- What’s their history, how long have they been in business?
- Do they have any other offices?
- How many employees do they have?
- What projects have they completed?
- Who are their clients?
- Who are their main competitors?
Researching Interviewers
Researching the interviewer can be more difficult but nowadays thanks to the internet information is a lot more accessible and you should be able to find information on the interviewers by searching for their LinkedIn profile or even a simple Google search.
Questions to consider:
- How long have they been at their present company?
- How long have they been in the industry?
- What’s their background, how did they start our in the industry?
- Are they part of any professional memberships or group associations?
- What products / projects have they been working on?