There are three main stages when interviewing for a job – the pre-interview, the interview, and the post-interview. The pre-interview stage is all about preparation and will set you up for the next stage. How well you prepare will be the making or breaking of you, so it is crucial to do it thoroughly. A significant part of the preparation for an interview is swatting up on the company you would be joining. This is necessary not only so you can wow them with what you know about them, but it also helps to shape the responses you will be giving to their questions and it helps you to decide if the company is the right fit for you. The CA team has some advice on researching a company prior to interview.
The job description
A good place to start is the job description. While doing your research, you will be aligning this with the information you gather about the company. Make sure the job description you have is complete. If it appears to be broad or vague, ask for further information where necessary.
The company website
A no-brainer, but more than just reading through all of the content, try to get a sense of any common themes running throughout the site. Look past the ‘official’ statements and find the personality of the organisation. Don’t miss out on any sections pertaining to the history of the company and make sure you go further than the website in looking at the links for partners and associations.
Social media
Social media is great for getting to know a company on a more ‘personal’ level. It will give you an insight into what the website can’t – how the company’s own employees interact with both the organisation and each other. Essentially, social media will give you a deeper look into the community and culture of the company.
Talk to your recruitment consultant
If you are using a recruiter, talk to your consultant about the company, and indeed, the people you will be interviewing with. Your recruitment consultant will have forged a solid relationship with the client and will have a history with them and therefore, insight into how the place works that you will simply not find elsewhere. This is especially useful if the company has scant information available online.
Google them for news
You don’t just want to look at connected sources of information. Google the company and look at any news articles or posts that come up. This will provide further insight to the company and insight that doesn’t have the same agenda as the company’s own website and associated media.
When researching a company you will amass a vast amount of information. What you will actually reference in the interview is a mere fraction of it. Don’t be tempted to showcase all of the things you know about the company. The information is primarily to give yourself a complete picture of the company and to help inform the kind of responses you will be giving, so use the information only as appropriate and keep it relevant.
