StormStaff

Doing research is an important stage of preparing for the interview. If you forget or fail to do it, it may cost you the opportunity to really impress your potential employer and land the job. Once you’ve got your foot in the door for the interview, the next step is researching the company. Research not only gives you a greater insight into the company workings, it can also even help you realize how you could fit in the company culture. However, is there such thing as too much research?

It’s important to prepare, but you definitely want to make sure you don’t overdo it. You want to do enough research to know what you can expect and speak on the points related to the job you are interviewing for.

So what’s the best way you can research a company and use it in your job interview?

• Research the company’s products, services and public image. Look at the company website and conduct a Google search. Take notes on your research.
• If you know your interviewer’s name, be familiar with who is interviewing you and their background if that information is publicly available. Keep it limited to professional awards and accolades. Do not mention personal information you may find in your search. This means you should try searching sites like LinkedIn and not Facebook.
• If you want to research and see if there are employees you know: Go on LinkedIn and see if you are connected to anyone who has worked or currently works at the company. If you are, call them beforehand and ask some questions. When you’re at the interview, and if it’s appropriate, you can say ‘I’m actually connected to so and so who works in sales through a friend.’ If you find no connecting points, let it go and move on.
• List questions that you want to ask about the company and its products or services.
• Use your research for tailoring your interview examples and highlighting things that you see in the company that you share in common and areas where your expertise could be helpful.
• Before your meeting, determine what type of interview you’ll be having so you aren’t caught off guard. Will the meeting be one-on-one or will you be sitting in front of a panel?
• What if you have an interview with a smaller company which doesn’t have a strong presence online? If you can’t find any information on the company, you can say something like ‘I’m really intrigued by the company and I’m really excited to learn more’  when you’re on the phone before the interview.

Just remember, while it may help to throw out a few facts about the company that you would never know unless you did your homework, you shouldn’t make it sound like you’re rattling off a list of facts in the interview!

Source: WSJ.com

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