It is no longer a new thing that a job seeker should have questions for the interviewer during an interview. This is one of the ways to show that you are really interested in the company. You might get to learn some things about the organization during an interview. However, you should have knowledge of some basic information about the company before the interview. Therefore, you need to know how to research a company for a job interview.
And thanks to technology it is now easy to get basic information about the organization where you wish to work. In this article, we will discuss various ways a job seeker can research a company for a job interview.
Here are some tips on how to research a company for a job interview
Check the Company’s Website
The first place to start your research is the company’s website. You can check the website to know more about the company’s products and services, its culture, value, and mission statement. Besides, you can glance through the ‘About Us’ section to know more about them. Carefully read through the mission statement that pops up on their website so you can know if you will be the right fit for the company. If there is a blog or press section on the website, you should read through it thoroughly to get yourself familiarized with the company’s news.
Go through their Social Media Pages
The next place to go when you want to research a company for a job interview is their social media pages. Go through their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram handles. This will give you a grasp of how the company portrays itself to the customer/client. You can also follow their social media handles so you can get the latest updates on the organization. Besides, going through the social media pages can help you identify whether the job is fake or not. Because some fake companies do not have social media presence. And the ones that have are not professionally managed.
You can also go through the company’s LinkedIn profile to know more about them. In fact, LinkedIn might contain rich information about the organization more than any other social media pages. You will be able to see whether you have one or two connections that work at the company. Also, you will know some of their employees that are on LinkedIn, the company’s statistics and so on.
Checking the company’s LinkedIn profile can also help you know who the interviewer is. And you will be able to research the interviewer by knowing things they love, your connections and their background. If you could get something that resonates well with you and the interviewer, you will be able to keep conversations going during the interview. And you will be able to build a discussion around their interest.
Because there is an increase in video content in recent times, some companies now have YouTube channels. Therefore, you can also extend your social media research to YouTube if the organization has a channel.
Use Google and Google News
You can also use google and google news to research a company for a job interview. This might sound simple but it is an important step in your research. Just go on google or google news and insert the name of the company. Doing this will give you the knowledge of recent happenings in the organization.
You might not be able to get much news about small companies compared to big ones. However, all you need is recent information that you can turn into questions to ask during the interview.
Research the employee
When you go through a company’s linkedin profile, you can always find the employees that are on linkedin. Therefore, another tip on how to research a company for a job interview is to research the employee. If you could find employees with similar roles with what you are applying for then you can research them. This will give you insight on some qualities they have that made the company hire them. Once you take note of this, then you can work on these qualities so as to impress your interviewer.
Know more about the Competitors or Industry
Another tip on how to research a company for a job interview is to know more about the industry and their competitors. You have to know who the company’s biggest competitor or rival is. Understand their success and flaws, this can help you have insight that will impress the interviewer. You also need to research well into the company’s industry especially if you are new to that field. This means you will have to research other businesses in the industry. Know what service or product the industry renders. Read about their publications and all. You can also use google news to know more about the recent happenings in the industry. Getting the insight of the industry before going for interviews can help you ace the interview.
Leverage Your Network in the Company
If you know someone that works in the company, you can ask for their help. The truth is they might have passed through the interview phase. So they should be able to give you some needed insight on how you can ace the interview.
You can also check around with your friends or networks whether they have someone working in the company. This is one of the reasons why it is good to network. Networking gives you the opportunity to connect with the right people to get the right information.
Review the Research Information
Now that you have gotten one or two pieces of information from researching the company. You should review all the information you get. Have a checklist that contains some common interview questions. Then, review whether you can answer the questions confidently based on your research on the company.
Final Thought
Those are the tips on how to research a company for a job interview. Now that you know these tips, we hope you will be able to impress the recruiter or interviewer in the next interview so you can land your dream job.
