As a job seeker, you need to prepare well for an interview. And one of the ways of preparing for an interview is by researching the company you will be interviewing at. To learn more about how to research a company for an interview, click here.
Some job seekers know how vital it is to research a company before the interview. But they do not know the exact thing they should look out for while researching. In this article, we will discuss some important things to know about a company before an interview.
But before then, let us discuss why researching a company before an interview is important.
Why It Is Important To Research A Company Before An Interview?
- It shows your Interest: you get some information when you research a company. These pieces of information help you while preparing for interviews. And this in turn shows your interviewer that you are really interested in working for the company.
- Another benefit of researching a company is that it helps you to have basic knowledge of the qualities the company wants in an employee. This helps you to showcase yourself as a candidate that possesses those qualities.
- And finally, researching a company helps you understand its success and challenges. This will help you prepare relevant ideas to showcase that you are the best fit for the job.
Now that you know the importance of researching a company before an interview, what then do you research for?
Important things to know about a company before an interview.
- Basic Information
Not knowing some basic information about the company or the role you applied for is quite embarrassing. This might sound ridiculous but there are still some job seekers that do not know basic things about the company. They don’t know about their scope of business, their structure, and how they are going to fit into the company’s structure. Not knowing these things can go a long way to affect your interview process. Therefore, you should research to know some basic information about the company.
- The Skills they value
In a job interview, your major aim is to convince the interviewer that you are the right person for the job. To do so, you will need a deep understanding of what they’re looking for in a candidate and be able to demonstrate how you meet that criteria.
If the company includes a section of the qualities they want in an ideal candidate in the job advert, then this will be easier for you. But even if that isn’t the case, you can still try and put it carefully. Thoroughly read the job posting and pay attention to the expected duties and responsibilities. Consider which of your skills corresponds to them, and put together how you will explain this to the interviewer.
- Customers, Products, and Services
One of the important things to know about a company before an interview is the details about the company’s business. You should know the products and services they offer, and you should know the customers or prospective customers. This will help you to answer any questions thrown to you about the company effectively. And it will also help you put together relevant questions to ask the interviewer. Knowing this information does not only showcase your interest in working for the company. But also shows how ambitious you are about the position. You can get information about the company’s products and services on their website.
- Mission Statement and History
The mission statement of an organization showcases the reason why they do what they are doing. And this information is one of the things you should know about a company before an interview. This will help you know what motivates them, and you will be able to align yourself properly to that. You should also familiarize yourself with the history of the company to further showcase your interest. This information can be obtained from the company’s website.
- The Company’s Culture
One of the things you should know about a company before an interview is their culture. The company’s culture is basically how the working environment is. Knowing this will not only help you prepare to be an ideal candidate for a position. It will also help you to know whether you will fit perfectly into the company’s culture.
One way of getting the company’s culture is by going through their website. However, if you have networks in these companies, you can ask them as well.
- Latest News About the company
The latest news featuring the company is also one of the things you should know about a company before an interview. This will help you know the latest development in the company. You can get this information on their website or with just a simple google search.
- The Interviewer
If you get the chance of knowing the name of the person who will interview you, then you can do research on them to spark conversation. While some job interview invites carry the name of the interviewer, some do not. However, if the name of the interviewer is written in the email sent to you, then you can research them. You can check them on the company’s website under the ‘Meet the team’ section. Or you can check them on LinkedIn.
Things you can check about your interviewer includes, their educational background, their career achievement or even their interest. All these can form the basis of relevant discussions in the interview. However, do not go around being creepy about your research by talking about their family or where they stay.
- The Company’s Leadership
One of the things you should know about a company before an interview is the company’s leadership. You should familiarize yourself with the names of those that are at the helm of affairs in the company. This information can be gotten on the ‘meet the team’ section of the company. And you can also go through their social media profiles to get deep insight of the roles they play at the company.
Final Thoughts
Here are the things you should know about a company before an interview. And we hope this article will help you in your company research for your next interview.
