Having properly researched a company before a job interview will make you feel more secure and confident. It will allow you to adapt your speech and answers to the information you have found. Being prepared will make it easier for you to be perceived as a good candidate, who meets the company’s functional, technical and personal needs, and perfectly fits the company’s culture.
What are other reasons for finding out more about the company?
- You will show real interest. Dedicating time to getting to know the company is an effort which requires motivation and which will make a very good impression on the employer, as it conveys professionalism, commitment and interest in the company and the position.
- Differentiation. Yes, there are candidates who don’t prepare anything, but there is also another very important percentage of people who stick to the minimum and it shows. If you go a little further, you will undoubtedly stand out.
What does a company expect you to know about it?
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- The sector and the activity to which the company is dedicated.
- The products and services it offers.
- Its national and international presence.
- Its customers.
- Its history, evolution and size.
- Its values, culture, mission and vision.
- The latest news about it.
Knowing the minimum that a company expects is one thing, but looking for information so you can take advantage of it is another, so let’s get to it.
Where can you find information about the company and how can you use it?
The company website. The more you know and understand about the organization, the better. It is not enough to go on the web and take a hasty look, as that can give you incomplete information which would destroy your credibility as a candidate. It is very common for job-seekers to go on the web without a clear idea of what they are looking for. So here is how to do it:
Take a pencil and paper, enter the company website and carefully read the previous points one by one (history, values, products, etc.) and take notes of the most important information relevant to each point. Once you have extracted the most representative information, you are going to prepare your answer to one of the most important questions: “What do you know about us?”. A frequent mistake is improvising the answer, when candidates believe that it is enough to have looked at the information, but they have not structured their answer to give them an advantage over the other candidates.
Another section of the company’s website that you should visit is the Work with us section, where you should look at all the vacancies it has published. Doing that will give you an idea of the type of profiles it usually looks for, the hiring conditions, growth, etc.
Then look for the role for which you are going to be interviewed. It is normal for the same description to appear in the offer advert on the job portal, but sometimes you can find additional information.
Google the business name and check the results list carefully. Click on the “News ” tab and see recent articles about the company. Using Google well is a strategy to discover important facts about the organization. These include expansion plans, investments or a new product launch. By doing a free search for the company name, you can find press releases, interviews, conferences, the same job advert on other portals, presentations and opinions. You can even find complete presentations on the web.
On LinkedIn, companies publish corporate information, news, job adverts, communicate their culture and interact with job-seekers.
Research the company’s corporate profile. Maybe you will find contacts in your network who work or have worked for the company, and perhaps they can give you valuable information.
You can also check the information on the professional profiles of members of the company: how they internally name the job you want to apply for, what type of functions are the most representative, training, background, level of activity in the network, recent activity, etc.
Social networks are another powerful source of information. Therefore, visit not only the company’s LinkedIn profile, but also Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check publications and analyze how the organization relates to its audience.
Follow the company you plan to work for and enjoy some posts. By becoming a page follower, it is possible to stay on top of updated information, which is often not available on the institutional website.
In conclusion, information is power if you know how to identify key data and use it correctly. With this research, you will gain a solid insight into the culture of the organization and pass the interview with flying colors.
Ideal opportunities are already waiting for you on Workee. Download the Workee app for iOS or Android and get an invitation for an interview in a matter of hours!
Also read: Impostor syndrome: What it is and how to overcome it at work.
