Researching a company properly before a job interview might be crucial in granting you the place you have applied for. Here’s how you should do it.
Rowen Douglas, consultant at Futureboard Consulting, says candidates should be aware of the firms’ unique selling point: “Companies want candidates to tell them what the core to their business is.”
What’s more, Rowen thinks candidates need to show they are aligned with the business they’re applying for. She says: “Candidates should show they have researched the company’s values and that they relate to them. Most importantly, they need to tie this research to their answers in a subtle way.”
Rowen adds: “You should also research news about the company and their competitors, especially what differentiates the company from them.”
As for where to research companies, Rowen says the obvious place to start is their website. However, she says : “Everybody uses that resource, so you have to be more creative about your sources.”
Rowen says a good way around the main research channels is using websites such as WikiJob to learn about candidate selection and Glassdoor to find out about employee satisfaction.
Rowen says: “You won’t always be able to showcase that research during the interview, but it will definitely give you a good idea on whether you want to work for that company or not.”
If you really want to make a good impression, Rowen says you should try to showcase any personal links to the companies – such as work experience – or look into their annual reports. She says: “They’re generally terribly long though, so select a few main points.”
Do you want to know more about interview techniques? Read our Tumblr post on what NOT to do during a job interview.
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