I Hope You Did Some Research! 4 Things You Must Know Before The Interview

I love it when people that give you interview or resume advice say, “Well, you’ve got to know such and such about the company.” Guess what? I’m here to say the exact same thing. I didn’t use to say it until guess what? Someone actually asked me what I knew about the company. Usually, it’s just a real quick question for general overview.

So – much – to – research.

It’s just part of getting the conversation started, but it’s a great and awesome opportunity to show that you’re interested, you know where the company is going, and you see where you can fit in to the company to add value and make it grow.

Especially, if you can find out problems that the company is having and specifically address how you can solve them. That’s tough to do and not part of this, but it’s something to keep in mind. Four things you must know before the interview to address that research question are right here. Let’s talk about them.

Own The Company About Us Page

Yes, I know it seems obvious, but sometimes there is so much more information here than you probably think about. For instance, you might be able to see the chain of command in the people you’re talking to which is great.

You can figure out who you are going to be talking to, who to work with, and maybe even who to name drop in the interview and how you can get them to work with it. You can also find out where the company is going and what their plans on their product and overall industry is.

These are wonderful opportunities to bring up questions or answer questions when you’re in the interview process.

Digest Your Job Referral Inputs

This is when you’re talking to people that maybe have referred the job to you or gave you information about the company. This is information that you can use in the actual interview. Obviously, if it’s something bad, you’re not going to want to quote it directly, but you can spin it on a positive light or on an inquiry basis to where you get that information from the interviewer.

It could be something very important that can determine whether or not you want to work there. These are important things to work into the interview and to have up, out, in front that also make you look like a very interested person.

Go Get That Linkedin Information

LinkedIn is a great place to see the general company overview, who works for them, what kind of groups they’re involved in, and social signals and information that are tied to that account. The biggest one there that is least controlled and probably gives the best information is the people who actually work there.

Search for people that are interested in the company or maybe have similar positions to what you’re looking for and consider messaging them or seeing the general sentiment of the position they’re at on their LinkedIn page or other outlets to get a feel for hints that you can bring up during the interview. It’s very good information to understand if it’s a place you really want to work.

Beware The Social Media Footprint

Beside the individual employee’s footprints, when it comes to this further research on this company, you might be able to find a little bit of information from social media. I don’t mean the company’s very controlled Twitter feed. I mean people who are quoting the company name and their Twitter feed or their Instagram pictures or their YouTube videos or Facebook posts.

Chances are there is going to be something. There are sites out there that will help you searching these social profiles to get the information that you want. Again, this is not something that you want to completely take as 100 percent concrete, but it could give you hints on things that you want to bring up on the interview to get the information that you’re looking for and look like an excellent researcher.

Do Your Interview Research and Do It Well

Do your research before an interview. Forget about some of the crazy stuff you heard before and make it more realistic towards what you’re looking for and what’s available. Four things you can do are jump straight to the company about us page and really dive into that.

Also, watch the YouTube videos if they have them as those are usually a very condensed and easy way to get a broad feel for the company. Go get your inputs from your job referrals and your friends to see how that works at your desired company or position. Dive into LinkedIn, especially the employees that work for the company and see what other people are saying about the company in the social media front.

I hope this will help you the next time the interview asks about research or asks you about questions that you have for them. Ultimately, it prepares you for the job that’s ahead for you.