Yes, it is time to don your detective cap and start your super-sleuthing adventures into your potential new employers! 🕵🏻 Regardless of how many interviews you have, you should always prepare for each interview with a large amount of vigour, determination and research. There is an abundance of information you can find out before your big interview day, and research is a primary component to impressing any potential employers. Whether you have a face to face or a video interview, you want to impress with your preparation and knowledge, so we have listed seven points you should research before that happens. Now, these are by no means the end of your interview preparation. For that go to our very comprehensive article on 'How to Find a Job', where we go into every detail of looking for a job, interview prep and what to do after you get your dream position! But for starters, use this guide as a base for what you really need to prepare for to look good in your interview!
What Does The Company Do?
The first question you should research before your interview is what the company actually does. You may already know the sector or industry of the business, but you should do some thorough research to really get your head around the specifics. Practice your answers out loud as sometimes it’s easy to understand what a company does - but you may struggle to describe it. By practising, you can ensure that you come across confident and knowledgeable about the company.
The best place to do this research is by looking at the company’s website. Every company usually has an ‘About Us’ page, which should explain what the company does in detail. Then you can dig deeper with some general google search questions about the company.
Key Position Holders Within The Company
Make sure you research the key people within the company. These are key employees who hold important positions like CEO, CFO, CMO, Department Managers and so on. You can find out who these people are by exploring the 'About Us' page or their 'Employees' page where you may find their bios. It’s also a good idea to check out what these individuals say on LinkedIn and any social channels. It is nice to be prepared with this kind of knowledge if it slips into the conversation. It shows you have done your research well.
What’s The Company Mission and Values? What’s The Company Culture Like?
After you have a thorough understanding of the company, it’s time to understand why the company does what they do. Every business usually has its own mission and values, so ensure you do your research, it is highly likely that you will find information on the company’s website.
A company’s mission and values are closely related to a company’s culture, which is another vital element that should be researched before any interview. This can be slightly more difficult to understand without physically visiting their office space. To try and understand this have a look at the company’s social media accounts to get a feel for their employee engagement and staff. Read between the lines of their job postings and this will give you an idea of who they think is suited to the position. Take a close look at the language being used, it can really give you an insight into their culture. You can also find out information on the employer’s career page if they have one. This may go into more detail about what core values they are looking for in a candidate. Another great tool for researching company culture is Glassdoor, this website allows past and present employees to leave reviews on what it’s like to work for a certain company. Then when you attend your interview, highlight how you would fit into this working culture and why you feel you would be a great match. All this research enables you to position yourself as the best candidate for the position.
What Is The Company’s History?
It is important that you take the time to research the company’s history, look at who founded the business and when. Then with the information you researched about key people you can get a thorough understanding of the type of people who are behind the company, and how far they have progressed as a business.
Once you have researched the company’s history, you will have more of an understanding of how the company runs. This is immensely beneficial; as it’s likely your interviewer will ask what you know about the company. Knowing their history shows that you have taken the time to do more than just the bare minimum and are thoroughly interested in the company and its background.
What’s The Company’s Latest Venture?
Linking slightly to the previous point, as well as the company’s history, you should also research the businesses latest news and ventures. Ensuring you are up to date with information about the company is essential and will really impress your potential employer.
The company’s latest information is likely to be posted on their social media pages, so have a flick through their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts! See if you can find the company’s newsletter or try a quick Google search of the company’s name to see if any news outlets are saying anything, this might be worth mentioning at your interview. (Make sure you only mention positive news and ventures, you don’t want to appear negative!)
Who Are The Company’s Competitors?
Another very common interview question is ‘Who would you say are our competitors?’ So make sure you have some answers prepared for this! If you are interviewing for a competitive industry, it’s vital that you are able to make some comparisons. It’s worth finding out who the company’s competitors are on a global, national and local scale.
Look at similar companies that are located geographically near the company you are interviewing at, as well as companies all over the UK that are similar in size. Research these companies to see how the businesses compare. Bonus points if you are able to mention something the company does that its competitors do not. This shows you have not only done the research, but you have analysed the research data too!
Who Is The Person Interviewing You?
Never overlook this one, you should find out who the interviewer will be for your interview. If you have the name of the person then do some digging on the company website and all social media channels. This will allow you to find out their personal background, their personality and any common interests. Doing this gives two sizable advantages. One is you have a better chance of connecting with them knowing what they are like. You will be better armed to be able to carry a meaningful conversation. Secondly, if you feel you know a bit about the person before you talk to them then psychologically you will feel much more at ease with them. This may seem a small thing, but it can help you come across so much more confident in an interview situation.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering that all interviews will be very different. Some can be very in-depth and some not so much, so don’t let it put you off if you don’t get to demonstrate all the knowledge you have gathered. If there is a second interview you will already be very well prepared!
The best advice for any interview is to just be you! You should do as much research as you can and prepare answers in advance, but it’s also very important that you just enjoy yourself.
As we mentioned at the beginning we have a wealth of information to help your interview skills have a look at our resources below, After reading all this you will be the ultimate interview ninja!
More Resources
If you want to invest in yourself to get the best results in the job market, make sure you look at our other blog posts and articles to help you. Start with these two and you will not go wrong! How to Find a Job and our Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Dream Job! Then we have some great shorter blogs on interview techniques and CV writing below. Have a look at all these and you will be set for any interview! Remember, 'Luck favours the prepared! We wish you all the luck and success with your future!
The Top 10 Interview Questions You Should ALWAYS Prepare For!
Research You Should Consider Before An Interview
Ultimate Guide to Preparing your CV
How To Completely Nail Your Zoom, Skype or any other Video Conferencing Interview!
What questions should you never ask in an interview?
How to Answer the Question: What are your Strengths?
How to Answer the Question: What motivates you at work?
Finding a New Job? - It's Time To Clean Up Your Social Media Presence
Also, remember if you are attending interviews you may get rejected, do not take this personally! A lot of things in life are a numbers game, meaning the more you get rejected the closer you will come to getting the job. It is simple maths, the more you do the better the chance of success. It is a healthy part of the process so read the article below and don't let rejection slow you down!
10 Top Tips for Coping With Those Soul-Destroying Job Rejections!