Do the Research on Hiring Company Before Interview

The key to successful interview is preparation – you must do your homework to know something about the hiring company. Yes, a lot of people skip this step, but if you do, you get better chance for a job offer. When you know more about the company, you can demonstrate a convincing fit between your qualifications and the company’s job requirements easily. And of course, you can give a better answer for the common question “What do you know about out company?”

So, spend enough time to prepare the interview, and learn as much as you can about the company and the industry in general. Your research on the company should mainly cover the following aspects:

What products the company make and/or what services it offers.

Who are its customers.

Is the company a major player in the industry.

Who are the company’s competitors.

How many employees the company has.

Is the company expanding or downsizing.

What new products, services, and technologies it is initializing.

How many branches and locations worldwide.

What is the company’s reputation and public value.

What is the company’s corporate culture.

Names and background of the company’s executive officers.

The management structure of the company.

All the research can be done online. In addition to checking the company’s website, you can use the following resources to evaluate a targeting company and get detailed information:

Hovers
http://www.hoovers.com/
Hovers has the most complete business information and reference directory.

Wet Feet
http://www.wetfeet.com/
company profiles and industry profiles.

PR News Wire
http://www.prnewswire.com/
Search for news about a company and industry.

Thomas Register
http://www.thomasregister.com/
Products and services, and their providers.

You can search the company by its name in
www.about.com
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com