When prepping for an interview, the majority of your time will be spent making sure you know the job description inside and out so that you can sell yourself to the interviewer. However, for your interview to be truly successful, you’ll want to be sure you’ve spent just as much time researching the company and the interviewer.
Companies aren’t just looking to hire candidates who can do the job, they also want employees who gel with their company culture and whose values are aligned with the company’s mission. Hopefully, as you do your research, you’ll either be more convinced that this is a company you want to work for, or learn that it’s actually not the place for you; something best learned sooner than later.
You’ll also want to be sure you’ve looked up your interviewer on LinkedIn. Read his/her recommendations, look at the companies where they previously worked and schools they attended. Having more information about the interviewer’s history will make you feel like you’re not going into the interview totally blind. Not only that, but hopefully you’ll find points of interest or commonalities that you can bring up in your interview to help create some rapport.
Still not convinced doing your research is necessary? Imagine you’re on an interview and the interviewer barely asks you any questions? You’d probably leave convinced that s/he lacks any real interest in you as a candidate. Now imagine you’re the interviewer and the candidate you’re interviewing has no questions about the position or the company. Even worse, imagine you’re asked a question that was easily answered on the company’s website. You’d question whether the candidate did any research on the organization at all.
Perhaps the best result that comes from doing your research is that you’ll be more confident, and that’s the best way to combat any nerves you might have.
So, ready to learn the best ways to research before a job interview? Atrium Recruiter, Jenna, shares some great advice in this one-minute video.
