How to Research a Company Before an Interview
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Researching a company before an interview will help you feel better prepared, present yourself better to everyone, and feel more confident. Let me explain how to do it.
00:00 Introduction
00:58 One thing you must do beyond researching the firm
01:29 The first
01:42 The second
02:08 The third
02:46 The fourth
02:56 The fifth
03:10 The sixth
03:19 The seventh
03:32 A summary
04:02 Outro
Hi, this video is called “How to Research a Company Before an Interview.” I’m Jeff Altman. I was nicknamed The Big Game Hunter, when I still did recruiting. I would hunt down leaders and staff for organizations, did that for a long time and filled a lot of positions. Now, I provide no BS career advice to people globally, which can relate to job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, workplace-related issues, career transition and career development. In other words, I take a holistic approach to you in your career.
Now, in today’s competitive markets, and they’re always competitive, it’s important to stand out. And doing that really amounts to a couple of things. One big one is researching the firm before your interview. And that’s what I’m going to cover here today.
So, number one thing I’m going to tell you is, this really isn’t about researching the firm, but it’s about preparing for questions they might ask. And that is ask yourself, based upon the job description that you’ve seen, if you were them interviewing you, what might they ask you to evaluate you as to whether you know what they need you to know for each of the items that are in the requirements, and in the functionality for the position.
Then go visit the company’s website. You can look at their mission statement recent news about them, because that’s going to give you an idea of what the firm is all about and what they’re currently involved with.
Look at their social media accounts. You can follow them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and anyplace else for that matter. But what you’re trying to do from that is getting a sense of firm and culture. Now, this may not be helpful to you with the first interview. But as time progresses, certainly by the time you would get through multiple rounds of interviews and an offer, this is going to be helpful to you in making decisions.
And of course, go to Glassdoor and similar sites, because they’re going to give you a sense of what current and former employees are saying about the firm and the environment, the management style, employee satisfaction. And what I always tell people to do is eliminate the extremes– The people who hate. The people who love. Look at the ones in the middle, because those are the more accurate ones. The people who hate are gone. The people who love– those could be company plants. We don’t know. But the people in the middle give you a texture to your answer that I think is more interesting.
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Take a look at who they compete with, because that’s going to give you a sense of where they are professionally. Look at their financials, the annual report.
Look at the leadership as well as the people you’re going to be meeting with who are on your calendar. Google and LinkedIn are going to provide you with great resources to find them and to get a sense of what their backgrounds are.
Look at their products and services. See what they offer and how they’re marketed because that’s going to give you a sense of their target market and the firm in its business.
Look at the press releases; look at job listings. Google the firm by name and see what comes up, because it’s going to give you more news stories than you might have the first time.
Just summarizing, researching a company before an interview is important to stand out from others and shows that you could be . . . assuming you have the right qualifications . . . qualified for a role. It’s going to give you a sense of confidence in yourself, as well as how you present. You’re going to get information about this firm, their culture, their industry– It’s going to help you with decision-making, and help you feel more confident walking in.
I’m Jeff Altman. I hope you found this helpful. Visit my website, TheBigGameHunter.us. There, you can find out about my courses, books and guides. You can schedule time for a free discovery call to evaluate me for coaching, pay for a coaching session, hire me for Trusted Advisor Services where you can just ask me questions related to your career or job search, whatever, I’d be happy to answer them for you.
Also, also, connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. I hope you have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Main YouTube: www.JobSearchTV.com
No BS Job Search Advice Radio Podcast: anchor.fm/nobsjobsearchadviceradio
Video Podcast of No BS Job Search Advice Radio: Spotify
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffaltmancoach
Medium: jeffaltmancoach.medium.com
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
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