“How much research should I do on a company before an interview?”
Before answering this question, I think you have also got to ask yourself how much do you want the job. If the answer is a lot, then the research that you do should also be a lot.
So much has changed since the first interview I attended…
There was no internet so I could not look up the company online to gain an understanding of what they were all about. You were lucky if you knew anyone that worked there to give you a bit of an insight.
As there was no internet there was no such thing as a company website, so I had very little knowledge of what the company did. The Yellow Pages was a start!
You couldn’t Link In with or Google the interviewer to see what they looked like or what their values were. You just had a name and sometimes that name alone sounded really scary.
Google Maps and Sat Navs were not even invented. I had an actual map to make sure I knew where I was going, not a route finder from the internet as – remember – the internet didn’t exist! I had no idea what the building looked like that I would soon be entering and prayed my car did not break down on route due to overheating in a traffic jam that the Sat Nav (which hadn’t even been thought of) would have told me to avoid.
What I am getting at, is there is no excuse today to not have researched a company and the interviewer prior to interview. It is so easy to find out so much at the touch of a button. Potential employers know this information is out there so they expect you to know it. The interview is only part of the process and the research is an equally important part.
Top Tips:
- There is no excuse a lot of research should be done and companies expect this.
- LinkIn with the interviewers.
- Plan your journey, it might be worth doing a test run.
