Step 1: Research the Organization

How to take advantage of your last chance to research a company and be best prepared for the job interview.

Go from knowing next to nothing to looking like you've followed the company for years.

“So, can you tell me what attracted you to our company?” Are you prepared to answer this question during a job interview? All too often students show up for an interview dressed to impress and prepared to answer questions about themselves, but balk when the conversation turns to the company itself.

A successful interview starts with a lot of hard work and time spent learning all you can about the company. The interviewee needs to sound smart and well-informed about the company to attract the interest of the interviewer. Since there is a wealth of free available online resources that give company information, there’s no excuse not to be really knowledgeable about a company, especially public companies. Once you’re sitting in that interview chair, it’s critical that you can demonstrate a real understanding of the employer’s perspective, what they need from their employees, their challenges, concerns and competition. Most importantly, you need to convey that you have the desire and the know-how to help them be successful. Sound a bit like an unpaid consulting project or a business school assignment? Yes, the time spent researching and attaining that company knowledge can seem vast but, it will be worth your while.

Do you have a job interview coming up in the next few days? Then you better keep reading to learn about a secret weapon that will give you a huge advantage during your interview. Researching employers is one of the best ways to become a stand-out candidate during the hiring process. By putting on your detective hat and investigating potential employers, you’ll discover details about the employer that will better prepare you for any interview.

When you’ve got a job interview coming up, it’s easy to spend time rehearsing answers to potential interview questions and crafting a few of your own. However, doing research on the organization you are about to interview with will allow you to assess whether the organization is right for you, ask better questions during the interview, and help you craft better answers, as you’ll be able to articulate how you’ll fit in into the organization and help it advance its goals.

You know that weird feeling between excitement and dread that accompanies an invitation to interview? It’s especially strong when you know next to nothing about your potential workplace. But, even if the first time you’ve ever heard of the company you’re interviewing with was the day you sent in your application, you can still walk in like you’ve known about the place for years. Here are several ways to tackle researching the company pre-interview.

Get tips on using the Internet and tapping your network to gain information and insight that will improve your odds of having a successful interview.

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You've probably heard or read thatyou should prepare for a job interview by researching the company before you go in. It's good advice but hard to follow unless you know what you should be looking for. Here are some of the things you should try to discover beforehand, and where to look, so you'll be ready to make a great impression during your interview: