We have probably all at some point been turned down following an interview, and it is never a nice feeling. As recruitment consultants we are used to delivering bad news in a diplomatic way that empowers individuals to learn from their experience. But in almost half of the cases, it is the interviewee who lets themselves down, either by being ill prepared, late, or forgetting things like the name of the interviewer etc.
After speaking to our clients we wanted to let you in on a secret….aside from the
skills aspect, interviewers do not hire people who fail to demonstrate they have researched their company. It really is as simple as that!
With this in mind, we have put together a step-by-step guide below on how to research successfully.
Who is responsible for the research?
Whether you have applied direct or via a recruitment agency, such as ourselves, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have fully researched the company. After all it is your career at stake, and you will be the one answering the questions in an interview!!
Steps One – Speak to your Recruiter (if you have one)
Your recruiter, if you are using one, should be able to give you some helpful insight into the culture, size and environment that you can expect within the company, they may also be able to tell you about the types of people they employ along with the background of those individuals.
Step Two – Research the Interviewer
In order to establish a good rapport with your interview, it helps to find some common ground. Most people tend to have a professional online profile, such as LinkedIn, Xing or Viadeo to name a few, which are great places to find out where your interviewer has previously worked, what skills they have and occasionally their interests outside of work.
Step Three – Research the Company
Many people fall into the trap of just reading a company’s About Us page, five minutes before going into an interview. If this is you, stop now, as you are damaging your chances!!
Reading a company’s website is only a small part of what you need to know about the company, and you are unlikely to remember it all anyway. You are more likely to recall interesting snippets of information that strike a chord with you, rather than a whole website, so consider the following: What interesting projects have they worked on? What was their last news article about? What was their last tweet or Facebook message? What does their vision or mission statement say about them as a company? What do their competitors say about them? What do they say about their competitors? What do their clients say about them?
If you think finding all of this information is impossible, there are some fantastic websites that you can take a look at, such as Glassdoor and What Are They Really Like, which offer reviews of companies. My World of Work also provides information about the industry you are interested in and much more.
You may also wish to consider setting up Google Alerts, so that you receive emails when the company name is mentioned in any articles.
Step Four – Research Now
Never leave your research and preparation to the last minute. Your preparation should really begin as far in advance as possible. Make notes about what you discover and read them through several times ahead of the big day. Finally condense your notes into handy bullet points, that you can use as prompts for questions during your interview.
Never Underestimate the Power of Flattery
One of the best and proven ways to convince your interviewer that you are the man or woman for the job, is to be able to demonstrate what you know about their company and what makes them better than their competitors. After all, everyone likes to hear something good about themselves!!!
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