Do Your Homework!

As my first semester of senior year wraps up, this is especially relevant to me in both a school and work setting! However, this blog post speaks to anyone who is looking to prep for an interview and yes it does require some prep work!

• Research the company: having background knowledge of the company you are applying to is critical. Not only does it show that you are interested, but they may directly ask you what you know. You want to be prepared to answer any questions that may be on the company’s website. Take a look at the company’s mission statement, its different business lines, and its values. Check out anything else that is important on their website and that would be relevant to your job. Pick a couple of things you could bring up in the interview but know that if you bring something up. If they don’t bring it up, this is an opportunity to show that you did your research and you can pose questions at the end of the interview about how the employees live their values or link to anything you see that interests you.
• Research the culture: this may be a bit more abstract but dive into the culture at the company and field. I have found that looking at their social media channels and seeing their comments is a great way to see what people think of the company. You could also look at competitors. How do values differ across companies? What can you tell from their websites and social media?
• Research the job: looking at the job description is the first step. Once you have taken a good look, do you have any questions? Can you talk about experiences that you’ve had that make you a good fit for the job? For the interview process, you will want to have a handful of questions ready and some of these can come from the job description. An example would be: how is success in this job measured? Make sure to have a good handle on the job and what would be required of you.

One great resource to dive into the company, culture, or specific job is to check LinkedIn and see if you have any mutual contacts to the company that you are applying to. If you have any connections, reach out! It’s best to talk to someone at the company before interviewing to get a better sense of their culture. I hope this blog post helps to get you ready for your next interview.

 

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