Company Research: The Secret to Successful Interviewing
Article Title: Company Research: The Secret to Successful Interviewing
Author Byline: Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SPHR
Author Website: MobileTechWebsite,
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for a job interview is to learn everything that you can about the company before you go to the interview. Most interviewers ask job candidates why the want the job. Most people answer this question specifically in terms of their own skills, and why their skills are a good match for the essential functions of the job.
Having the right skills certainly is an important part of being qualified for a particular job. However, since employers screen resumes or applications before deciding who to interview, it is likely that the interviewer is already familiar with whether or not your skills are a good match for the position.
Telling the interviewer what skills you have only lets the interviewer know that you are interested in the type of job that is open, but doesn’t say anything about why you want to work for the company.
If you have conducted research about the company ahead of time, you can use this question to really want to set yourself apart from the other candidates. When you know specific information about the company, you can answer the interviewer’s question about why you want the job in terms that are customized for this interview.
When you know the company’s mission and general information about its products and services, it becomes much easier to convey a genuine desire for this particular job with this specific organization.
Interviewers want to hire people who are likely to stay with the company long-term, so they look favorably on candidates who seem genuinely interested in and knowledgeable about the organization as well as the type of job. The few minutes you spend browsing the Internet to find out about the company are well worth the benefits of making a positive impression on the interviewer.
Mary G. White, M.A., SPHR is the Training Coordinator for Mobile Technical Institute & MTI Business Solutions (http://www.mobiletechwebsite.com), where she specializes in human resources, management, and marketing training. She teaches open enrollment classes for MTI, provides on-site corporate training, and frequently speaks at conferences and association meetings. She is also the author of 101 Successful PR Campaign Tips in the LifeTips book series. MTI provides a variety of consulting services, including IT Training, certification testing, HR & PR consulting, custom database development and website solutions. For free career development tips, see http://www.DailyCareerConnection.com.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
You can take this a step farther and research the manager with tools like LinkedIn. You can then connect with him on a more personal level if perhaps you both enjoy fly fishing.
When a candidate does not know about a company, the recruiter is often blamed for the under-preparation of the candidate. While it is the recruiters “job” to make sure the candidate knows about the company, it is also the candidate’s job to know.
If you are not curious about the company you are interviewing with, why bother?