You’ve Been Preparing For Job Interviews All Wrong
Preparation For Interviews is a Key Component of Your Job Search
Back in the 1984 when I graduated college, preparing for an upcoming interview was difficult. Mostly, you could really only prepare to talk about yourself. You were very limited in obtaining information about the company you were interviewing with. Perhaps you went to the library to see if there were any annual reports, newspaper and magazine articles or books. Fast forward 35 years and the amount of information available is not only endless, but it can be accessed from your phone.
As a hiring manager interviewing hundreds of applicants, I have always asked the same first question as I begin each and every interview. “What have your learned about us? Who we are and what we do? The answer to this question sets the tone for the remainder of the interview. I will immediately know if the candidate has done their homework/research and to what depth. When they answer this question, you can tell if they just did the minimal amount of research or they really did their homework and thoroughly researched the company.
Don't Let the Interview Be Cut Short
On several occasions when I asked that question, the candidate would say “I don’t know? I haven’t really done any research? After pausing for a moment, I say “Thanks for coming in. This interview is over”. It lasted a total of 3 minutes. The candidate looks at me and doesn’t understand what just happened. There is absolutely no excuse for not doing some research on the company you are interviewing with. Especially because there is no much information readily available and easily accessible. Much different form 1984. I would say to the candidate, “If you haven’t taken the time to do your research, this is not the position for you.” Taking the time to gather key information can not only set the tone for the remainder of the interview, it can make the difference between getting or not getting the job.
What Kind of Research Should I Do?
Company Website – At the very least, an applicant should look at the organization’s websites. Many are hundreds of pages and contain information about products and services, clients, company history, executives and if a public company, financial information. newsletters and press releases
LinkedIn Company Information – Not only can you find company information on LinkedIn, the key company facts of that organization are usually summarized in one place. How many employees and how many locations the company has. You can also see how many open positions the company has that they are trying to fill. Is it a great many or only a few? If you are a LinkedIn Premium member, you can see if headcount has been rising or shrinking. You can also see other individuals that currently and historically have worked for the company, what their average tenure is and if they have progressed and been promoted over time.
LinkedIn Personal Information – Before an interview all candidates should research the person(s) that he/she is interviewing with. You can find out what their title is, how long they have been at the company, what other positions they have had within the company, their prior work history, education – where they went to school and what did they study. You can also see what interests they have, key skills, certifications, publications, awards, what groups they belong to and what influencers they follow. Use this to connect with someone on a personal level. Where they grew up, their interest in the Arts, Music, their volunteer work, etc.
Should You be Visible or Invisible – when reviewing someone’s LinkedIn profile, depending on your own personal privacy settings, the person you are reviewing can see that you reviewed their profile, or are you an anonymous user. Personally, I recommend changing your privacy settings to anonymous.
Glassdoor Reviews – Glassdoor is a great website to see actual employee reviews. How current and past employees describe their time working for the company. If the discussions about culture, salaries, benefits, work environment, management, room for advancement are positive, you will feel much better taking a job with that company? Or do the reviewers talk about poor working conditions, tremendous overtime, a terrible medical plan, high turnover, disconnects between company leadership and staff. If so, that should be a red flag. It’s the same premise as Amazon reviews. There will be positive and negative reviews. Don’t pay too much attention to one specific review. Take a look at the overall theme/message from these reviews. This type of information is not posted on the company’s website or social media accounts. If there are too many negative comments, this is a clear indication to stay away.
Properly preparing for an upcoming interview can make or break your chances of having a successful interview and being offered the position. If you prepare yourself with all of the above tactics, you will appear intelligent, knowledgeable and confident. “Knowledge is Power.” Practice talking about the information you have found before the interview, so you know it cold walking in.