Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Research The Company Before Your Interview

You know that researching a company before an interview is important, it shows that you’re genuinely interested. Where do you start?

How do you research a company in an effective way?

You’d be wise to follow these few steps to research the company before your interview

Do a Google Search

The first thing to do is run a Google search on the business. This will bring up the website, any social media accounts and any websites the business may have been mentioned on. It’s useful for finding out about any news, old and new, interviews given in local papers or magazines, & what developments are to come ..i.e expansions

Look for any achievements, awards or announcements the business has made. These always make great positive chats at the interview

If you know who is interviewing you, do a Google search on that person. When you don’t know the person’s name, search the CEO of the business to find out more about him or her.

Check Social Media

Do your research across the social media platforms. You will find out who’s connected to the business, employees and suppliers, listen to their conversations, what are they saying about the company? It’s worth looking at how often the company tweets or posts on Facebook or how active they are on any other social media platform. This shows that you’re interested in how they’re reaching out to their customers, it will also show you if they’re not.

Start interacting with the business if you don’t already. Comment on status updates or retweet their posts to your own followers. This approach will make the company aware of you but it will also give you the chance to check to see how fast they say thank you to retweets and comments. Are they a company whose on the ball?

Review sites

Research the products and services that a business has. Do a search into the older products and newer items that the company are developing. Do they sell any of their products or services on sites which allow people to review them? What are their customers saying? This is easy to do if you’re going for an interview at a hotel or a restaurant as Trip Advisor will be able to give you plenty of information on what their customers have to say. This shows that you’re interested, you have an understanding of where they’ve come from, where they’re going and what it is they’re trying to achieve. If the customers reviews are negative then perhaps you’re the person that they need to change that. This research will help you show the company that you’re able to assist them with their further development.

Don’t Forget Yourself

Finally, do a quick Google of yourself. What are prospective employers going to find if they search for you? This will help you be prepared for questions. If you find any digital dirt then you’ll need to clean it up immediately.

Research is important. You need to know as much as possible about the business to show them you’re the one for the job.

JOIN Jobhop and spread the word.

Alex James Jobhop.co.uk

Picture Credit Susan Hersh

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