After you’ve read Part 1 of this series and settled on an outfit to wow your interviewer, the next step is much less you-focused: you have to learn about the company you’re interviewing with. You could be the snappiest dresser in the business, but if you don’t know heads or tails about what your potential employer actually does, that will come through in the interview. Odds are you know something about what they do—whether you were contacted by a recruiter or found the opportunity on a job board, it would be pretty tough getting an interview in the first place without knowing anything at all about what they do. (It’s always a good idea to make your cover letter as specific as possible to the job you’re applying to.) But a general idea, just like with most topics, is only the beginning.
Start by visiting their website and just poking around. (If they don’t have a website, you’ll have to do this in person or by phone—equally feasible, just a bit less convenient.) Click all the tabs, read all the text, get to know their voice and MO. “About Us” or “What We Do” pages are especially useful. Scan it, jot down important keywords, then reread to deepen your understanding. Do this at least once for every (important) page on the website and you’ll be more than prepared.
If you know who’ll be interviewing you, try to find their staff page, or even mentions of them on the site. Get to know them as much as you can that way, then do a quick Google search for their name and see what comes up. Maybe they’re a registered member of the American Silent Movie Fan Club, and you can slip in a mention of how much the Marx Brothers affected your childhood! Do your best to get on their good side before you even walk in the room.
Repeat this process for all the big names in the company—anyone with a three-letter title starting with C and ending with O, anyone with the phrase “Human Resources” in the title, and anyone you think might be your immediate superior. Make lists of things they like and info about them, and don’t hesitate to use these little cheat sheets when communicating with them. These can be useful long after you get hired, in regular email chains and office interactions. The more you know!
After the human element, get to know the company’s operations. Find a list of offices, branches, subsidiaries, etc. to figure out how they do what they do. Memorize their mission statement or their “What We Do” blurb—you can change some of the wording around and use a similar sentence in your own interview to prove what a great fit you are for the company. And the more specifics you can mention in your interview the better. Recruiters and interviewers love to know you’ve done your homework, and it’s much more impressive to say “I was impressed by your handling of the Dirks situation” than “I like your logo.”
So grab your keyboard and get Googling. Your job awaits!