5 Prep Tips for Acing It! Part 1
So, you’re facing a job interview! Need advice about how to prepare for it? Well, there’s no shortage of advice available to you on the internet. A Google search for “how to prepare for a job interview” yields more than 200,000 hits. And some of those hits will tell you that their advice is “best” or “the ultimate”.
Here in “Prep Tips for Acing It!” we divide the preparation into two parts:
Part 1: RESEARCH
Part 2: the THINKING that builds on the research you do
Here in Part I are 5 tips for the research phase of your preparation:
Research the COMPANY you’ll be interviewing with…
There are more online resources than ever to help you with company research. Some questions to direct your research: What businesses are they in? What geographies are they in? Who are their customers? How are their products or services used? Are they getting into any new areas? Are they moving away from old areas? Are they public or private?
Research the JOB you’ll be interviewing for…
Read the job description carefully. What is specifically included in the description and what appears to be left out? What can you infer from the job description about the “soft skills” the ideal candidate should have, e.g., time management, decision-making, and team member skills?
Research the PEOPLE who work at that company…
Who in your network has worked for, still works for that company? Use your college alumni directory, LinkedIn, and other social media groups to identify personal or professional acquaintances who can provide some insight into the job candidates that would be attractive to the company and why.
Research the CULTURE of that company…
The contacts you find during your research in step #3 above can also provide information and insight regarding company culture, too, especially the “unwritten rules” that typically govern day-to-day work life.
Research how the company is doing FINANCIALLY…
If the company is publicly held, then numerous online sources of financial performance information are available, e.g., Yahoo Finance. For both publicly traded and privately held companies, check the company website for downloadable management and financial reports. Consider setting up Google Alerts using the company name as the alert term, so that you’ll automatically receive notice as soon as any information about the company has been posted anywhere on the internet. And the contacts you talk to in step #4 above may also be able to provide information regarding the company’s current and even near-term future financial performance.
The research you do in Part I of your preparation will eliminate much of the uncertainty regarding your prospective new employer and prospective new job. The research findings will serve as the raw material for the “thinking” part of your preparation, which we’ll cover in Part 2. Stay tuned!
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