Three Things You Should Know about a Company Before an Interview

Three Things You Should Know about a Company Before an Interview

Do you have an upcoming interview with a company that you barely know anything about? Or do you have a general background of who they are and what they do? Well, either way that’s not good enough… Sorry. If you truly want to stand out all other candidates, you’ll need to put on your detective hat on and search high, low and everywhere in between and find out all that you can about a company before attending an interview. As it can not only display your knowledge of the company to the prospective employer, but it can help you find out what working there would actually be like and if it is right for you. You never know, they might be hiding many unpleasant surprises from you. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic, but you can actually discover things that don’t go along your career objectives such as not having effective employee enablement programs. Now, we all know that experts in the field always recommend that jobseekers must research a company before going in the interview. Seems easy, right? Well, not always. And yes, simple facts about the company are extremely important to know such as its date of establishment, the founder and CEO, what they offer, and so on. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You’ll also need portray that you understand the company, its industry, threats and opportunities. To do this you’ll need to kick it up a notch with a bit of a more advanced search, which can also be an opportunity to show the prospective employer your way of thinking and how your skills and knowledge can impact the company. But wait, before you start your research, shouldn’t you know what to look for first? That sounds like a good idea, right? What are the things that you absolutely need to know about a company before going in for an interview? We at Bayt.com are here to tell you exactly what to search for. So, without further ado, here are three things that by focusing on, you’ll surely impress your prospective employer. The job This one is quite obvious, but do you have a good sense of what the job role involves? This goes without saying, but you should certainly be super familiar and completely understand all aspects of the job description. You should actually tailor your CV to it in the first place. Being well-acquainted with the job description can serve as the base of your interview. As at times, some of the most important parts of an interview is portraying that you are fit for the job and got what it takes. Is there a better way to show how you fit the job than knowing what skills the job role requires and then demonstrating how your experience and expertise matches up with them? Make sure to think of examples of when and how you have used the skills in question to create value. Another advantage is that doing this kind of research and thoroughly going through the job description can help you think of potential questions to ask your prospective employer. If there is something that isn’t so clear or that you’d like to know more about, you can simply ask the interviewer about. This can also show the employer that you are generally interested in the job, which is one of the key attributes that employers look for in candidates. Challenges the employer is facing Once you’ve got an understanding of what the company does and what working there might look like, is when you should start looking more into the challenges the company might be facing or has faced in the past. You can do this by reviewing their online profiles including their social media accounts, as well as looking for potential news coverage. You can also look for the challenges that the industry as a whole is facing, which can give a sense of the general challenges that the company might be facing. Mentioning the challenges during the interview can give you a chance to share your input and suggest potential strategies that help resolve the issues, as well as express your interest and ability to contribute. This doesn’t only make you seem more prepared for the interview, but also conveys you as a thoughtful and critical thinker. The interviewer Interviewers usually are willing to go a bit off topic, especially before the interview starts or after it’s done. And one way to make that part of the whole interviewing ordeal more impactful is through researching the interviewer and getting to know them a bit. This can give you the chance to spark up a meaningful conversation rather than making small talk or that awfully dreaded awkward silence. The tricky part here is actually finding out the interviewer’s name, assuming that you don’t know it already. But, it isn’t that hard to do, it is usually included in their email. If not, you can drop them a nice and friendly email asking for it. There shouldn’t be a problem with that. Now, once you have their name, you should search for them on various online platforms such as Bayt.com People, one of the largest professional networking platforms in the MENA region. By doing this you can get some insight into the interviewer’s personal and professional background and characteristics. You never know, you might end up having lots in common.