Researching companies

I am curious to know what some of the members are doing to research companies when they apply.

It is common for people to express the need for applicants to research and learn about the potential employers. This is great advice and I certainly hope to follow it when I begin my career change.

So I was wondering if members might share some of their personal ideas about how to go about researching a company and potential interviewers. This is something that I believe is a valuable skill but I find very few suggestions about what specifically to do.

Thank you for any feedback. I hope this becomes I lively topic because I feel it is relevant to anyone that is job hunting!

Jon

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Comments

cyberguypr

My routine usually includes Glassdoor, LinkedIn, FB, Twitter, Google.

stryder144

1. Besides the obvious "Google is your friend", LinkedIn can have a ton of valuable information in it. This applies to both the company and the interviewers, if you know their name.

2. Try glassdoor.com, too. That will give you an idea of what people think about the company, though take the reviews with a grain of salt.

3. Dig deep into the company website, look at products/services/etc that you will be supporting if you get a job there. Talk to how you believe you will be able to add to the company's bottom line.

4. Go to a financial website or two. This will give you an idea of how well the company is doing in their sector. Look for recent big wins. You could very well impress the interviewer if you know about their latest contract or product to go live.

Remember to truly understand as much as you can, take notes, and develop questions based on that info. Believe me, if you ask your interview how your networking skills will support the added traffic that the such-and-such acquisition is going to bring to the company, you are going to stand out.

Good luck!

Danielm7

Sometimes on Linkedin you can find IT people listing their skills, or the types of equipment they work on, can give you an idea of what kind of environment you're going into and be more prepared for the interview.

I had an interview a week ago, the first question the woman asked me at the very start of the interview, "Tell me in your words what you think we do here?" So yes, research is important.

Jon_Cisco

Danielm7 wrote: »

Sometimes on Linkedin you can find IT people listing their skills, or the types of equipment they work on, can give you an idea of what kind of environment you're going into and be more prepared for the interview.

Great tip. This might get you more specifics then the job posting.

NightShade03

I'll second many of the suggestions here. I usually start with LinkedIn to see who I know at the org or what details I can extract like tech, skills, departments. Second stop is always to the orgs website; what do they do, how long have then been around, what services/products, etc. They I google their competitor and starting looking for the same things on their site to see what the org may be lacking or may have against the competition.

Once I have some ammo from this process I'll also take a look at glassdoor to read the reviews and make notes on anything I feel is relevant. Not all reviews are 100% accurate, look at the date of when they were posted, and keep in mind that people are 10x more likely to complain then they are to take the time to post something positive about an org.

One other thing if I'm really interested in an org is to see some of the people that work there on LinkedIn and look back at their history. Where are they coming from? How often are they job hoping? This gives a better indication on what kinds of people the orgs hires and if they are being strategic or just filling roles with bodies.

Definitely know the company well. I have been on quite a few interviews where knowing what the org does, their competition does, and how the culture works is very important. It also shows that you care and have a firm interest in them.