Company research?

Company research is important and a BIG part of the beginning of a interview. I look at interviews like going on a blind date, you want to know about the person/job before the interview. When you DONT do company research it makes you look bad to the company. Sometimes this is a 50/50 thing. I have done interviews where they did NOT ask me about the company, and I have done interviews where they HAVE asked about the company.... I have been in the situation where I did not do any research on the company and they asked me "What do you know about our company" and my response was "its a IT company". It is good to know who the CEO is, the Leader of the IT dept is, what the company does, what they do in the community, and the morals/foundation pricipals of the company is.

Also make sure you know the Job Description and how your resume fits in with the description. I have messed up on this part too.

In interviews the interviewer wants to know 3 major things

1. What do you know about the company
2. How can YOU fit in with the company
3. How does your experience/knowledge/certs etc.... Benefit the company

A company wants a employee that brings VALUE to the organization. Anyone can get a interview but not everyone is going to get a job. The reason for this importance is... Knowing how you can tailor your experience and knowledge into the company will benefit them and land you the job!!! This is why you always hear the old question in interviews...

"Tell me about a time when you had a angry customer.... how did you handle that and what happened"... or
""tell me about a time when you had a co worker that did not want to work with the team or be a team player, how did you handle that"

Those questions answered correctly show the employer that you can fit it with the company and co workers.

Another good reason to research the company before the interview is TURNAROUND RATE, and EMPLOYEE REVIEWS!!!! This is a personal story I want to share.....

There is a company in Alexandria VA that poses as a IT company but is actually a door to door sales job... I found that out on glassdoor. It is always good to read the reviews BEFORE the interview to get a good look at what other people are saying. Keep in mind take the reviews with a grain of salt... Not all bad reviews are really bad reviews. Also look at the history of the company... have there been any mergers, buy-outs, layoffs, news reports, media coverage on said company... what was the impact? How did it change the company? Is your job going to be outsourced in a year or so? These are things that need to be researched.

Also for everyone that has to deal with recruiters... glassdoor provides a good estimate of what you should negotiate for as far as salary

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Comments

636-555-3226

Good tips to keep in mind, thanks

dustervoice

Cheers for this!

ITSpectre

Im going to do some updates and add some more good info.... stay tuned!

Kreken

ITSpectre, I think you are following the wrong calling in your life. First, life advises and now this... you are taking us on a wild ride.

ITSpectre

Well I did used to be a baptist minister before I got into IT.... and I always have been fond of public speaking and motivational speaking etc.....

dave330i

I have a mercenary attitude, so I don't spend much time researching companies. I will research which industry they work in.

lodis86

It's always good to pepper in some company knowledge when answering the interview questions.

dustervoice

ITSpectre wrote: »

Well I did used to be a baptist minister before I got into IT.... and I always have been fond of public speaking and motivational speaking etc.....

So did IT cause you not to be a Minister any longer?

ITSpectre

I stopped being a minister because of the wild women.... but I can say that I am ordained right now but do not practice... but I can still do weddings etc...