Interview Q What Do You Know About Our Company - Walrath Recruiting, Inc.

Interview Q What Do You Know About Our Company - Walrath Recruiting, Inc. One of the most common interview questions is, What do you know about our company?. This question is the interviewers way of seeing how extensive your knowledge is, and effectively seeing if youve done your homework. This isnt the only thing they want to find out however. Another thing they want to discover from asking this question is to see how dedicated you are to the company, and if your motivations align with theirs. Other  similar questions that may be asked include, Why are you interested in our organization? or, What do you think we could do better?. Both of these questions are extremely similar in what the interviewer hopes they tell about a potential candidate. Starting with Sleuthing In order to aptly answer any of the above questions, its necessary to do a little detective work of your own, and uncover some key facts about the company. A good place to start is by looking at the about page. It will usually give a brief history of the company, and touch upon some of their core values. This is a good place to start, but should be far from the end of your sleuthing. Doing a little detective work will go a long way in answering this question. Next youll want to look into the basic information. Knowing things like the size of the company, where theyre located, and the role of your point of contact are all good pieces of information. However, you dont want to ask a question about anything too simple just to show youve done some research. If youre going to demonstrate knowledge on a company, it should be something you can express interest in personally, or perhaps something you think you could help improve. Company culture can play a big role in a job, its something that is usually worth asking about. Comprehending Company Culture These are types of things  you wont be able to do from just briefly looking over the companys webpage. It will benefit you to look thoroughly into their website to really understand the type of company you are potentially going to work for. Checking out their social media will also provide some insight into the type of culture at the company, and show you how interactive they are with their customers. If you  cant find anything  about company culture, itd be something worth asking about, because it shows genuine interest, and also  presents an opportunity to really get a feel for what it is like to work at the company. Another added bonus is you may find  what types of events the company has going on or are attending, which could present networking opportunities. Its also not a bad idea to check out your contact and anyone else youve interacted with on LinkedIn. Connecting with them may come on a little too strong, but looking over their profiles and seeing where their background lies will give you a mindset of who youre speaking to once you get into the interview. They will also likely see that youve viewed their profile, which illustrates that youve done some research prior  to the interview. Subscribing to a trade magazine or industry publication can help keep you informed. Keeping Current on Trends Another important thing to do is keep your eye on industry trends. This is something you shouldnt only do before an interview. Checking on industry trends during a  job search as well as while working  company keeps a person  informed and on the forefront of innovation. Knowing about relevant industry happenings can be great knowledge to bring into an interview or meeting at work if you think it could be beneficial for the company. Subscribing to a trade magazine or following a news outlets stream are both great ways to keep you updated on whats going on and make sure you are informed. Lastly, if you still are looking for more information on a company, you cant go wrong simply doing a  Google search. Seeing what customers are saying about them on Yelp, or what employees are saying on Glassdoor will give you some insider perspective from people who have interacted first hand with the company. Having this information in addition to everything else will give you valuable dossier on the company, and some knowledge you can bring to the table if necessary. We hope this helps you feel more prepared, and well be back next week with another question!