In my previous post I made the statement that when it comes to job interviews, preparation is the number one thing that distinguishes great candidates from merely good ones.   And the most important area in which to begin your preparation is researching the company for which you are interviewing.

After having hired hundreds of candidates over the years, I’m able to determine in the first ten minutes of the interview those applicants that have properly prepared.  They are the ones who can give me a concise 30 second overview of their qualifications (this is usually the first question I ask) and are also able to relate those qualifications to my specific job, as well as speak knowledgably about my company.

Even if you’re interviewing for clerical or entry level positions, you can – and should – still go into the interview with detailed knowledge about the company.  This is impressive regardless of the level of job for which you’re interviewing…because so few people do it!

One of the worst mistakes I see in interviews is when applicants ask me to tell them something about my company.  They have this backwards.  As the hiring manager, I expect you to be able to tell me something about my company.  This tells me you did your homework – something that over 90% of the people I interview have not done.

If you’ve done your research well, you’ll be able to frame some of your answers in terms of facts specific to that company.  And you’ll be able to do it smoothly and without hesitation.

As an example, let’s say you’re interviewing for a sales position.  You’ve done your research and found out that sales are down in the territory for which you’re interviewing.  You can now tell them you know their goal is to see growth in that territory and go on to explain how you increased sales in your last job.

Telling how you solved a specific problem being experienced by the company is an extremely powerful way to answer interview questions and I would send taxis for applicants like this.

Towards the end of most interviews, you’ll usually be asked if you have any question.  I usually get one or two general questions about the job, or no questions at all.  On the other hand, when I get an intelligent question or two about some aspect of my company and its specific challenges, this is an applicant I remember.   Sadly, most applicants miss out on this golden opportunity to stand out from the competition.

With the massive amount of data now available on the Internet, there’s simply no excuse for not researching the company when you get an interview.  In my next posts I’ll explain exactly what the best ways are to research any company and how to use that knowledge in ways that will impress any Hiring Manager.