How to Research Potential Employers Before the Interview

Conducting research on a potential employer is an important step to take before your interview. A benefit to researching a potential employer is that you will be able to find out what it's like to work for that employer and if you will be a good fit for the corporation.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Make a list of what you want to know about the potential employer before you begin researching the company. You will want to know basic information such as history, culture, diversity, business goals and community involvement. Find out as much information about the potential employer that relates directly to you such as benefits and advancement opportunities.

2. Use a search engine on the Internet to find out information about your potential employer. You may not find specific information about jobs, but you will be able to find out background information and press releases that may be helpful in understanding what it's like to work at the company.

3. Look through print media to see if you can locate further information about the potential employer. Newspapers and magazines feature businesses frequently, and this is a great place to look to get another feel of what it's like to work at the company.

4. Request a copy of the company's annual report if it is a publicly traded company. This will give you in-depth information on how bright a company's future may be.

5. Contact anyone you know who works for the potential employer or knows someone else who does. Talking to an employee who can give you first-hand information about a company will prove to be valuable.

6. Study all of the information that you have collected to get an overall picture of what the company stands for and what it's like to work there.

7. Write a list of questions about the company that you can ask at the end of your interview. This is an easy way to impress an interviewer by showing that you care enough to research the company and ask intelligent questions based on that research.