Why Researching the Company will Help You Get the Right Job
Before going into an interview at a new company, getting to know the place is incredibly important. This is true for full-time, part-time, or temporary jobs: you must understand the position, and the corporate culture it is a part of. There are an array of reasons why you need to know about the company that can be summed up in two major points:
- It will help you get the job
- And help you determine if the company is a good fit for you
For Hiring Purposes
On the most basic level, researching the company prior to the interview will help you excel in the interview itself. Look for information that will help you formulate in-depth questions for the interviewer, and for any news or changes in the company that might be important for you to know. Any recent changes in policy or leadership, or even an announcement of a new project. All of these kinds of things demonstrate to your future employer, or recruitment agency, your interest in the position. From our years if experience working in recruitment, it is vital to demonstrate knowledge of your employer and their industry in an interview.”
Moreover, being aware of the company news and culture can also help you predict
the future of the company or industry: TheMuse.com advises actually looking at the quarterly reports of a company you are interviewing for to be able to have an informed conversation on the company in relation to its field, competitors, and perhaps future. Excelling in interviews helps you progress in your career greatly, and researching before them is a necessary step.
For Your Success
Researching for the interview is hugely useful outside of just the success of the interview itself. Often times the company’s culture and values play a crucial role in what it is like for the employee there. If the company’s values and ethics do not align with yours or are not compatible with yours, then that may be a sign that the company is not a great fit. Even more, resources like glassdoor.com post actual reviews from employees on the culture within the workplace. The company’s internal culture and external values are oftentimes great indicators of your potential success in the given workplace.
In The World of Temporary Recruitment
While this advice seems more suited for a long-term employment opportunity, these trends are hugely necessary to progress your career even in temporary recruitment environments. Recruitment is an industry in it itself, and recruitment agencies are designed to connect people looking for temporary jobs with companies for a few days or weeks, and even in joining these agencies, it’s vital to research. It is important to find a recruitment agency that focuses on your skill set and has the values that you align with in order to find temporary jobs that fit. Even more, when placed with a company for a temporary job, it is in some ways even more important than to be adequately prepared.
Part of the beauty of temporary employment, and thereby temporary recruitment, is the ability to experience a variety of different roles and professional environments. To get the most out of temporary work, it is important to engage in a variety of fields, and a part of that engagement is through understanding the company you are working for, and their position within their field.
How To Get Started
The task of researching a company before an interview can seem daunting due to its open-ended nature. Knowing the key reasons for researching can help to clarify what you can look for in these roles. For the first part, how it helps you stand out against other candidates. Understanding the background information on the types of clients, and typical jobs carried out by the company can be found on the website, usually under sections like “About Us” or a client’s page. For information on the values held by the company, usually, it can be found on a page on the website for their values, or their mission statement.
Oftentimes a google search on the company can be a good start in seeing outside perspectives and reviews of it. For large corporations or rapidly growing ones, they may appear in industry blogs, which are fantastic resources for news within that industry or company, and how they fit within their field from an outside, more objective
source. Another super useful tip is to check out the company’s social media. Not only is social media actively what they are trying to get out to the public, but the kind of posts or tonality proves insightful in understanding how the company tries to express its goals, and what projects they champion.
In a recruitment setting, use the information on the industry and the company’s
clients and updates to formulate in depth questions that will demonstrate an understanding of the work, and present yourself in alignment with the company’s values and mission statement. To research a company for your success in it, more than just to make you look good to recruitment, I recommend following similar steps as in pure interview preparation.
The mission statements and company values are of key importance, as ideally your personal values will mesh with those of the company. As well, clients and projects that a company publicises are those of prime importance to them.
Perhaps if you value sustainability, but notice that the company’s biggest clients are BP or Exxon Mobil, it might not be the right fit. Moreover, outside information on the company through industry blogs or glassdoor.com that allow employees to
post their reviews of working for the company are hugely beneficial to know if the corporate environment within the business itself is a good choice.
Final Advice
Ultimately, to progress your career, it is important to like and understand the job you are doing. This includes the company and the industry as a whole.
The path to a successful career starts before the interview, it starts in the preparation.
Candidate Resources:
Curriculum Vitae Writing Tips
Why You Should Customise Your CV
How To Make Your CV Stand Out
Hybrid and Working-From-Home Policy
CVTips – Writing Your CV
CVTips – Cover Letter