Researching Prior to an Interview

How much should you research prior to an interview? The answer may be surprising…

Many people have the idea that it is vitally important to learn as much as they can about a company before going to an interview. Doing a bit of research is definitely advisable but it can be overdone.

You don’t want to appear to be a stalker! A number of years ago the Robert Half organization published the results of an extensive survey of Fortune 1000 Hiring Managers and HR Managers; when asked about “knowing about the company” and its relationship to candidates being hired; an interesting result occurred.

• "Knowing about the company" was in the top 10 reasons why a person was hired.

• But surprisingly, "Knowing about the company" was also in the top 10 reasons a person was NOT hired!

The Lesson

What you should know about the company is what a reasonably well-informed person in the industry would know. There is no need to study the company’s balance sheet, or to offer unsolicited solutions to those pesky problems with their logistics software!