Got an Interview? Here’s What You Should Know About The Company
By Jordan Warshafsky, Partner, Ashton Tweed
Did you finally land that interview you’ve been hoping for? Great! Now it’s time to do the most important part of the job search process – preparation for the interview. You must prepare in order to make the best impression possible. The first step in preparing for an interview is to thoroughly research the hiring company and familiarize yourself with their business and with the people with whom you will interact. This is a crucial step that can often make or break your interview performance.
Your background knowledge of the company should directly affect your answers during the interview. If you hope to be hired, it’s not only important to answer correctly, but also to show that you care enough to really understand their organization. Here’s what you need to know:
- What are their products?
- How does their product work? What is the technology behind it?
- Why is their product better or different from their competition?
- What is their business model?
- Who is their target audience?
- How sound is the company financially? What do their financials look like?
- What other organizations or companies do they work with?
- Who are their most senior leaders?
- How old is the company and how did they get started? Brush up on their history.
- What are the company’s top values and influencers?
- What issues/challenges in their industry might be affecting them?
- Using sites like LinkedIn, learn about the people you will interact with during the interview process.
- Most importantly, you need to be able to answer the question “Why do you want to work for our company?” This answer needs to demonstrate your passion for the company and its products. It needs to not be self-serving, but rather demonstrate what you can do for the company to help further its goals and objectives – not yours.
You should be able to answer all of these and more questions thoroughly before walking into the interview. Be ready for the unexpected. This in-depth knowledge about the company and key people will ensure you provide informed answers that will make you stand out from other job candidates. Furthermore, this research will show you are a dedicated professional with a genuine interest in the company’s business. Passionate companies like to hire passionate people, so company research is not a step you should breeze over during your job search. It is an important key to success.
Interested in new opportunities in the life sciences industry? Upload your résumé today in order to become a part of our Life Sciences Talent bank. It’s completely confidential!
Share your insights! Contact jamesrudman@ashtontweed.com to contribute your life sciences article as a guest writer.
