Before the day of the job interview, it is wise to get to know more about the company. If you do a good research, you will prepare to answer the questions in the interview and also ask some questions to the interviewer. During the background research, you will also find out if the company culture is a good fit. Prepare in advance to get as much information as you can from the internet about the company. You can also tap into your network and find out who knows a bit about the company and even if someone has ever interviewed them before. To help you prepare Chrissy Weems would like to share with you six tips on how to do a background search on a company.

6 Tips on how to research a company for a job interview

Check the company website

The first place to start is the company website. On the website, you can go through the company’s mission and vision statement, learn about its history, its management, product and services and more about the company culture. This information is normally available on the About Us part of the website. You can also go through the Press section and read the featured links that have been posted there.

Use LinkedIn

The company profiles on LinkedIn are a great way to glance for more information on the company you are doing a background check on. You will have the opportunity to look at your connections at the company, you will also be able to look at their promotions, new hires, related companies, jobs posted and the statistics of the company. If you find that you have connections with the company, reach out to them so that they can share a perspective about the company and give you some tips on how you can score well in the interview.

Browse through social media

Check the social media accounts of the company like Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. These social sites will give you a good perspective of how the company relates to its customers and the image they portray to the customers. Follow and like the company to receive updates; this is a good channel to get more information about the company in ways you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Get an edge over the interview

You can go through interview questions and reviews from Glassdoor. On this page, you can get more information from a candidate who underwent an interview for the positions you were applying for and get to lean on the toughness of the interview. You can also get a feel for the culture of the company through the reviews; take them half-heartedly because candidates are more likely to leave reviews when they are mad about how the interview turned out.

Chrissy Weems advises that as you read through the reviews, look for a pattern that repeats itself. The more a subject is mentioned, the more accurate the information on a given subject gets.

Check Google News and Google

Search for the company name on Google News and Google. The invaluable information you can get from these sites will let you know about the current and future plans of a company. For instance, a company may be releasing a new product to the market, or the product the company produced is being recalled or has underperformed in the market.

Get to know the competitors

As much as you are researching the company, you also need to review the whole industry. For instance, if you are planning to go for an interview in a mortgage company, you need to be informed about the current trends in home ownership. Check out the company’s top competitors and find out their flaws and successes. If you gather insight on the company’s rivals, you will definitely impress the interviewers.