Preparing for a job interview takes time and effort. An important part of that preparation is researching the company you’re interviewing with. Knowing key details about the company’s history, mission, products, culture, and recent news shows the hiring manager that you’re truly interested in working there.
Follow these 10 steps to deeply research a company before your big interview. Understanding the company inside and out will help you craft strong answers to common interview questions like “Why do you want to work here?”
1. Visit the Company Website
The first stop on your research journey should be the company’s website. Spend time clicking through all the main tabs and dropdown menus. Get familiar with:
The “About Us” page – Look for a history of the company, their mission and values statements, and organization leadership bios. For example, visiting the “About” page on Marriott’s website would tell you they were founded in 1927 by J. Willard Marriott, started as a root beer stand, now operate over 7,000 properties across 30 brands worldwide, and prioritize core values including “putting people first.”
Service and product offerings – Understand what the company actually does or sells on a day-to-day basis. For a company like Dell, read through their laptops, gaming PCs, monitors and other technology product offerings.
Company culture and benefits pages – Get insight into office locations, company events like community service days, employee spotlights, benefits offerings like work from home options and fitness discounts, and diversity and inclusion groups.
Recent news and blogs – Scan the latest news announcements and article headlines on the company website. This will give you talking points on new product launches, office expansions, awards, executive appointments, initiatives related to current events, and more.
2. Search the News and Industry Media Sites
Expand your search outside the company itself to see what others are saying about them recently. Set up a Google News alert to receive the latest published articles right to your inbox. Search websites and publications that cover that company’s industry for added context.
For example, if you were interviewing at Disney you would search for entertainment, media, theme park, hospitality and consumer news sites. If interviewing at a hospital group, look through healthcare administration and medical industry publications.
3. Follow the Company’s Social Media Accounts
Most companies today actively maintain social media accounts on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Follow them on relevant channels by finding social media links in the website footer or performing a quick search using the company name and keywords like “Facebook” or “Twitter.”
Review recent posts to see what message the company is sharing online about culture, products, initiatives, events, job openings and achievements.
You can also read through comments on these posts to see what customers, employees and prospective candidates are saying.
4. Search for Information on Wikipedia
While Wikipedia should never be considered a definitively accurate source since anyone in the world can edit articles, it can still provide helpful background information on when and how large companies got their start.
Search for the company name on Wikipedia and scan through the openings paragraph for quick facts like:
- Year founded
- Founders
- Headquarters location
- Number of employees
- Revenue or income details
- Brief history and timeline of mergers, acquisitions, products and growth
For example, a quick Wikipedia search can tell you that Amazon began selling books online in 1995, was founded by Jeff Bezos, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and now employs over 1.6 million people worldwide and earns over $485 billion annually.
5. Search Career Sites Like Glassdoor and Indeed
Glassdoor and Indeed both offer job seekers insider information directly from current and recent employees. Their sites aggregate anonymous employee reviews, interview questions, salaries, benefits offerings, office photos, CEO approval ratings and other details.
On Glassdoor, you can access information like:
- Employee satisfaction ratings
- Pros and cons of working at the company
- Examples of interview questions asked
- Salary ranges broken down by role
- Company rating over time
- Specific workplace culture details
Make sure to read a wide range of both positive and critical reviews to form a balanced perspective. Look out for any red flags that could indicate major issues related to work-life balance, lack of career development, discrimination issues or hostility.
6. Network on LinkedIn
LinkedIn can provide unique insights into a company by letting you see what kinds of professionals work there, how long they stay, where else they’ve worked previously or gone on to work afterward, and potential mutual connections.
Start by looking up the company LinkedIn page itself instead of just visiting the career tab on their website. Scroll through employees who have listed the company on their own profile to analyze things like:
- What roles exist? This gives you an idea of the organizational structure.
- What types of educational backgrounds and previous companies are most common?
- How long do employees typically stay before moving to new positions elsewhere? Long average tenure can indicate satisfaction.
- Who works there that you are connected to or share something in common with already? Consider reaching out to ask specific questions about working there.
You can also post questions inviting perspectives from company insiders to groups related to the industry or locations where offices might exist.
7. Check Third-Party Review Websites
Beyond Glassdoor and Indeed, expand your research to incorporate other third-party review websites focusing specifically on things like company culture, leadership, work from home flexibility, diversity, and women in leadership representation.
Helpful sites include:
- Comparably – Features detailed ratings across 20 workplace culture categories including compensation, leadership, work-life balance, professional development, and perks and benefits.
- Blind – An anonymous social network app where current employees can safely share uncensored opinions, ask questions, and participate in polls related to workplaces.
- InHerSight – Focused specifically on how women rate companies in areas like family support, flexibility, representation in leadership roles and salary fairness.
8. Look Up Business Profile Database Listings
Standard business profile databases like Crunchbase, Owler, and Bloomberg offer bird’s-eye financial information. You’ll see competitive landscape context on company funding, investments, size metrics, key decision makers, news events, product details, IP portfolios, office locations, corporate structure, leadership changes, and acquisitions.
For example, before interviewing at Johnson & Johnson you could look up key facts like:
- They have over 134,000 employees globally
- Operate in over 60 countries
- Own over 137 manufacturing sites
- Earned $82 billion dollars in sales during 2021
- Invest over $12 billion annually into R&D
- Are organized across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer health segments
Knowing key facts and figures will allow you to spot current news and interviewer comments in context of the full company scope and priorities.
9. Search Recent Press Releases
Go straight to the source for a company’s own messaging by looking up their official press releases. Search “[company name] press releases” on Google or click through press release tabs commonly found at the very bottom of company websites.
Press releases announce anything the company wants to proactively share with the media and public regarding:
- New products
- Executive appointments
- Initiative launches
- Policy positions
- Event and partnership announcements
- Diversity and inclusion commitments
- Philanthropy and community involvement
- Awards and external recognition
Reading press releases right from the last 90 days can provide very timely talking points. You could reference choosing to interview there specifically because of a major recent achievement or exciting product on the horizon you read about directly in a freshly published press release.
10. Look Up Mission Statements and Core Values Definition
Eventually during the interview process, you will likely need to explain why you are interested in that company specifically, beyond just needing any job. This involves understanding what is uniquely meaningful about their mission and defined values.
Search “[company name] mission and values” or find it published on the company website to read up on guiding statements like:
- Mission statement
- Vision statement
- Company values or principles
- Diversity, equity and inclusion commitments
Being able to speak thoughtfully about how your own personal values, motivations and goals align with descriptors like “integrity,” “innovation,” “service,” “quality” or “community” can powerfully differentiate you as a mission-driven cultural fit for that workplace.
For example, Johnson & Johnson defines their credo statement centered around commitments to patients, nurses, physicians, employees, communities and shareholders. Working there means supporting better global public health outcomes daily. If public health access and education is your personal passion, weaving that overlap into interview answers and thank you notes can create authentic connections with interviewers.
In Conclusion
Preparing for exciting new job opportunities involves more than just sprucing up your resume and practicing responses to common interview questions. It requires deeply researching target employers so you can show up already fluent in their language and priorities.
Investing 10 or more hours to thoroughly research a company before interviews there shows impressive dedication beyond just needing “a job.” It enables thoughtful discussion around company achievements, culture, products, initiatives and by showcasing shared values between you and the organization.
The level of context and conversation researching employers in advance enables will always differentiate you from other candidates who just applied because there was an opening advertised. Use these 10 tips to showcase genuine, meaningful interest and come across as an ideal cultural match during the interview process at any company on your wish list.