What Things You Should Know About A Company Before An Interview

If you are in the process of attending numerous job interviews in the hopes that you are going to embark on the career of your dreams (or at least be able to pay the bills for awhile until something better comes along), you are probably overwhelmed with all that you are in the middle of. After all, job interviews require you to revamp your resume, reconnect with the people that you are going to be using as references, write cover letters and maybe even update your wardrobe. After all, your overall goal at all job interviews is to make a good enough impression to get the job and making that impression takes some work.

What makes the difference between those who get the callbacks and those who don't? There are a lot of factors which go into how well you are perceived at your job interviews but one of the main ones that is often overlooked by job applicants is their knowledge of the company. Many applicants believe that their only job is to inform the company's hiring managers about themselves and why they are worthy of being hired. It's true that this is a big part of a job interview, but it's not the only part of it. The other side of the coin is that applicants need to have done their research into a company so that they can explain why they're a good match for the company, what they can contribute to the company's goals and where they see themselves going with the company in the future.

Don't be left tongue-tied when you get to the part of the job interview when the hiring manager looks at you and says, "so, what do you want to know about us?" Take the bull by the horns, show what you've already learned about the company and follow that up with some thoughtful, engaging questions about the company. This will demonstrate your genuine (or at least well-faked) interest in the company and could make the difference in whether or not you get the jobs that you're applying for at all of these interviews.

Here are some things that you should make sure that you know about the company before the job interview:

• Address, including suite number and directions for how to get there. This one isn't important to the interviewer but it's critical for you in making sure that you get there on time. You wouldn't believe how many times applicants show up late - or at the wrong branch of an office - and ruin what might've been a perfectly good interview with their bad first impression.
• Mission statement. Okay, so most people in the company might not remember the mission statement but if you can get the basics of it memorized and point them out in the course of the normal conversation of the interview, you'll impress the hiring manager with your research.
• Managerial structure. You should research the company's managerial structure and know the place in that structure of the person who is conducting your interview. This will help you to answer questions about your place in the company and will also give you insight into who might conduct your second interview when you get the callback.
• Company goals. If you know the goals of the company, you can clearly articulate how hiring you will help to achieve those goals. Make their job easy on them if you want the job.
• Promotional opportunities. Many companies want to know where you see yourself with the company in one year or five years from the time that you are hired. If you understand the process of their internal promotions plan, you can answer that question with an educated response.
• Interesting facts. You don't have to know everything there is to know about the company; after all, when you get hired they'll tell you all that in orientation. But if you know one or two interesting facts, you'll look like you have a true interest in the company rather than just seeing it as any old job.

Doing a little bit of work before your interview can make the interview itself go that much more smoothly. Resume in hand, new wardrobe in place, you'll be able to confidently answer the questions of your hiring manager with ease.