- Showcase your knowledge and experience in the industry with relevant examples
- Demonstrate your knowledge of their key business objectives or strategies where possible
- Gain a thorough understanding of key competitors
- Find out all there is to know about their company culture and reputation in the industry.
There are plenty of great ways to stand out during the interview process.
One of the most effective ways is to show you've done your homework on the organisation.
Here are 5 facts about the company you should always bring to the interview...
1. What's happening in the industry
Don't just settle for what's on the company's website or what you've heard in the news. You can find out plenty of in-depth industry news and trends with just a bit of Googling.
If you want to go all-out, you could even review their financial statements and compare them with others. If their most up-to-date set isn't available on their site, you should be able to get them via Companies House.
2. What the company's strategy is
You'll get to understand a company's broader business strategy by doing a bit of deduction.
For example, have they recently ramped up their activity on social media? What have their last few press releases been about? Have they just revamped their website or gone mobile?
All of this will allow you to piece together the bigger picture – it's mightily impressive when you can demonstrate you've read between the lines.
3. Who the competition really are
Don't just look at the bigger industry leaders – do a little extra digging and see who the company are really competing with.
Compare the two (looking at their financial statements as mentioned is helpful), looking at what they have in common and what they do differently.
Hypothetically, your job will be about battling it out against these companies. It's imperative you find out more about them!
4. The company's reputation
This can be as simple as checking in on their social media.
Glassdoor is obviously your first port of call, but don't forget to check any of their other accounts – Facebook and Twitter in particular (if they have them).
A thing to watch out for is how much time they dedicate to responding to criticism and negativity. Do they have to do it a lot? Do they respond professionally, or do even they respond at all? All of this will give you invaluable insight.
5. What their culture and brand is about
The previous four points will all help gain an understanding of the company's brand and culture. But you can also get to grips with it simply by going to the "About Us" section of their site.
Every company should have one. It's where they set out their stall as a great place to work – what their aims are and how they intend to achieve them.
Essentially, this is their sales pitch to you. Now it's up to you to go into that interview room armed with this knowledge and base your own pitch around it!