I can't tell you how many times I have encouraged candidates to learn as much as possible about an organization before an interview, only to find out afterward that they knew little or nothing. I thought about this over the weekend as I watched E.T. with my kids for the first time. Hard to believe that movie is already thirty years old. Wow. Well, my nine-year old daughter was a little freaked out at first, so I tried to loosen the mood a bit by asking her what she would do if she were to have an encounter with an alien. She became even more terrified until she realized I was messing with her. We ended up pausing the movie to assure her there was no such thing as aliens and that it was only a movie. We had obviously not "prepared" her for what to expect with this historical piece of cinema that was 100% made up and not real.
So what are some keys to prepare for a first interview especially? Most of these will fit into the "no duh" category, but I am always amazed at how many are skipped.
1) Research the company online. Notice I didn't say to simply look at the company website. That one is such a no brainer that if you aren't doing that ahead of an interview you likely don't even know what the internet is. What I am referring to is checking industry publications to see if they have any recent articles about them. Or perhaps an award was received by the company or an individual in the company. Or perhaps there is an employee that is highly visible in the community and could hold a nugget of information helpful to know as an ice breaker. Google is an amazing tool. And completely free. Use it!
2) Here comes the Kevin Bacon reference -- look for six degrees of separation. There is always a chance someone within your spheres of influence are also within similar or connected spheres with someone at the organization you have interviewing with. You'll never know if you don't check.
3) Use LinkedIn to find out more about some of their employees. Or even some of their ex-employees. If you use an advanced search you can find profiles of people that have worked there in the past. What do they have in common? What was their job tenure? Do you know any of them? LinkedIn is to a lot of people like my new smartphone is to me. Is it really a useful tool if you are only using 15-20% of what it is capable of doing?
4) Ask questions. Talk with people you know and trust to see what they know about the organization. Do they have a good company culture? Do they have a good reputation in the industry? Is there room for improvement and promotion? This can prove to be a slippery slope if you are attempting to keep a low, confidential profile with your search, but you can be creative in the manner in which you ask.
5) Think ahead of time what questions they might have for you based upon their job description, company history, etc. Like in chess, you want to stay a step ahead if possible. Even write out some questions and answers and practice them. It may feel like World History in college -- studying 1,500 years of history for three essay questions -- but it will provide some rehearsal time regarding your answers. They will simply become more polished if you have thought them out and practiced them ahead of time. Maybe even do some role play with your spouse or a close friend. Fortunately my wife is in HR and really good at this.
I could probably list another 10-12 ideas, but these are at least five that you can utilize pretty easily. Preparation may not always get you the job, but it will nearly always guarantee a positive first impression!
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