Researching organizations you’ve applied to is a good way to use your time while waiting for them to contact you about an interview. While it’s good to know what a company does when you apply, there is plenty more to research to show a hiring manager that you are truly interested in working with their organization. Without overcomplicating it, you’ll want to get organized, have a methodical process for researching one organization after another, and catalogue your information in a way that makes it easy to retrieve any details later, which will be handy if you need to recall information you’ve already collected about a company or hiring manager for another job opening in the future. Hyperlinks to sources in your notes can help you quickly and easily pull up the background behind a note you took if you ever need to refresh yourself on it. The three basic points to remember for this approach are:
- Get organized and define your research process before starting
- Perform the research of your target organizations per your research process
- Catalogue the information you find for easy retrieval later
Get organized and define your research process before starting
Just like with any other endeavor, researching an organization as part of your interview preparation starts with you being organized. Rushing into research without planning your approach has two risks: first, you might have trouble finding information later, and second, you might research organizations inconsistently, causing you to end up with gaps in information or limited in ability to connect dots. Do enough research to be prepared without getting bogged down in minutiae. Prevent confusion, frustration, and rework by planning appropriately before researching, planning in proportion to how deeply you think you need to learn about the organization.
Being on the Internet for much of your research, you’ll have to constantly resist distractions. CareerForce wisely urges managing your schedule and keeping measurable goals to gauge how well you’re using your time; it might help to have an accountability partner or support person check in with you to make sure you don’t stray off track. You can show this person the information you’re collecting, both to show them what you’re accomplishing with your job hunt and so they can offer suggestions for improvement or thoughtful questions that may help you realize something was overlooked. Tell this person about your planned research process so they can ask better questions and help you ensure your process is well defined and won’t leave you stuck after you start researching.
As a final preparation step before starting research, read through the links below to ensure your research process will gather comprehensive information you should know walking into a job interview:
- The Importance of Researching a Company Prior to a Job Interview - by William Brassington | LinkedIn
Perform the research of your target organizations per your research process
Once you’ve planned how to research organizations, including specific information to track about each, and you’ve run it by someone else to mitigate the risk of missing anything important, start executing your research process. Page 5 of the CareerForce guide offers an extensive list of sources you can consult for information. Request informational interviews after you’ve done all research you can reasonably accomplish on your own; learning whatever you can independently before arranging one helps you to come up with the best questions possible and shows the person you’re interviewing that you already know the basics and have a serious interest in joining their organization.
You’ll get a better feel for how much research you can accomplish in a typical day as you practice; use this to figure out a reasonable expectation for your pace of research. Work at a pace that is consistent and sustainable, not expecting a level of output from yourself that will soon prove overwhelming. A daily to-do list with specific research to complete will help you stay focused and avoid distractions, and to have a way to measure your progress and hold yourself accountable.
Catalogue what you find for easy retrieval later
Every time you complete your research checklist for an organization, ensure the information you’re collecting is all catalogued together. Paste in hyperlinks to information whenever it’s detailed or subject to change anytime, both to help you retrieve full details and to access the most up-to-date information. Resist the temptation to track information on paper, as that’s much slower to copy that to anywhere the same information is needed, and it’s harder to cross-reference two pieces of information and search for anything you recorded a while back. Think as much as you can through how you will use your catalogue of information prior to starting the research process and then update and improve your catalogue as you discover better ways to manage the information.
Conclusion
Figuring out how to go about your research before starting gives you clear guidance on how to do your research and minimizes the risk that you’ll get turned around and confused. On the net, your research will take less time and yield better results if you plan your approach before starting. Consult various sources for what research to conduct, as they will mostly say similar things but may offer a few unique points worth considering. Design your information log in a way that makes retrieval of details and appropriate context fast and easy; you never know when you’ll need to review something later and don’t want to waste valuable time searching through your notes because you didn’t organize them well at the beginning.
Read through Chapter 2 of the CareerForce Creative Job Search guide today!
The next step on the roadmap: Starting Strong in Your New Job
Accelearnate is not officially associated with CareerForce, but cites the website often as an excellent resource for job seeking and career planning. Accelearnate aims to make job and career content from CareerForce and other sites easier for job seekers to effectively act on by providing curated step-by-step guidance for getting a better paying job and launching a successful career.
Sample organization research checklist (use and modify as you see fit)
1. What does a web search tell me about what this company does or makes? If it’s a government organization, what services does it provide and who benefits from them? How?
2. What does a web search tell me about the industry this company is in? If it’s a government organization, what sector(s) of society does it serve?
3. What does a web search tell me about what competitors this company has? If it’s a government organization, how does this agency’s work compare to any similar or partner agency on another level (like a state agency with a similar counterpart at the federal level)?
4. Have I reviewed the research checklist at the bottom of this page: How to Research a Company for an Interview: 10 Steps – Career Sidekick?
5. Have I asked someone like my support person to quiz me on my research for this company to make sure I have strong answers for any easy questions in a real interview?
6. Has my research helped me figure out some really good questions to ask in the interview that the hiring manager would probably be able to answer?
7. Based on my research, is this still an organization where I would be happy working?
