With so many people currently unemployed, companies putting out job ads are simply flooded with resumes on a daily basis. Even small companies that would receive very few applicants in the past are now being attacked by desperate workers searching for a way to get back into the workforce. This means you have some stiff competition!
Interviews are more important today then ever, so job researching is absolutely essential. It is what will give you the advantage over other applicants, help you give intelligent answers to the most difficult questions, and it will help you paint yourself as the perfect fit for whatever position you are trying to fill.
Researching Jobs for Yourself
You always have to look out for yourself first, right? When it comes to job researching you want to find information that will help you play up skills and personal values that the company interviewing you is currently looking for.
You want to know what the working environment is like so you can determine what personal traits to present as an asset in the interview. You want to know what qualifications and skills the employer is looking, so you can make sure your resume and interview dialog shows your matching qualifications and skills. Finally, you want to know a little about the expectations of the person interviewing you so you know how to present yourself to them directly.
To find out about the working environment you will need to speak with current or past employees, either through personal introductions or online social networking sites such as LinkedIn. Some newspaper articles and information from the company's website may help give this information as well.
Searching for job ads posted by the employer online will show you what qualifications and skills they are currently looking for and could give some hints as to personal qualities they value in employees. It doesn't hurt to present skills for other positions they are hiring for, not just the one you are interviewing for at the moment.
If you know the name of your interviewer then you should try to look them up on LinkedIn and other social networking sites. You may be quite surprised what you can learn about them that will help you in the interview. Of course, you never want to tell them directly that you looked them up or share personal information you find about them.
Researching Jobs to Impress
Finally, spend some time gaining information that will impress your interviewer. Learn about the history of the company and toss in tidbits of that knowledge in the interview. Especially look for information about the company that makes you interested in them specifically, since many interviewers will ask why you want to work for them. It's nice to have something more to say other than they are in your field and hiring.
The fact that your resume was pulled out of that enormous pile and someone found it interesting enough to offer you an interview should give you some level of confidence. Just make sure the job researching is done ahead of time so you know how to make the most out of this opportunity.
