Five Little Known Ways to Research a Company Before the Interview | Seattle Interview Coach

Many years ago, a good friend shared the following interview story:

Microsoft Interviewer: "What's your favorite Microsoft product?"
Interview Candidate: "Microsoft Adobe Photoshop."

Faux pas! Lesson learned: do your homework before the interview. Aside from company websites, what are the best ways to research a company? Here are my little known favorites below:

Annual reports
Investors have relied on annual reports to make investment decisions. Also known as 10-K's, annual reports can help savvy job seekers prepare for job interviews. I received my 2009 Google annual report a couple weeks ago. Google's annual report is an easy-to-read, well-written document that includes the following:

• Business overview
• Corporate mission statement
• Product overview and value propositions
• Risk factors
• Financial information

The Google annual report also includes the Founders' Letter. In the letter, the co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, discuss the corporate vision and offer hints of the corporate culture.

Many job seekers spend hours compiling basic corporate information. No need to do this. The annual report aggregates this information for you. You can find annual reports on the investor relations section of a company's website.

Earnings call transcripts
Most companies do an earnings call after announcing their quarterly financial numbers. Earnings calls usually last 45-60 minutes and can be boring, especially when the CEO and CFO offer their prepared remarks. However, the real gold is the question and answer (Q&A) session. During Q&A, analysts from top investment banks ask some of the most incisive and hard hitting questions. And more often than not, you get candid responses to how a company's top executives view the business including:

• Product pipeline
• Competitive threats
• Sales opportunities
• Macroeconomic risks

Listening to an earnings call may test your patience. No need to get frustrated. Save time by reading the earnings call transcripts instead. Just like annual reports, you can find earnings call recordings and transcripts in the investor relations section of a company's website.

Glassdoor.com
If you're looking for information about a company's corporate culture, Glassdoor.com is a good place to go. Employees offer their perspectives on what they like and don't like about the company.

Industry publications
Read industry publications to keep up with current events at a particular company. Don't know which industry publications to follow? No problem. Just setup a Google Alert with the company's name as the search term. You'll receive an email when Google finds news, websites, or blogs pertaining to your search term. Google will send you an email once a week, once a day, or as-it-happens.

Former employees
One of the best resources for the inside scoop. They'll have first-hand experience of what it's like working at the company. Unlike current employees, former employees are more likely to speak frankly about what they like and don't like about the company. Talk to friends and family to find contacts; LinkedIn is another good resource for contacts.

via blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Using Social Media to Ace Your Interview » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

Most people think of social media sites as great tools for advertising their skills and networking with other professionals.  While your online profiles certainly need to promote your experience to potential employers, corporate profiles also allow you to learn a few things about a company as you apply for jobs and prepare for interviews.

Some job ads provide minimal information about how to address your cover letter.  For example, the ad may say “submit cover letter and resume to J. Sims”.  If the company’s Web site does not allow you to determine whether J. Sims is a man or a woman, searching LinkedIn with the company and last name can sometimes provide the answer.  Using the hiring manager’s first name when it is not provided makes your cover letter look sharper and more personal than other applicants’.  It may also be a test; get an A+ by showing the hiring manager that you did your homework—that you researched the company.

Let’s say that you already have an interview scheduled for a job.  Obviously, you will use the company’s Web site and any other available information to research the business.  However, in today’s competitive job market, many employers have the luxury of comparing equally qualified candidates to see who offers the strongest personality fit for their organization.  This is where social media can give you a competitive edge.

Start by looking up the LinkedIn profiles of the employees who will be interviewing you.  If the interviewer doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile, chances are they’re less technologically savvy and will be impressed with any knowledge of social media you mention in your interview.  If the interviewer does have a profile, looking at his or her educational background, previous employers, and professional groups can offer you some insight into common ground you may have.  Knowing that you share a passion for college football or organic cooking can help you steer your interview conversation in a positive direction.

Many companies and organizations have now created facebook profiles that users can become fans of.  Searching for the profile of a potential employer can offer you insight into the corporate culture.  Are the employees in the photos wearing suits or business casual?  Do the photos show employees performing community service or social activities outside the office?  Researching the company’s events can inform you about professional development or team-building activities in which you may be expected to participate.

Research shows that most employers now use social networking sites to screen potential candidates.  Remember, that as a job seeker, you can also use these sites to research future employers, acquire a sense of their corporate culture, and effectively market yourself as a personality fit with the organization.

via greatresumesfast.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

20 Questions to find out the corporate culture before you accept the job

1. Is the environment fast paced, slow or somewhere in between? What seems to be driving this pace?
2. Does the culture dictate that the average work day is 8 to 5 or longer? Why is that?  If it’s longer, is there always more work to be done than can be done in an 8 hour day or do people just stay so they “look good”?  Is the work day flexible or rigid?  Do most employees come early and stay late, or do they come late and stay late, etc?  How would you characterize work/life balance?
3. Does it seem like a “fun” place to work, or does the group seem more serious? Perhaps they have a lot of fun together, yet work very, very hard.
4. Does this group do things together outside of the office where participation is expected in order to become accepted as a team member? This might include evening occasional dinners together, occasional office parties, working on civic projects together, etc.
5. Are the employees a well-knit, close team?  Are they openly receptive to new team members? Do they trust easily, or do new members typically take a long time to be accepted?  Do team members respect and value everyone? Do the team members hold themselves accountable, taking responsibility for their actions and their effect on others?
6. Does the department/company encourage open dialogue (really), but with the understanding that you have to be able to prove your point if you have a different idea or disagree with the way things are done?
7. Are the work processes well-defined or unclear? Do the employees of that group/team/department embrace the way it is?  Or are they open to change?  Do they (really) want to have best practices?
8. Is creativity valued more highly than conformity, or is it the other way around? Think of real examples to prove your conclusion.
9. What part does risk play in the department/company? Are the employees risk takers or do they typically play it safe? Is there a readiness to try new things?  Would you characterize the group as one who cherishes new information and ideas?  Is change embraced, or avoided?
10. How are important decisions made? Are these decisions typically made quickly, or does it seem to take forever? Do the employees have lots of freedom to make choices and decisions, or does virtually everything have to be run through management before action is taken?  How are these decisions communicated?
11. Is there (really) a commitment to excellence? Is great customer service (internal and external customers) actually a part of the everyday environment, or does it only get lip service?
12. Do the employees have all of the resources they need to do a first-class job, or do they have to get by on less than ideal? Will they have to work in an environment that is a significant “work-in-progress” (recognizing that culture and environment are dynamic, not static).
13. Do the employees have pride in their work, their department and the company? If so, is (really) pride “in a job well done”, or would others likely see it as less humble and more like arrogance?
14. What are the personality traits of those that get rewarded for a job well done? What types of achievements get public attention and reward?
15. What is the physical layout of the work area (cube, office, large, small, windows, etc)? Will they fit the new employee?
16. What does the dress code say about the environment?
17. Could something be learned by just looking at what’s on the office area walls as well as on the walls and shelves of the team members’ office/cube? What would that be?
18. Where does honesty and integrity fit in? Does the team walk the talk, consistently following a code of conduct that reflects high ethical, personal, and professional standards?
19. Do managers encourage open communication (really) and encourage new ideas and opinions? Do they “walk the talk”?  Do the managers hold themselves accountable, taking responsibility for their actions and their effect on others?
20. Can the group values be documented in a meaningful way, or would you find it hard to determine whether group values even exist? If these are difficult to pin down, expect trouble.

via theemploymentguy.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal