HOW TO DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE AN INTERVIEW

“So, what do you know about us?” Here are our top tips for answering this age-old interview question:

Let’s face it: job interviews are stressful.

There are good reasons for this: they are often important milestones in your life, you don’t know what questions are going to be asked in advance, and by taking part you are putting yourself and your abilities under the spotlight.

But there’s something you can do prior to every interview which will impress your interviewer and increase your chances of success – and that’s to do your research.

This means you should find out as much as you can about the company you’re applying to, in advance of the interview itself. This is because one of the most frequently asked questions you are likely to encounter will be “What do you know about us?”

Feedback from our clients tells us that candidates who have done little or no research rarely get past this first hurdle.

And that’s hardly surprising; after all, there are some jobseekers who apply for several jobs at a time, without taking any of them particularly seriously until an offer comes along. Clearly, as far as the company doing the hiring is concerned, this is the least attractive type of candidate imaginable – one with little knowledge or commitment to the job being offered, and who is simply going through the motions to see what turns up. So, you need to do all you can to persuade the company in question that you don’t fall into this category, especially if this is the job you really want. So, make sure you are prepared! Check out our blog on how to be ‘interview ready’.

Here are our suggestions for the first four places you should head to on your fact-finding mission:

The company’s website:

• When was the company established and who owns it?
• What are the company’s core values?
• Have they won any industry awards?
• How many offices does it have, and where are they located?
• What type of properties do they handle – flats, houses, country homes?
• What price range do they cover?
• Where do they do business – Sales, Lettings, Property Management, New Homes, Commercial, etc.
• What are the backgrounds of the people on their ‘Meet the team’ page? How long have they worked there?
• Do they support any charities or carry out fund-raising? Or are they involved in the local community in any way – such as supporting local schools, clubs, organisations etc.?

Social media:

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or LinkedIn, this can provide an alternative insight into the company’s culture that you’re never likely to uncover from their website. Are they posting regularly? How frequently? What about? What sort of properties steal the limelight? Are there opportunities to post you think they’re missing out on?

Company reviews:

There’s a wealth of places you can go to in order to find out about this: Google, Feefo, Trust Pilot, Glassdoor etc. Is there any aspect in which the company is faring rather well? Or rather badly? Would anything about your previous career enable you to help with this? What’s more, sites like Glassdoor include reviews written by ex-employees, so they might give an indication of what the organisation is like to work for (although, inevitably, some ex-employees may have a particular axe to grind, so at times you may need to treat this information with a pinch of salt…)

The background of the person interviewing you:

As well as reading their biography on the company website and checking out their details on LinkedIn, you might be able to find out more about them elsewhere online. Do you have something in common with them that you can bring up in the interview? Do you have similar sporting interests? Do you share a hobby? Did you go to the same school?

This preparation process provides you with plenty of material to choose from if the question “What do you know about us?” crops up.

But what if it doesn’t? What if they don’t ask that question at all? Obviously, it’s no good carrying out all this research if the company concerned doesn’t realise you’ve done it!

Don’t worry – all is not lost. Instead, try to weave the results of your research into the conversation as smoothly and naturally as possible.

For example, when answering one of their questions (truthfully and honestly, of course), you could also mention a fact you’ve uncovered, almost in passing.

For example:

Q: How long have you been in your current job?

A: I’ve been there for nearly two years – which is the same length of time your office in (name of town) has been open, and that’s just down the road from where I was born…

or

Q: Why do you think you would be a good fit for this position?

A: Well, it would seem to be a natural next step from what I’ve been doing for the past eighteen months, which has been to focus on customer service – and from your reviews on Trust Pilot, it’s clear that’s also a key priority for your company…

Even if you near the end of the conversation without a single opportunity to reveal what your research has uncovered, it’s highly likely that they will ask the following question before you leave:

Q: Finally, do you have any questions for us?

The answer to this should always be “yes”, by the way – and preferably not just to enquire about holidays or time off!

Instead, you can use this moment to ask a question which makes use of a piece of information you have found out.

For example:

“I notice that you’ve opened a new office recently… has that changed the price bracket of properties you’re hoping to list?”  

or

“You seem to tweet fairly regularly but hardly ever put anything on Instagram – is there a reason for this? (I was wondering if that might be missing a trick?)

Ultimately, even if doing your research simply means you can better establish rapport with your interviewer – such as mentioning you both support the same football team, for example – they are more likely to remember you that way. And when it comes to securing that vital job offer, that can only be a good thing!