Free Interview Resource
For: Graduates, Career Pivoters & Mid-Level Professionals
How to Research a Company Before an Interview
Most people read the About page and think they're ready. They're not. Shallow research gets found out the moment an interviewer asks anything beyond the surface, and in that moment, it does not matter how strong your experience is. This resource shows you how much you actually know before you walk in.
How much do you actually know?
Rate your confidence across 12 areas of company research. Tap each circle until it matches your honest level. Green means ready. Amber means shaky. Red means you don't know.
Not rated
Ready
Shaky
Don't know
What the company actually does: its core product or service, its business model, and who pays for it.
Why it exists: the mission, purpose, or problem it was founded to solve.
What happened in the last 6 months: recent news, product launches, leadership changes, or public announcements.
Who the main competitors are and how this company differentiates itself from them.
What the culture is actually like, based on more than the careers page.
The specific challenges or priorities this team or function is facing right now.
What stage the business is at: start-up, scale-up, established, public, going through change.
What the role specifically requires, beyond what is listed in the job description.
Who is interviewing you and what you know about their background or perspective.
What the broader industry looks like right now: growth areas, headwinds, or shifts affecting this company.
What the company's values actually mean in practice, based on how it behaves publicly.
A specific, genuine reason why this role at this company interests you that goes beyond the job description.
0 Ready
0 Shaky
0 Don't know
Which of these sounds like you?
Tick every mistake you recognise. Be honest. This is the part most people rush through, and it shows.
You researched the company, not the conversation
Sounds like
"I read through their website and had a look at their LinkedIn page, so I feel pretty across it."
Knowing facts about a company is not the same as knowing how to use them in an interview. For every piece of research, ask: how does this connect to what I'd say when they ask about my motivations, my understanding of the role, or what I'd bring to the team? Research that cannot be deployed is decoration.
You stopped at the About page
Sounds like
"They're a values-driven organisation focused on innovation and customer outcomes." (Directly quoted from the website. The interviewer wrote those words.)
Every candidate reads the About page. It tells the interviewer nothing about your effort or genuine interest. Go further: news articles, Glassdoor reviews, the CEO's LinkedIn, recent job postings, annual reports if public. Look for what the company is proud of and what it is quietly worried about.
You know what they do but not where they're going
Sounds like
"I know they're one of the leading providers in the space." (No mention of the recent acquisition, the expansion into a new market, or the restructure announced last quarter.)
Companies hire people to help them get somewhere, not just to describe where they already are. Find out what this company is building, changing, or trying to fix. Then connect your background directly to that direction. This is where mid-level professionals and pivoters especially lose ground: your track record is irrelevant if you cannot frame it against their future.
You researched the company but not the role
Sounds like
"The role looked like a great fit." (No specific mention of the reporting line, the team size, what success looks like in the first 90 days, or what the previous person in the role was known for.)
The job description is the floor, not the ceiling. Look at similar roles posted by competitors to understand what is standard. Search LinkedIn for people who held this role previously. Read between the lines of what the JD emphasises: that emphasis tells you what they are actually worried about.
You did not look up who is interviewing you
Sounds like
"I didn't really know who she was until she introduced herself at the start."
Your interviewer's background tells you how to frame your answers. A hiring manager who came up through operations will weight different things than one who came through strategy or HR. Find them on LinkedIn. Note their career trajectory, their tenure at the company, any public posts or articles. You don't need to reference this directly: you need to use it to calibrate your language and emphasis.
Your reason for wanting the role is too generic to be believed
Sounds like
"I've always admired the company's culture and I think this role would be a great opportunity for me to grow." (Interviewers hear this 10 times a week.)
A generic motivation answer signals you did not research deeply enough to find a real one. Find one specific thing: a product decision, a person on the leadership team, a challenge the company is publicly working through, a value that maps to something you have actually lived. Specificity is the only thing that sounds real. This matters most for career pivoters: if you cannot give a precise reason, the interviewer will assume you are applying broadly and this company is just a number.
What are they actually asking?
Eight standard interview questions. For each one, pick what you think the interviewer is really trying to find out. Most of these are not what they look like.
"What do you know about us?"
"Why do you want to work here specifically?"
"Where do you see the industry heading?"
"What do you think our biggest challenge is right now?"
"Have you used our product or service?"
"What do you think sets us apart from our competitors?"
"What would you do in the first 30 days if you got this role?"
"Do you have any questions for us?"
0 / 8 correct
What comes next
You now know what good research looks like.
Knowing what to research and doing it in a way that actually lands in an interview are two different skills. In a coaching session, we work through your specific company and role together: what to look for, what to connect it to, and how to use it without sounding rehearsed. The research is yours. The interview strategy needs work.
Book a Free Discovery Call