3 Topics to Research Before a Job Interview (and 3 Topics to Skip)

Getting a job interview is a big deal. You’ve wowed them with your resume and cover letter (maybe with the help of our templates), and it’s your time to shine face-to-face!

Prepping for an interview is much like the writing process. Before game day, you’ve got to prepare.

And preparation means research.

As boring as it is, research is a worthwhile endeavor when it comes to job interviews. Picture it like having an extra ace up your sleeve—you’re prepared for whatever may come your way.

Research helps in a multitude of ways:

· It tells you if the company is even worth working for

· It shows the employer you’re prepared

· It proves you genuinely want the job

· It can inform you about company policy

The only problem?

Doing the actual research.

When I Googled what I should research for a job interview, I wrote down 19 separate topics. That’s not counting the questions associated with each topic.

There’s no way you could dive into that many topics for every single interview. You’d spend way more than an hour doing it all, which is longer than the average time for an actual interview!

That’s why I’ve done a bit of digging to make sure you don’t waste your time on pointless interview research when you could be celebrating that you got the interview (way more fun).

The first topic you should actually research is…

The average person spends a third of their life at work. Might as well make sure it’s a place you want to be, right?

Looking at reviews on Glassdoor is a great start since you're learning from current and former employees. You can also look at the company’s blog or LinkedIn profile to get a sense of their values and work ethic.

It’s worth spending a bit of time to determine if management is cutthroat or kind, or if they value a healthy work-life balance.

One topic you should avoid is…

Is it cool to know their backstory? Yes. Do you need to know it? No.

It’s more than likely they’re not going to quiz you on their history. Take it from one of our co-founders, Stephen, when he interviewed for a popular insurance company:

“I learned everything I could about facts about the company (name of the founder, when the company started, etc.). If you can believe it, they never asked me these things. I got the job ultimately, but my useless knowledge never quite paid off.”

He’s not the only one who’s done this; I’ve done research on a company’s history more than once and never had to use it. It’s more than likely the hiring manager will tell you all this stuff during the interview, so don’t worry about it.

However, I would research…

This is essentially the company’s goal, their raison d’être. What do they do, and why do they do it? You should be able to summarize the answers to both these questions in two sentences or less.

Then it’s up to you to answer why you want to work for them. For example, look at the answer from our other co-founder, Justin:

“Understanding what the company does and being able to tie it into something at an emotional level has served me well. For instance, I was interviewing with a company that makes an app to help people keep up with their kid or grandkid's sports leagues. I understood that going in, so when they asked me why I wanted to work there, I was able to emphasize how emotionally significant those sports leagues can be. In particular, I remember growing up and having my Mom coach my basketball team and my Dad coach my baseball team.”

Never underestimate the power of a good story!

On the other hand, don’t overestimate this topic:

Again, this topic isn’t bad. Heck, you should definitely know what a company sells. But that doesn’t mean you should research the most recent updates or know all their offerings (yes, that is legit advice I found on the web).

You’re going to learn that on the job, anyway, so why waste your time now? Plus, that knowledge might end up being completely useless, as was the case with one of our content editors, Shiree:

“When I read the job description, it mentioned Butter CMS, so I spent a few hours studying their website, watching videos, googling, and YouTubing info about Butter. I learned the academics about Butter, which was pretty useless, haha.”

That definitely sucks, and who names their software "Butter," anyway?

Instead, spend your time knowing:

You may argue that the job description should tell you that. And you’re right, it should. However, there's more to the story.

Check out Glassdoor reviews, profiles of current employees, and other job descriptions at the same company (ideally within your department).

Don’t spend hours and hours on this topic, but don't neglect to get a general sense of what a company values. Do they prefer soft skills or technical ones? A casual can-do attitude or formal training? There’s no right answer, but you should be prepared.

You can feel free to skip this topic, though:

You should be somewhat knowledgeable about the industry, sure, but you likely won’t need to know everything before the interview. This is something you should review once you start the job. It’s less vital before getting the job.

Instead, spend your time printing your resume, ironing your suit, or practicing your answers to common interview questions.

With these tips in mind, we wish you luck in your next interview. Be confident, be kind, and remember your worth!