For the serious job seeker, doing your homework on a company before you go into an interview isn’t optional. It’s a necessary part of positioning yourself to get the job.
“We don’t want just a warm body. We don’t want someone who’s here just to get a paycheck,” said Bea Ludwig, human-resources coordinator for Kaiser Permanente. “Why would we hire someone to provide care to patients if they don’t even care enough to do some research before coming in to talk to me?”
Ludwig suggests some ways to do that homework:
– Visit the company’s Web site on the Internet.
– Check out the library.
– Network.
– Call the human-resources department to request benefit or recruiting brochures.
The amount or type of information you know isn’t even the top priority, Ludwig said.
“It’s just impressive if their knowledge of something about the company shows why they want to be here. If they say, `I believe in this company because I know you’re involved in these charities,’ then fine. The motivation is often different, but it’s good to know that something about us is important to them”
“The best thing a person can do is talk to someone who works there already, who knows what the vision and culture is like,” said John Rice, personnel relations manager for Burns & McDonnell International, who recruits architects, engineers and scientists.
“Study that like it’s the final exam in calculus,” he said. “Part of initiative is doing homework. And when you’re hiring, you’re looking for someone who has some initiative.
“You’re also looking for a certain level of confidence. Having done your homework both builds confidence and reduces the fear factor of the interview.”
