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Career advancement minute: Interview preparation: researching a potential employer

March 01, 2013

Mariel Staszewski discusses how to research a potential employer and why pre-interview preparation is the key to success.

 

Is this job opportunity the right fit for you? Mariel Staszewski, Associate Director for Employer Relations, discusses how to research a potential employer and why pre-interview preparation is the key to success. 

Transcript

When researching employers the best place to start is the organization’s website. This will give you a basic sense of the work the organization does and help you understand how they position themselves in the market.

You should also be sure to read any industry or location specific periodicals. This will give you a sense of what the hot topics and current issues are that the employer is involved in and who are the specific people within the organization that work on those manners.

The best way to conduct employer research is to speak with current and former employees.  Contact those you may have a connection with such as alumni of your undergraduate or graduate institution and ask them how did their career path lead them to that organization. What did they like most about working there? What do they do on a day-to-day basis in their work? This will give you a much more personalized and detailed picture of the employer than written materials can. 

Transcript edited for length.