Tips on researching your potential employer
Tips on researching your potential employer
Tips on researching your potential employer
The scale of research you can do will depend on the size of the business and the extent of their online presence. Some of the information below might be in the job description but if not, then these are helpful things to know prior to interview.
General things to try and find out could include:
What does the business produce or what services does it provide?
Employers will be keen to find out how much you know about the tasks they would like you to take on. Researching their business more will help you think more about any transferable skills you may want to bring up in an interview.
Where does it fit in the farming and growing sector?
Try to understand more about the business' position in the supply chain - who its customers are and what opportunities it may have to develop further.
Do they have their own website?
If so, use it! It may have an ‘About us’ or ‘Meet the team’ section which will be helpful to you.
Where are they located?
The business might have multiple sites and questions might be asked about how you will get to the relevant locations. Be prepared for this!
Fitting in is key to standing out
Many interviewers will want to consider how you could fit in with their existing set-up.
By researching their business, you can use the interview to show how you could fit in with their team.
Doing this preparation will allow you to think more about what the company is looking for and possibly identifying additional skills you could bring to their operation.
What size is the team/overall workforce?
Use social and printed media to establish any recent news stories, successes or innovations the business has been involved in.
Does the company have a mission statement?
If so, this will declare the purpose of the organisation and how they serve their customers.
Does the business have any competitors or are there other organisations/businesses doing a similar thing which you could compare them to?
For businesses who have an online presence, consider giving them a like or a follow on social media.
For businesses or employers with no online presence, then you may have to rely on speaking to people or emailing the employer directly with a few brief questions if you would like to know anything before the interview.
This research can often come in handy when answering common interview questions.