Skip to main content

Secondary navigation:

Breadcrumb navigation:

bc home > offices > careers > Skills > Interview > Current page: Research

Research Before Your Interview

WHY DO RESEARCH BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW?

  1. You will be able to more fully demonstrate your enthusiasm for the career field and the organization.
  2. You will also be able to articulate how your skills, knowledge and values match those of the organization and industry.
  3. You can determine if this is an organization to which you would want to devote the next few years of your work life.

REMEMBER: You can never know "too much" about an organization. Interviewers are always impressed when you have conducted your research thoroughly and can ask informed, intelligent questions about the organization and the job.

A NOTE TO ALUMNI: some of the "best resources" highlighted on this page are only available from the BC campus. We recommend you use a local library for your research, and ask the reference librarian for assistance.

RESEARCH THE CAREER FIELD

Before an interview, you MUST educate yourself:

  • How does this industry work - what do the organizations do, how do they make their money (or, in the case of nonprofits and government agencies, how and whom do they serve)?
  • What are the skills and personal qualities that successful professionals in this industry share?
  • What are the significant trends in this industry?

Vault guides
FREE, downloadable, book-length guides to a variety of industries.

Books
The Career Resource Library contains many resources that cover career fields in great detail.

Our Career Fields pages
Describing over 70 career fields.

Boston College Career Network
8500 alumni who have volunteered to speak with BC students and alumni.

Keep up with industry trends - read relevant "trade journals" and websites

  • Professionals in many industries rely on journals and/or Web sites that provide current news and information on trends within the industry. (for example, in book publishing, it's Publishers Weekly; in advertising, it's Advertising Age and AdWeek.)
  • Bizjournals.com - click on "News" tab to view info by city, or select "Industries" for a variety of areas.
  • If you don't know what to read, ask professionals in the field (see the BC Career Network or use LinkedIn Groups or LinkedIn Answers).

RESEARCH THE ORGANIZATION

When you go for an interview, you should absolutely know: the company, its products, its problems, its opportunities and its competitors.

As you research, keep this question in mind:

  • What are the skills and personality characteristics that this job demands and this organization values, and how does your experience and background demonstrate those skills and traits?

Before your interview, you should know the following (bare minimum): 

  • What are this organization's products and/or services? (Even nonprofit organizations serve people through education, lobbying efforts, publications, etc.)
  • What direction has the organization taken within the past one to two years, and what might be expected in the near future?
  • What does this organization value? Obviously, for-profit organizations value profit. But most organizations are driven by other values, as well - social conformity; innovation; teamwork; efficiency; the professional development of its employees; public service. You should search for: a) what the organization states about its values, and b) what they really are. The two are not always in agreement.
  • If you will be working in a division of the organization, what is the role of that division, and how does it relate to the parent organization?

Specific Career Fields:

What you need to know for an interview may depend on the type of job you are seeking.

    Some examples:

  • If you're seeking a job as a counselor or social worker, you should try to find out what the agency's philosophy and standard treatment practices are.
  • If you are seeking a finance position, you should have a grasp on the company's financial statistics.
  • If you are seeking a teaching position, you should have a clear understanding of the state standards for your grade level and subject. (In Massachusetts, these are known as the "curriculum frameworks" - and not being familiar with them can hurt your chances of getting a good job.)
  • If you are applying for a marketing position, you should know how the company positions itself within the industry and what its advertising and marketing has looked like over the past several years.

There are TWO categories of information you should find:

1. Company Profiles
Research the organization's Web site - but don't depend solely on what the company tells you.

LinkedIn Company Profiles
Use this tool to find companies to work for or do business with.

Hoover's Online
Hoover's provides very brief Company Capsules on over 10,000 companies, both public and private.

Vault guides
FREE, downloadable, book-length guides to a handful of companies, mostly in finance and management consulting.

GuideStar.org
Provides financial data on over 600,000 nonprofit organizations.

SEC Filings
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires all publicly-owned companies to file certain reports.
TIP: search for the company's "10K" reports.

2. Recent News

Lexis/Nexis

  • Available only from computers on the BC campus or with a current BC username and password.
  • Search the News from 1980 until today.
  • Get Company Info from over 43 million companies.

 Factiva

  • Available only from computers on the BC campus or with a current BC username and password.
  • The easiest way to search for companies is to click on the "Companies/Markets" tab at the top of the screen.

PR Newswire
Current news releases.

Bloomberg
Updated business news and financial information.