From the book How to Prepare for an Employment Interview.
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This book shows you how to sell yourself in an employment interview.
[Addendum: This section was originally written before the Web took hold and became the pervasive entity it is today. Re-reading this today, I'd say it's the only chapter in the book that has become outdated, but I've left it here to give you the original book in its complete form.
Today, you can do most of your research while sitting at home and making good use of Google. Look at the organization's Web site and any sites that link to it (which you can find with Google). Online newspaper archives are also valuable - particularly the local paper in the town where the company is located - alhough you may have to pay to access them. The checklist at the end of the chapter is still useful.]
What you can really expect from the library
Exactly what you'd like to know about the company will vary with kind of position you're looking for. Any specific information-from the kind of machinery they use in their plant to the number of sales reps they have-can be essential or useless or anywhere in between depending on where you see yourself fitting in.
In every case, these are some questions you'll want to know the answer to BEFORE the interview:
What are the company's products or services?
Who are their customers? Who aren't their customers?
How do they provide value to their customers?
What are their goals, current challenges, and competitive advantages?
Who's the competition?
You'll just have to see what-if anything-you can find out through your research. If you're able to find good sources of information, get everything you can out of them (take notes or make copies).
Don't expect that you can just whip down to the library for half an hour and come away with ... [continued here]
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