How do you research a company before a job interview or if applying for a job? 📰 News features, ✍️ Company blog, ⭐️ Rating websites, 📹 Video interviews with leaders, 🎙 Podcast interviews with leaders, 💻 other

Josefina·Apr 07, 2022

Posted in:People & HR Advice Job Hunting Resources

Hello Elphas!

I'm curious about what are your go-to resources for researching a company or a potential employer. This can be before applying for a job, if you're at the job interview stage, or if you're simply browsing!

Feel free to pick more than one emoji or add your own ;)

Which do you find most valuable for assessing different aspects of a company? (company performance, culture, vision..)

Looking forward to reading what you find helpful in the comments below!

Josefina·Apr 07, 2022

I particularly like watching video interviews or listening to podcasts with the leaders. It really helps me get a sense of the company's vision, the leader's character, and whether I feel like I'd enjoy the company culture. These are especially helpful when the job is remote and your interactions are more limited!

ChitraFrench·Apr 07, 2022

Hello, I first visit their website and click through all tabs. I also check out their careers page to see what type of people they are hiring. I google search the company as well as check out linkedin and glassdoor.

Josefina·Apr 08, 2022

This is great, thanks for walking me through your process!

Rebecca·Apr 08, 2022

I interview their existing customers — I pick a few companies, go through my LinkedIn to see if I know anyone there, and ask to do an informal conversation. I ask the same set of questions with everyone I can get ahold of and then evaluate whether what a company is selling me matches what they do.

Josefina·Apr 08, 2022

That's brilliant! Love this strategy for getting a second opinion on a company.

Iynna·Apr 08, 2022

Oh! This is pretty timely as we have a number of Elphas currently on the job huntingTagging @JennaPai @osatomeri @audreywong but I know I am missing a few

letria·Apr 09, 2022

I also check Glassdoor for possible reviews and all the possible platforms on where I can get reviews. :)

aminayamusah·Apr 13, 2022

I love looking at engineering blogs, open source, developer tools & API documentation. If they have an app, will sometimes take a quick look at their release notes/version history. It all helps me get a sense of what I would be walking into. Also helps me tailor my responses to behavioral interview questions

Iynna·Apr 14, 2022

Also @karenukpong might have some thoughts

MeganWinters·Apr 14, 2022

Glassdoor and linkedin are the two big ones. I'm GTM.Glassdoor - you need to take reviews with a pinch of salt. Extremely bad one off reviews are a sign of someone experiencing burnout or disappointment, IMO. That could be because of company culture, but there is no way to know for sure. Also, extremely good reviews that question the bad ones would indicate to me someone who has just recently joined and wants the kudos from their manager! but there will be good information on ability to get raises and promotions, company culture etc.LinkedIn - who have they hired? How recently? Why?To me the best way to research is in an interview where you can ask1) Why are you hiring externally for this role instead of promoting internally?2) Who was in this role before me? What made them successful?3) How do you grow talent?4) What works and doesn't work in this department?The answers will be interesting. Things don't have to be perfect for me (they will never be perfect anyway) but someone who is able to discuss those topics is someone who has some self awareness and some knowledge of how the department actually runs.