Using Digital Media to research for a job interview

In these economic era the New York times is reporting that Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. Given this data it is increasingly important for a job seeker to be prepared when finally obtaining a personal interview.

Researching the people / person / company with whom you are meeting is one way to have an extra edge on the competition. Although the internet offers plenty of information for a researcher to find out about companies it can be harder to find out information on the person with whom you are interviewing. This is where social media can help.

LinkedIn is a website geared towards professional networking. This site usually has a complete listing of a person’s job history and many times includes an image of the person.

Twitter does a site where you can find out what a person’s interests are so that you can feel comfortable and know what topics to cover in your conversations.

Facebook is one of my personal favorites for finding images of a person. To often when you either e-mail or speak on the phone you develop a mental image that may not reflect the real image. To make sure that I am not surprised I try to find an image of a person this helps me prepare for whom I am having the conversation and concentrate on the substance of the meeting not the person.

Zoominfo is another personal favorite for researching people and companies. I can always find past articles, images, and just about anything that is currently posted on the web. This site helps me to compile a profile of the person or company so that I know what to expect in the meeting.

I recently read an article called Laid Off And Looking on the Wall Street Journal blog site, in it the author Alina Dizik states that “it’s critical to have significant knowledge about a company so you can make a good impression.” She expresses that a person does need to do research about a company but not so much that you showboat.

To put the rationale for why you should research a company before you go to the interview in sports terminology remember coaches tell the fans that preparation is the number one reason their team wins games.