You are excited, you’ve just received the news that you have an interview with the company that you really want to work for. You like their logo, they work in a nice building in town and you hear that there’s a gym nearby. Sweet.

So that’s what you are thinking about -- but what is the company looking for and what kind of answers will stand out for the interviewers, who are probably spending several days seeing lots of candidates? 

One question you can count on receiving is ‘Why did you choose us’. And you know at the back of your mind that you must not say ‘I liked your logo and the gym thing’.  So you regurgitate stuff from the advertisement, and a bit of information you gleaned from a quick glance at the front page of their website.

As an HR Manager who does hundreds of interviews all year, I can tell you I hear  that at about 95% of interviews I’m involved with and my heart sinks.  If you want to get attention and retain attention and stand out from the long list of candidates that are being interviewed, then read further than the front page of the website.

Read the company’s media releases, the publications they send out to clients, check out the partner profiles, look at the community organisations that are supported, really delve into all the information that’s on the website. It is there for a reason. Really get to KNOW what the company does, and why it is different from other companies. You might even do a Google search, read some newspaper articles and find out a bit more about what the company has been involved with.

Your decision should not be based on whether a company is big or small or if it has offices overseas that you go to. It should be based about culture and fit, it’s about knowing what you want. The  company already has a fair idea of what it wants – and it’s not only excellent marks (but that definitely counts).

It’s looking for people who will bring something to the firm that will make their team work even better than it does already, people who have the potential to gel with the whole office and will make the workplace somewhere enjoyable to come to everyday.

Remember you will be spending 8 hours a day with these people, through easy times and sometimes stressful times, so you have the opportunity to get to know some things about the organisation  before you commit to spending all that time with them, so put in the effort before you go to the interview  and you (and the company) will be happier for it. 

Mary O’Donovan
National People Development Executive
Taylor Woodings