Do Your Homework Before the Interview

September 19, 2009

There is a lot of buzz about companies using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the candidates they are considering for employment. I have heard more than one story of candidates being passed over based on “digital dirt” that was discovered by a potential employer. This topic will continue to be discussed and I suspect that eventually some laws will be passed to protect those who are “digitally disadvantaged”.

But this is not a post about cleaning up your digital profile, as this advice has already been tediously covered by others. If you are one of the people who is looking for a job but has failed to take the ample (and sound) advice out there regarding cleaning up your online image, then this post is really not for you. This post is for serious job seekers.

If you are a serious job seeker, you’ve probably invested the time to make sure that you turn out impressive results when a recruiter or hiring manager googles your name. [NOTE: one of the biggest mistakes I see job seekers make is that they don’t turn out ANY results – they simply don’t exist digitally; if this is you, you should know that this can be just as damaging as turning out offensive results when googled.] As a recruiter, I like to do a quick google search on job candidates before I speak to them – NOT to find digital dirt, but to learn a little bit more about the person. If I can read their blog, or their tweets, or visit their web site, I can learn a little bit more about them than a resume provides.

Given how quickly this can be done, and how much insight you can gain about another person by what they’ve shared about themselves online, I simply don’t understand why more job seekers don’t do the same in return. If you’ve been contacted by an employer to schedule an interview, why wouldn’t you take the time to google the names of the people you will be speaking with? I am amazed at how few people bother to do this. I even include links to my LinkedIn profile, twitter account and blog in the signature block on my email, and candidates still don’t bother to check me out even though I’ve reduced it to a simple click of the mouse for them.

Recruiters and hiring managers like to see that you’ve done some homework (this means that there is less time explaining things to you that you have already discovered yourself and more time for you to talk about why you are the best person for the job). It also shows them that you are engaged in the process and interested in the company and the people who work there. And since the people you work with every day have a big impact on your job satisfaction, it makes sense to learn more about them and what it would be like to work with them. Remember, you may only have 30-minutes with an interviewer – this is not much time – so any research you can do in advance will enable a more meaningful conversation.

So, the next time you are invited for an interview (even a telephone interview), be sure to get the names of those you will be speaking with in advance. Read their bio on the company web site. Maybe you’ll get some hits on a company press release that offers insight into their expertise or a project they have worked on. Go to their LinkedIn profile and see where they worked previously and where they went to school. See if you have any shared connections. Read their blog or their tweets to get an understanding of their point of view. Google them – see what’s out there. Maybe you’ll find that you have some things in common that would be worth discussing during your meeting, or maybe you’ll find that they aren’t the kind of boss or co-worker that you want to work with (employers aren’t the only ones who can find digital dirt on their subjects). Either way, that’s great information to be armed with and can give you an advantage in the interview as well as in your evaluation of the opportunity. Keep in mind, google works both ways and if the employer is googling you, you should be googling them in return. By Laury Bartolo Plan B HR Consulting

Marty Weitzman
Gilbert Resumes
800.967.3846
http://Executiveresumewriter.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/resumepro