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When you’re preparing for a job interview it’s important to spend part of your preparations on learning about the people on the other side of the table. Below are a few ideas about what information you should be seeking, and how to make use of it without being creepy. Ultimately, identifying a few things that you have in common with an interviewer can go a long way in terms of fostering a memorable impression of you during an otherwise cold interview.
First, find out information about the career path of the person who is interviewing you. Is the interviewer new to the company or has she been there for several decades? Did she change careers or roles recently? Finding out this background information can be helpful as it gives you a sense of what she’s been up to, what she cares about, and helps you frame your answers in ways that will appeal to her.
Next find out where she went to school and what she studied. This piece of information may lead you to finding some similarities—perhaps she studied at the same university or majored in a subject that is related to your major. These similarities can be touched on in the interview by gently dropping the school or major that you have in common.
Then, find out where she is from. Again, if you have something in common with this, you could integrate into conversation naturally. If she has an accent from the country in which you studied abroad, let her know that you recognize it. If she is from the midwest and you both find yourselves relocated to San Diego, you might make note of enjoying the lack of winter and have your hometowns arise in conversation.
Finally, find out what she looks like. The last thing you want to happen is to accidentally sabotage your interview by not realizing that your interviewer is standing next to you at Starbucks while you blab on the phone to your mom about how nervous you are for your upcoming interview. If you know what she looks like, you can make sure that you are interview ready even before you are formally introduced.
Now, if you can find out this information through a basic Google search, that’s great. I’m not suggesting that you go into dark holes trying to get some dirt on the people interviewing you. Linkedin can provide a lot of this information, though they may see that you have looked at their profile. (However, if I was interviewing someone, I would be glad to see them checking out my Linkedin profile the night before as it shows they’re preparing.) Another place to find this information is through the interviewer's bio page on the company’s website. While not all employees have such a page, those who do may give you some valuable information. Finally, if the person is in the news for professional accomplishments, I would read about that. I would steer clear of Facebook and other social sites as you don’t need to get the more intimate details shared on it.
How do you prepare for an interview? Share with us in the comments below.