Before applying for a job and attending a job interview, ensure you have a good understanding of the business. You may be asked a direct question about the company and bringing specific information into your answers could impress the panel. 

  • What do they do? What services do they sell? What products do they sell/manufacture?
  • Who are their customers? What market, audience are they trying to sell to?
  • What is the company ethos?
  • Where are their offices? (local, national, international?)
  • How many people do they employ?
  • Who are their main competitors? Where do they stand in the market?
  • What is their Unique Selling Point (USP)?
  • What are their particular strengths? Have they won any prestigious awards?
  • What difficulties have impacted the business?
  • What difficulties might impact it in the future?
  • What were their annual profits/losses last year?
  • What kind of company culture do they have?
  • Are there any recent stories about them in the media?
  • What do you know about this industry as a whole?

Before your interview try looking at:

  • The company website
  • Annual report
  • LinkedIn page
  • Journals or relevant magazines about the industry
  • Newspapers

Our library stocks: Financial Times, The Economist, Global Finance, Nursing Times, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, Conde Nast Traveller.


It is worth having an opinion on the business, the product or service:

  • How would you develop their business or an area of their business?
  • What do you like about the products they sell?
  • How would you revive falling sales of a certain product/service?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.