An hour of focused research covers the business, recent news, the role, your interviewers and the employer's reputation. Here is the plan, the sources to use, and how to turn it into answers and questions.
- Research has two jobs: help you answer “What do you know about us?” well, and help you decide whether you actually want to work there.
- Start with the job posting and the company’s own website, then check outside sources that the company doesn’t control.
- Public companies file annual 10-K reports on the SEC’s free EDGAR database, which describe the business and its main risks in plain terms.
- Read employee reviews for repeated patterns, not single angry or glowing posts.
- Finish with a one-page summary: three facts you’ll mention, three questions you’ll ask, and any concerns to probe.
In this article
To research a company before an interview, spend about an hour on five things: what the company sells and to whom, its recent news, the role and team you’d join, the people interviewing you, and its reputation as an employer. Use the company’s own site and job posting first, then LinkedIn, news, public filings and employee reviews. Turn what you learn into two or three talking points and a few sharp questions.
What to research about a company before an interview
You don’t need to memorize the company’s history. Focus on what will come up in the conversation and what affects your decision.
| Topic | What to find | How you’ll use it |
|---|---|---|
| Business basics | Main products or services, customers, size, locations, competitors | Explain in one sentence what they do and where you fit |
| Recent news | Launches, acquisitions, new leaders, layoffs, funding, expansion | Mention one development and ask how it affects the team |
| Mission and values | Stated values and how they show up in practice | Answer “Why do you want to work here?” with something specific |
| The role and team | Duties, tools, reporting line, why the job is open | Match your examples to their must-have requirements |
| Your interviewers | Titles, background, how long they’ve been there | Tailor examples and questions to each person’s role |
| Employer reputation | Review patterns, turnover signals, pay ranges, safety or legal issues | Decide what to probe and whether the job is a good fit |
A 60-minute company research plan
For most interviews, an hour is enough. For final rounds or senior roles, double it and go deeper on strategy and financials.
- Job posting (10 minutes). Highlight every required skill and repeated word. List the three requirements you match best and one you’re weaker on. If the posting lists a pay range, note it; pay transparency laws in some states now require one.
- Company website (10 minutes). Read the About, Products or Services, Careers and Newsroom pages. Note how the company describes itself and its customers, since interviewers often use the same language.
- Recent news (10 minutes). Search the company name in a news search and filter to the past year. Look for growth, changes in leadership, restructuring and big customer wins or losses.
- LinkedIn (10 minutes). Look at the company page and people in the team you’d join. Check how long people typically stay, where they came from and whether the team is growing. Look up each interviewer.
- Outside sources (10 minutes). Check employee reviews, and for public companies or nonprofits, their public filings (see below).
- Summarize (10 minutes). Fill in the worksheet at the end of this guide.
Where to find reliable company information
Use a mix of sources the company controls and sources it doesn’t. The company’s site tells you how it wants to be seen; outside sources show how it actually operates.
| Source | What it shows | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Company website and careers page | Products, values, benefits, locations, press releases | Marketing language; everything is positive |
| The job posting | What the hiring manager cares about most | Wish-list requirements that aren’t truly required |
| Team size, tenure, career paths, interviewer backgrounds | Outdated profiles | |
| News coverage | Growth, layoffs, leadership changes, lawsuits | Old stories that no longer apply |
| SEC EDGAR (public companies) | Annual and quarterly reports, risks, executive pay | Long documents; skim the business and risk sections |
| IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (nonprofits) | Tax-exempt status and Form 990 filings | Filings can lag by a year or more |
| OSHA establishment search | Workplace safety inspections at a site | Inspections alone don’t mean a workplace is unsafe |
| Employee review sites | Patterns in culture, management and pay complaints | Self-selected, often extreme opinions |
Public companies: read the 10-K
Public companies file reports with the SEC, and anyone can search them by company name or ticker on EDGAR, the SEC’s free filing database. According to the SEC’s Investor.gov guide to EDGAR, the 10-K annual report provides audited financial statements and a discussion of material risk factors, the 10-Q gives quarterly updates, and the 8-K discloses material events between reports. Proxy statements can include executive pay and board information.
You don’t need to read the whole 10-K. Skim the “Business” section for how the company makes money and the “Risk Factors” section for what leadership worries about. One informed question about either stands out.
Nonprofits and safety-sensitive employers
For a nonprofit, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search lets you look up an organization’s exempt status and Form 990 series filings, which report finances. The IRS notes its data updates are delayed. For warehouses, plants, construction sites and other physical workplaces, OSHA’s inspection data includes an establishment search you can use to look up inspections by employer.
How to research the role and your interviewers
Company research gets you through the first few minutes. Role research wins the rest of the interview.
- Why the job is open. A new role suggests growth; a backfill suggests you should ask what the last person did well and what the team wants done differently.
- Who you’d report to. Find the likely manager on LinkedIn. Note their background and how long they’ve held the role.
- The team’s tools and work. Team members’ profiles and the posting often list software, certifications and projects. Prepare an example for each major tool.
- Each interviewer. A finance director will care about different results than a peer on the team. Pick examples that matter to each person.
Use what you find to adjust your resume too. Our guide on how to tailor a resume shows how to match your wording to the posting.
Tip: If you know anyone who works there or used to, a 15-minute call beats an hour of reading. Our guide to networking for jobs includes a message template for asking.
How to read employee reviews and spot red flags
Reviews are useful when you read them as data, not as verdicts.
- Look for patterns. The same complaint from several people over the past year (unclear management, constant reorganizations, late pay) is a signal. One furious post is not.
- Filter by role and location. A call center review may say little about the corporate finance team.
- Check dates. Reviews from before a leadership change may be out of date.
- Compare with what you hear. Ask about the issue politely in the interview and see whether the answer is direct.
Other red flags worth probing:
- The same job reposted many times over several months
- Recent news of repeated layoffs or leadership turnover
- Short average tenure on the team you’d join
- Vague answers about the role’s duties or who you’d report to
- Pay or schedule details that change between the posting and the interview
How to use your research in the interview
The goal is to show you’ve done the work without reciting a company profile. Use research in three places.
“What do you know about our company?”
Give a short summary, one recent development, and a link to the role:
“You make [product] for [customer type], and you’ve grown into [new market or location] over the past year. I read that you recently [news item], and I imagine that puts more pressure on [team or function], which is where this role comes in.”
“Why do you want to work here?”
Connect something specific about the company to your own experience. Our article on answering “Why are you applying for this position?” has sample answers.
Questions you ask
Good questions come straight from your research:
- “Your annual report mentions [risk or priority]. How does that affect this team’s goals this year?”
- “I saw you opened [new location]. Will this role support that work?”
- “What did the last person in this role do especially well, and what would you like done differently?”
- “What would success look like in the first 90 days?”
- “How has the team changed since [recent event]?”
Company research worksheet
Copy this into a note and fill it in before each interview.
Company: [name]
What they do (one sentence):
Customers and competitors:
Recent news (past 12 months):
Role must-haves and my matching examples: 1. 2. 3.
Interviewers and their focus:
Three facts I’ll mention:
Three questions I’ll ask:
Concerns to probe:
Pay range (posting or research):
If the interview goes well, the pay research helps later when you negotiate the job offer.
How Careerscape can help
When you apply through a recruiter, you often get background a website won’t tell you, such as why a role is open and what the hiring manager values. Careerscape is a U.S. staffing and recruiting firm; browse current jobs or see our resources for job seekers.
Frequently asked questions
How much time should I spend researching a company before an interview?
About an hour is enough for most first-round interviews: 10 minutes each on the job posting, the company website, recent news, LinkedIn and outside sources, plus 10 minutes to summarize. For final rounds, senior roles or case interviews, spend two to three hours and go deeper on strategy, competitors and financial reports.
What should I research before a phone screen?
Before a short phone screen with a recruiter, cover the basics: what the company does, the job’s main requirements, the location and work arrangement, and any posted pay range. Have a one-sentence answer for why you’re interested and one question about the team or next steps. Save deeper research for later rounds.
How do I research a small company with little information online?
Check the company website, its owners’ and employees’ LinkedIn profiles, local news, the state business registry and any industry association listings. Look at its customers or partners and what they say about it. Then use the interview itself: ask how the business has grown, who the main customers are and how the team is structured.
Should I mention negative news in an interview?
You can, carefully. Frame it as interest in how the change affects the team rather than as criticism: “I saw the company restructured last spring. How has that changed priorities for this group?” Avoid repeating rumors or anonymous reviews as fact. A calm, direct answer to a fair question is itself useful information.
Are employee reviews reliable?
Partly. Reviews are self-selected, so they skew toward people with strong opinions. They’re most useful when many recent reviews for the same role or location describe the same issue. Treat them as a list of topics to ask about, and weigh them alongside what you learn from current employees and the interview.