Understanding about the company, that you plan to join, is of paramount importance. It is almost akin to getting into wedlock. Spending a few days, researching and validating information can save you a lot of trouble and bother.
In a digital world, any individual or an entity is almost naked.
Obtaining the company url and understanding the company website, is probably the first in a series of steps, required to understand the company.
First things first, the website, cannot be viewed, in a standalone fashion. It has to be viewed, understood and correlated in conjunction with LinkedIn and other relevant social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Glassdoor as you deem it fit.
All of us need to recognize, the nature of information, available in the website and other social platforms.
The nature of information in the website, is provided by the organization themselves. The nature of information on social platforms is partly provided by organizations (profile inputs and the engagement is determined by the organization) and partly available in the form of conversations around the organization's updates and engagement. The message of the brand(organization) is controlled by the followers/audience of the brand.
Here is a list of ten things you want to check in the website, this list is by no means exhaustive
The nature of information in social can be the following:
Let us take the example of LinkedIn.
Miscellaneous Sites
It is also important that you check in sites like Glassdoor which gives an overall rating of the CEO, details on interview process, salaries and allied detail.
Do not consume any data on the face value. Validate all the information before you form any opinion.
Steps to get a greater clarity about the organization
In a very interesting observation, General Patton, once observed that the wars are not fought for countries but for the fellow soldier who battle along in the trench. While addressing the army before the war, he very clearly sets, directions for the army. He observes that, when you put your hand into a bunch of goo( the remaining flesh of a dismembered head) that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do.
Am I digressing? No. Do you work for an organization? In reality, you work for your team members and your immediate boss.
Social gives you the power to connect, reach out to people, validate and ascertain, real time information, proactively.
You may want to spend adequate time in ascertaining the credentials of the person whom you are going to work with, the members of the team whom you are going to work with.
Conversation style of people differ from LinkedIn and Facebook. You may check conversations in Facebook, to reconfirm your understanding about the people whom you are going to work with.
Do you have any questions for us?
Any professional worth his or her salt is likely to complete his or her interview with, Do you have any questions for us?
If you have done your homework, you certainly can get some brownie points, by asking intelligent questions, that clearly lets the interviewer know that you have done your home work and more importantly, an opportunity that you must use to clear all your doubts to help you arrive at a decision if you really want to work with the organization.