How much research??

[PatrickIRL]

Hi,

I'm always caught on this one. I have an intervew coming up and have the URL for the company's website. It's a contract position for 6 months but I still want know what the company is about and be able to relay that in the interview.

It's a financial company, so how much do you research? Is it enough to just get a grasp of what they do or do you dig deeper?? I've done the usual stuff, eg, About us, what we do. There's an annual report on the site, is that overkill to download it and browse??

Any help/guidance appreciated.

Patrick

 

[LesleyW]

My thoughts on this are -

*You can get an idea from the company report of their size - number of employees and turnover
*"Financial company" of course is broad, I would try to find out what niche they are in. Is it banking - still too broad. Do they do personal, corporate, both?
*Once you know the niche, try and find out what the main themes are affecting that niche. e.g. I work in Financial Services in the UK, things that affect us at the moment are the new legislation about pensions currently coming in, customer confidence in financial services company due to several scandals over the last decade. That's the kind of thing you can ask intelligent questions about in the interview.
*Find out what distinguishes them from the competition, e.g. the biggest, the smartest, the best value. Then you can ask in the interview how they achieve it.

That said, I am a permanent employee and this may be overkill for a contractor. If I interviewed someone for a 6 month contract that did all that research I'd be impressed.

I'll be interested to see what others think on this one,

Lesley

 

[chiph]

In addition to the usual info, as a contractor, I would be concerned about:

1. Do they pay on time?
2. Do their checks clear?

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[tom62]

I agree with Chip. It is important to know whether the company has financial difficulties or not. Interesting to find out as well is what the future prospects are, for example is the company the verge of being taken over by another company or are they planning to oursource jobs?

I once applied for an IT-job at a bank, but found out that they were going to merge with a life-insurance company. One year later the IT department of the bank no longer existed.

Tom.

 

[Onyxpurr]

I usually tried to find out what their mission and goals are. Or in general just get a feel for the company environment.

For instance, I am a big proponent of charitable events and the last company I interviewed was very involved in the community. I mentioned in my interview I was very impressed and would be happy to work for a company that gives back to the community. (Yes, I did get hired.)

 

[SQLSister]

Always good to check out the news about the company not just their website. Certainly any press releases they have are nice to know, it gives an idea of what things thev'e done recently they are proud of. But also google the company name and see if there is any recent press about the company.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[Onyxpurr]

SQLSister has a good point. However watch out for press releases done by the company's own PR people. You want to take note of any press not released by the company itself.

Also, if you know of anyone who works for the company or used to, see if you can talk to them and get their impressions. Sometimes what the company advertises and what it actually is are two different things.

 

[MDXer]

If it is a finacial company find out specifically what finacial related activities they are involved in and how they would affect your duties. If your developing applications for Hedge funds and intrest rate swapping you would definately need to know what these are and how they work. If it is a bank or a mortgage company or relatively uncomplex fincacial business then just ensuring the Company is going to be solid for the term of your contract probably would be enough. Along with corporate culture. How you would fit into the company, some companies see contractors/consultants as members of the team while others see them as temporary.

If your on a 6 month contract why bother with where they see their company in 18 months.

Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!
- Daffy Duck

 

[PatrickIRL]

Thanks for the input. I did research them, not in detail though, enough to give me a grasp of what they do.

As it turns out it wasn't needed (first time for everything!), the interview was quick, friendly and easy. They were more interested in my CV (resume) than anything else. Went very well, should find out late this week.

Again, thanks to everyone for their input,

Patrick