To do: Understand the company

Arriving at the interview ready to speak knowledgeably about the company and its industry makes you stand out from most candidates. You will use the information you gather to ask thoughtful follow-up questions during the interview and strong, informed questions at the end when asked. Your research may also uncover information that leads you to decide that you would prefer not to work for either the organization or the industry, saving everyone's time on a wasted interview.

See what they say about themselves

For the first time you do this research, start with something you already know—the place where you work now or somewhere you worked in the past. Look at each of the following, making notes about topics you need to explore more fully or you are unfamiliar with.

Start with the company Web site.

Check the About Us page for company history, organizational structure, and statistics.
Check the Management page to find out who works in areas of interest to you.
Check the Career page to see which departments are hiring, even if they are not the ones you think you are interested in. How many people are they hiring relative to their size?

Find the company's Facebook page.

How do they present themselves? What does this tell you about the corporate culture?
Do they lock down posts from other users, or are posts left up for everyone to see?
How do they respond to user posts? To criticism?
What is the corporate "tone" and image?
See if you can locate Facebook pages for key individuals in the organization.

Look for LinkedIn pages for the company and key individuals.

Focus on people who work in your target area.
Find the person you will be interviewing with and see what information is available about that person's background.

Does anyone in the company use Twitter?

Follow the Twitter account.
Make notes about general topics and any marketing efforts.
Be familiar with their stream and be ready to talk about it.

Search company news and financial sites

A tip from Lisa:

Google the organization, because they will definitely Google you. It is worth Googling not just the company, but key individuals in the organization.

And while you are at it, Google yourself too. You want to know what people will find out about you and fix it now if you can.

If it is a public company, check WSJ.com, Fortune.com, and EdgarOnline for current news, corporate information, and financials. Other great sources of information are business research companies such as Glassdoor, Hoovers, and Dun & Bradstreet. Don't forget to research industry-specific resources and trade publications.

What are you looking for? Some items to focus on are:

The company culture
What the company seems to value in its employees and in the brand it puts out to the public
The financial status of the organization: Is it growing? Rebuilding? Turning itself around? How will the job you are pursuing contribute to the goal?
How is the company perceived in the media? Compared to its competitors? From the perspective of its employees?
Would you be proud to work for the organization?