This is the first article in a series I will be writing called The Interview Edge. In these articles, I’ll be discussing tips and advice that I think will help you to nail your job interview.

For starters, I’m going to discuss one of the most important things that you can do to really make a good impression during your interview: Do your research. What does this mean? Simply put, this means that before you get to your interview make sure that you do some research on the company you are interviewing with. Why? Because of this question: “What do you know about our company?”.

This is a classic question that many interviewers start off with, and if you don’t get this exact question you’ll most likely get something like it. When you get it, you should be prepared to give an intelligent and informed answer as opposed to “Uhhh…you….make money….I need money….you do computer stuff…..”. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to have an essay, or recite the company history from day one. In fact, this will produce the opposite effect of what you want. What you do need is a brief, prepared set of facts that you can answer this and other questions with.

Here are three topics I would suggest you study up on:

• What exactly the company does - This sounds like common sense, but many people will apply to a company just because they know the name and the general field they are in (like “finance”). This is not enough. For example, if they are a technology company, you need to find out what specific fields they are in and what services they provide.

• A smattering of company history - I’d like to emphasize again that you don’t need an extensive biography on the company. However, you should know a few basic facts, such as how long they’ve been in their industry and what they’ve accomplished.

• How the company is structured - Does everybody belong to the same workforce? Multiple workforces? You should know the answer to these questions not only to help during the interview, but to nail down where you would want to fit in within the company. This way, when you get that job offer, you’ll have a better idea of what that position means.

I suggest searching online as the easiest way to accomplish your research. Most companies today, no matter how small, have a website. If for some reason they don’t (and even if they do), they’ll usually provide you with some handouts with information about their company. Don’t throw these away! Make sure you give them a good read and even bring them to the interview so you can take a quick look at them beforehand.

I can’t stress enough how important knowing your facts and doing your research is before you get to the interview. The small amount of time it takes to get this done will give you a great leg up on your competition.

Keep a lookout for the next article in this series, The Interview Edge.

The Interview Edge: Part I Part II