How to Crush, “What Do You Know About our Company?”

Recent research indicates that your answer to “What do you know about our company?” can predict your problem-solving ability. And we all know employers want to hire problem-solvers. When I recruited, I always asked candidates that question. I loved it because it told me if the candidate:

1. Possessed curiosity
2. Was proactive enough to prepare for their interview

Benefits of Curiosity

Studies conducted at Harvard Business School found that curiosity yields:

1. Fewer decision-making errors
2. More innovation
3. Better communication
4. Better team performance

Gain Competitive Advantage

So, that’s all nice, but how will answering “What do you know about our company?” get you a job? Wait for it — hardly anyone can answer that question — not even senior executives. This is excellent news because you can stand out from other candidates with a bit of preparation.

7 Ways to Research Companies

And here’s more good news, doing company research isn’t hard. You can: 1. Review the company’s website, including these sections:

• About
• Products/Solutions
• News

2. If the company is public, look at its most recent quarterly and annual reports.

• Google “company name” AND “annual report” AND 202X [the most recent calendar year].
• Open the annual report, click CMD-F, enter 10-K, and tab to the 10-K.

Again using CMD-F, search for:

• Business (you’ll find a description of the business)
• Revenue (this will take you to the income statement)
• Anything else that makes you curious

3. Speed-Google the company. 4. Look at the company’s YouTube channel. 5. Check the company out on Reddit, aka The Land of Unvarnished Opinions. 6. Talk with people working for the company or in its industry. 7. Hire a researcher on Upwork to assemble a brief.

What Do You Know About Us or Our Company?

Then, when you get the “What Do You Know?” question, you can:

• Mention a product launch and ask about how it’s doing.
• Note that the company has averaged X% revenue growth for the last 3 years.
• Talk about something in their recruiting video that made you curious.

Sample Answer to “What Do You Know About Our Company?”

It might sound like:

“I looked at your annual report and saw you’ve been growing about X% annually for the last 3 years. When I looked at your press releases, I saw you’re expanding to Texas. That interested me because…”

Get This Right

Remember, your competition won’t do this research. So, if you want instant respect from decision-makers, ace “What do you know about our company?”

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