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Playbooks · 6 min read
Company Research Playbook: How to Prep for a Specific Employer
Turn an hour of research into sharper answers and better questions.
Generic answers come from generic preparation. Thirty to sixty minutes of focused research transforms your 'why this company' answer, sharpens your questions, and helps you tailor your stories to what this employer actually values. Here's what to look up and, more importantly, how to use it.
What to research
- •Product: use it if you can. Know what it does, who it's for, and one thing you'd improve.
- •Business model: how the company makes money and who its customers are.
- •Recent news: funding, launches, leadership changes, or results from the last 6 to 12 months.
- •Competitors: who else plays here and how this company is positioned against them.
- •Culture and values: from the careers page, employee reviews, and how people describe working there.
- •Your interviewer: their role and background, so you can connect authentically.
How to actually use it
Sharpen 'why us'Reference something specific and recent — a product bet, a value you share — not brochure language.
Tailor your storiesEmphasize the experiences that match what this company values most.
Prepare informed questionsTurn a news item into a question: 'I saw you launched X — how is the team thinking about Y?'
Anticipate their angleA growth-stage startup and a large enterprise will probe for different things. Prepare accordingly.
💡 One specific, current detail woven into your answers signals more genuine interest than a dozen memorized facts.
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