The question “What do you know about us?” is asked in almost every interview, and it is the easiest question to score full marks on, because the answer is public. One hour of research also improves every other answer: you can link your examples to their real work.
- What they do and for whom: their mission, main programmes or products, and where they work.
- The project or team you would join: read the advert again; it usually names the project, the donor or the department.
- One recent thing: a new programme, an award, a new branch, a report they published this year.
- Who funds or pays them: donors for NGOs, customers for companies, the ministry for public bodies.
- Their values or code of conduct: safeguarding for NGOs, customer service standards for banks and telecoms.
Where to look: the website's About and News pages, their Facebook and LinkedIn pages, the last annual report, and people you know who work there or with them. For NGOs, ReliefWeb and the donor's website often describe the project in detail.