This is the first of a 5-part series on Interviewing. You can read the introduction here.

Part 1: Choosing Target Companies

Before you can prepare to interview, you have to identify and understand the companies you’re interested in.

I suggest choosing a minimum of five companies, that way you have two practice interviews, for the three companies you really want. If you’re new to the industry, read some articles online about the industry leaders, understand where the industry is at, and where it’s going. Find some companies working on ideas you find exciting, and make a list of potential companies.

Once you’ve done your industry research and decided on your five companies, it’s time to take the deep dive and learn as much about these businesses as possible. The more you know about these companies, the more you’ll have to talk about in the interview.

The availability of information will differ from business to business, but a few stats to know are:

• What does the company do?
• Who are the founders?
• Why did the founders start this company?
• How does the company make money?
• What future is this company working towards?
• How many employees do they have?
• What pain points does the product solve?
• What pain points does the product itself still have that you’ve noticed?

During your research, try to record these data points using the same language the company uses. This will help you not only learn more about the culture, but attain their lexicon, and learn to speak their language.

In our next step, we’ll take steps towards properly branding yourself in order to get these company’s attention.