A copy of the 2018 Be Prepared! session run by the Cambridge Judge Business School Information & Library Services team on using databases to source information on your future employer before an interview

1. Cambridge Judge Business School
BE PREPARED!
Ange Fitzpatrick @angefitzpatrick
Andrew Alexander @MrAndrew_A
Sourcing information on
your future employer

2. Cambridge Judge Business School
Today
• Difficult company questions that you will be asked
• Industry analysis
• Gathering quality data & reports quickly and easily
• Demonstrating understanding & insight
• Real life examples & feedback
• Leveraging social media for inside knowledge

3. interview questions you’re probably going to get:
• Tell me about yourself and your background
• Why have you applied for this position?
• Your strengths and weaknesses
• Example of when you worked as part of a team
• Example of when you solved a problem
• Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?
you’ve probably answered these sorts of
questions before and can answer them again…
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4. but what about
those company
questions that
you might not
expect…
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5. If you were our CEO what would you do next?
Who are our competitors?
What makes us different to them?
Who are our clients?
Which of our products do you like the best?
What do you understand to be our core values?
Do you know which countries we operate in?
How do your skills match our values?
What threats do we face in the next 12 months?
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

6. Taking your local cinema as an example,
estimate how much revenue it will make
in an average week
You’re given the cinema to look
after for one Saturday, and you
have to drive profits as hard as
you can on that day alone.
What would you do?

7. “Don’t research the
company in isolation –
look at the whole
industry… that way you
can show the
interviewer that you
understand the big
picture too”
(Jay, R. (2008) Brilliant interview p21)
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8. industry analysis – seeing
the bigger picture
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9. What are the main threats facing our industry?
Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash
Why do you wish to enter this industry?
How will this industry change over the next 10 years?
Who are the industry players to watch?
What trade journals do you read in this field?
Are you aware of our professional association?

10. don’t panic!
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11. we’ve got your back*
*not actual librarians
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13. worked example
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14. https://infolib.blog.jbs.cam.ac.uk

15. real life questions
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16. energy company
What are the issues facing the energy
industry?
Why are you interested in the energy
sector?
What was the most interesting energy
article you read in the last year?
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17. banking sector
How do banking operations compare with your current
field? (if switching industry sector)
How would you invest $10m right now?
I read about alternative investments, what are they
and should we be investing in them?
What do you think about the M&A market in Korea?
What are the future trends?
Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

18. anonymous employer
What do you understand, from your
research for this interview, about the
firm’s vision and how can you
contribute to that vision?

19. other sources
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24. books – still a thing

25. *actual librarians

26. final thoughts

27. ‘Lack of motivation or interest’
‘Lack of understanding of industry sector’
‘Lack of awareness of factors affecting the business -
its not enough to reel off facts’
feedback
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‘Lack of knowledge of the company’
‘Lack of enthusiasm for the role’
‘Lack of understanding of what the job involved’

28. “Nothing
impresses an
employer more in
the job interview
than hearing a
candidate speak
about their
company”
(HR in Motion website)
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29. “Be prepared to invest
serious effort in
researching each
prospective employer.
Avoid simply memorising
facts about the
organisation – try to form
your own opinions about
them too”
(Yeung, R. (2008) How to succeed
at interviews p8)

30. two-way street
You need to ask questions as well as
answer them. The interview is an
opportunity to prove that you
understand their business and
values and to establish if they are
going to be ‘the right fit’ for you too.
Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet on Unsplash

31. impression management
the more time and effort you put into the interview, the
more time and effort you will put into the job

32. GOOD LUCK!
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33. QUESTIONS?