What do you know about our company Sample Answer

How much do You Know the company? 

These  related questions are asked to see how well you know the company. These questions help them to know if you are ready for the position and if you are fully aware of the responsibilities you will have in the position. Some of these questions can be framed like we have framed some of the previous questions concerning your passion, experience and what you want to do next. 

Then there will be some that will use the 30-60-90 day plan framework. We explain that framework in the next chapter because it deals with more time-based questions. 

These questions are the reason why we suggested you research the position and the company. You do not want to be caught off guard with these questions by being completely unaware of what the company does and what you are supposed to do. 

What is the First Thing You Will Do After getting this Job? 

If you get asked this question, your answer should never be, “PARTY!!!” The interviewer does not want to know how you are going to celebrate getting the job; they are looking to find out whether or not you are going to have an immediate impact or if you are going to need a lot of hand-holding and training to help you get up to speed. It is important that you show them that you are ready to hit the ground running. 

We are going to look at an example of this question for the position of an office manager at a doctor’s office. The responsibilities for this job could include training staff, assigning clerical tasks, and organizing office operations:

 “I am glad you asked. I have taken the liberty of drawing up a 30-60-90- day plan so that I can show you my thoughts on how to approach this job. During the first 30 days, I would like to get to know everybody in the office and hear what suggestions they have for the best way to approach my role. This is also when I would like to learn your process for maintained medical records, billing, and booking appointments. During the next 30 days, I would like to find and implement a few things to make sure that our office culture stays strong. I also want to find ways to improve our processes. Then, in the next 30 days, I would like to make sure the staff members get the training that they need to be effective in their position. I would also like to make some changes in the roles for staff members based upon their interests and capabilities. Here is a copy of my plan. Would you like me to change anything?” 

When you end your answer with a question, you will move the interview into a problem-solving mode. You are letting the interviewer know that you understand there is always room for improvement and you are inviting them to help you improve. If they do engage and start helping with your plan, then they are going to want to see you succeed. 

Let’s take a quick look at what a bad answer to this question would look like. We will still be using an office manager position: 

“Well, I guess your billing system is going to be awful, so I will have to fix that. A friend of mine is a bookkeeper, so I would ask her to help me create a better billing system right off the bat. Then, I would ensure that the staff is aware of what I want them to do. I am strict on how I run things, so I would expect my staff to come in early and stay productive throughout the day. I would also expect all tasks to be finished before they leave for the day.” 

This is an overly aggressive approach and would definitely alienate employers. However, then again, they could have answered the question like this:

 “I would like to get to know everybody in the office. I think it is important to have friends at work, so I would want to have lunch or coffee with each of them. Then I would come up with some team building exercises. Maybe we could travel offsite to a company retreat. I think this would help the staff to get to know who I am.” 

While team building is a good idea, so is accomplishing work. It is important that you can find a balance between getting to know your coworkers and having an impact. 

How Did You Hear About Us? 

This probably seems like a simple and harmless question that should have a short answer. However, this is a great way to distinguish yourself from others. If other people gave the quick answer of, “I found the job listing on LinkedIn,” you have the chance to impress the hiring manager with an answer that shows how committed you are to their company. 

We will look at an answer to the question for the position of a teacher. Some responsibilities for this question include maintaining an orderly classroom, teaching students, and creating lesson plans: 

“I always wanted to teach at a school that has a strong community. I have been working as a substitute for the North Buncombe School District for the last three years. I have been trying to find a school where I have the chance to become a full-time teacher since I have an education degree from West University. I have not been a substitute at your school yet, but many of my colleagues have. They have told me how amazing your staff is here. I have also read about your progressive approach to lesson plans, and I like what I have seen. I have also taken the time to read through your Facebook feed and website, and I love how you have built up the community. I discovered your job listing because I regularly review your job postings in the hopes of finding an open position like this. Through my research, I believe that this is the perfect place for me to become a valued member of your staff.” 

This candidate did quite a bit of research before they headed into their interview. This is much more impressive than telling somebody you found the job listing on craigslist. 

Before you head into an interview, take some time to look over: the company’s website, social media feeds, recent news articles about them, and try to talk to others who have worked for them. This is going to set you apart from others who have applied for this job. 

Interviewers love it when you show them that you have put some effort into the job search, especially when the effort has been targeted towards their company. It shows them that you are more likely to stay with them if you have done a fair amount of research needed to determine that they are the right fit. Therefore, provide an answer to this question that has details about your job search. 

What Do You Know About Us? 

They are asking this to find out how interested you are in the job. If you do not provide a good answer to this question, the interview is pretty much over. Make sure that you show them that you are really interested in the job. 

You can make sure that you are ready for this question by doing your research about the company before you go into the interview. Look through their website, Google them, and look at their LinkedIn profile: 

Here is a good answer if you are applying for the position of an accountant: 

“Your firm was founded in 1988 by Robert Adams and Jessica Stewart to provide corporate and auditing services as well as other regulatory reporting and compliance. The firm now has more than 300 employees with a great reputation. Some of your clients are top companies from around that state. There are offices in three major cities, and the company seems to grow consistently. I read an article where Jessica Stewart in Accounting 101 talked about the results of the research the company has done into effectively reporting data accurately through a mobile app. This is very interesting research because I know the importance of accurately reporting and collecting such data, especially for helping management be effective.” 

You don’t want to overdo your compliments. Show them that you have done just enough research to know that you understand and are interested in working with the organization, but try not to come off as a “stalker”.