Preparation is one of the essential ingredients for success. It will help you to formulate some informed questions, should you be invited to an interview.

Interview research
Succeeding in an interview depends on many factors, such as previous experience, character, skills and ability. However, one of the most common mistakes to make during the application process is to carry out insufficient research on prospective employers.

Before meeting your potential employer, you'll need to be aware of the following:

• What does the company do?
  
• The company's financial state – are they expanding or downsizing?
  
• Who are their major competitors?
  
• What skills they are looking for, such as education or previous experience?
  
• What you can offer them?

Having a general overview about the organisation will also give you confidence during the first interview, so that you can refer to your research when asking questions. Finding out information about the company and then asking questions around this information, implies you have taken time and effort to prepare for the interview. The interviewer will take this as a sure sign that you're serious about the company, job and future career.

Information research
With modern technology such as the internet, there are no excuses for not being able to find out the relevant information on your prospective employer(s). Not only can you drop into your local library, you can also visit your local internet café.