Find out as much as possible about your prospective employer in advance. Most will have websites packed with information. Familiarise yourself with mission statements, past performance, future goals and current analyst ratings. Be aware that if your prospective employer does have a comprehensive website, you may seriously compromise your chances if it becomes apparent you have not taken time to research it.

It is good to know some (if not all) of the following about the organisation before you attend the interview:

• Who is the Company owned by - private or public?
• Is it part of a larger group - are there subsidiaries you should be aware of?
• Gain an understanding of the business the company is in, who their main competitors are and where they are positioned in the market
• How are they viewed in the market place?
• Read recent press cuttings. Having done your research you can use it to develop questions and points of view "I noticed in a recent article in the Financial Times that you are expanding into a new market - what are the implications of this expansion for the xxx business unit.
• Read the annual report, accounts and corporate brochure
• What services or products does it have to offer?
• Look at growth to date and what the potential for the future is
• Rehearse- having collected your information and thought it through, you should practice delivering it

You will be expected to know in detail about your current / former employer. Bring yourself up to date with the current facts and figures.

If there is no company website, it is still easy to research your employer. All national newspapers and professional magazines have online archives containing press coverage dating back years. Alternatively, simply search the Internet by entering the company name on a search site such as Google or Yahoo! Finally, talk to anyone you know who has worked with or for the organisation.

If all else fails do try phoning the company and requesting general information.