Company Research with AI

Research That Sets You Apart

Most candidates read the company’s “About Us” page and call it research. That’s table stakes. AI lets you go much deeper in the same amount of time — analyzing strategy, culture, challenges, and opportunities that reveal what the company actually needs.

The Company Deep-Dive Prompt

Use this for any company you’re interviewing with:

I'm interviewing at [company name] for a [role title] position.

Research and tell me:
1. What does the company do and who are their main customers?
2. What are their current strategic priorities (growth, profitability, new markets)?
3. What challenges or changes are they facing right now?
4. Who are their main competitors and how do they differentiate?
5. What's their company culture like based on public information?
6. Any recent news, funding, product launches, or leadership changes?
7. How does the role I'm applying for connect to their current priorities?

Then: suggest 3 ways I could reference this research naturally during the interview.

✅ Quick Check: Why does the prompt ask “how does the role connect to their current priorities” rather than just listing company facts?

Because the connection between the role and company strategy is what makes your research actionable. Knowing the company raised $50M in Series C is a fact. Understanding that the Series C is funding international expansion, and that YOUR role will likely support that expansion, is an insight you can build your entire interview narrative around.

Researching the Role

The job description is a starting point. AI helps you decode what they really need:

Here's the job description for [role title] at [company]:
[paste the full job description]

Analyze this and tell me:
1. What are the top 3 skills they're actually looking for (read between the lines)?
2. What problems does this role solve for the company?
3. What would success look like in this role at 30, 60, and 90 days?
4. What interview questions are they most likely to ask based on this description?
5. What red flags or challenges might this role have?
6. What questions should I ask them about this role?

Researching the Interviewer

When you know who’s interviewing you, prepare for them specifically:

I'm meeting with [name, title] at [company]. Their LinkedIn profile shows:
[paste key details from their LinkedIn — career history, posts, mutual connections]

Help me:
1. Understand their likely priorities and concerns in their role
2. Identify common ground or shared experiences
3. Anticipate what kind of questions they'll ask based on their background
4. Suggest 2 thoughtful questions I could ask them specifically

Important: Research interviewers to prepare, not to flatter. “I saw you went to Michigan — go Wolverines!” is cringe. “Your article on scaling engineering teams resonated with my experience building distributed teams” is impressive.

Building Your Research One-Pager

Consolidate everything into a reference document:

Based on all my research on [company] and the [role], create a one-page preparation brief:

COMPANY CONTEXT:
- What they do + who they serve (1 sentence)
- Current strategic priority (1 sentence)
- Recent notable change or news (1 sentence)

ROLE CONTEXT:
- What this role really needs (3 bullet points)
- How it connects to company strategy (1 sentence)

MY POSITIONING:
- 3 experiences that directly map to their needs
- 1 insight I can share that shows I understand their business

INTERVIEW REFERENCES:
- 2 research insights to weave into my answers naturally
- 3 smart questions that show depth of understanding

This one-pager becomes your pre-interview review sheet. Read it 30 minutes before the interview to have key insights fresh in your mind.

Exercise: Research Your Target Company

Pick a company you’d like to interview with (or are actively interviewing with):

1. Run the company deep-dive prompt
2. Analyze the job description (or a similar role posting)
3. Research one likely interviewer
4. Build your one-page preparation brief
5. Practice weaving 2-3 insights into your “tell me about yourself” answer

Key Takeaways

• Deep company research separates top candidates from generic applicants — AI makes depth possible in minutes, not hours
• Research the company’s current strategic priorities, not just their history — priorities drive hiring decisions
• Decode the job description to understand what they really need, what success looks like, and what questions they’ll ask
• Research interviewers to anticipate their perspective and find genuine common ground — not to flatter
• Consolidate research into a one-page brief you review 30 minutes before each interview
• Weave 2-3 research insights naturally into your answers — enough to demonstrate preparation without seeming rehearsed

Up Next: In the next lesson, you’ll build your story library — a collection of STAR-method stories ready for any behavioral question an interviewer throws at you.