Something to doChanging jobs
Understand a company before you apply
A simple exercise to see a company the way its own people do, before you ask to join it
Why it’s worth your time
Every job opening is a company saying it needs something done. Knowing what it sells, how it earns and what's changing lets you make a good guess at what that need is, and speak to it. It also tells you early whether this is a place you'd want to help succeed.
How to research a company before you apply
You’ll come away with three lines on what the company needs and where you'd fit.
We’ll turn this into a checklist you can tick off.
- Find out what they sell, and to whom.
Their website, product pages and customer stories. Try to say it in one sentence a friend would understand.
Tip: If you can't explain it simply, that's your first question for later.
- Work out how they make money.
Subscriptions, one-off sales, services, advertising, contracts. Public companies explain it in their annual reports; for private ones, pricing pages and customer lists are good clues.
- Look for what's new.
Recent news, launches, funding, leadership changes, cutbacks, and what the company says on its own blog or leaders' posts. What's changing is often why the role is open.
- Read the role against what you found.
Go back to the posting. What problem is this job there to solve? Who would you report to, and what might that person be measured on?
- Write three lines to take with you.
What you saw, what you think it means for the role, and how you'd pitch yourself because of it. Add one question the research didn't answer.
Good moments for this: before each application you care aboutagain before an interviewwhen a company is in the news
We’ll turn this into a checklist you can tick off.
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Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
A job opening is a company saying it has a problem it wants solved. The more clearly you can guess the problem, the more clearly you can show you'd help solve it.
What might make this harder
Use what exists: the website, founders' posts, customer reviews, and past job listings. Then ask in the interview. A thoughtful question about the business is itself a good signal.
Questions people ask
How do I research a company before applying?
Find out what it sells and to whom, how it makes money, what's changed recently, and what the role is likely there to solve. Half an hour with the website, recent news and the job posting is usually enough.
What should I know about a company before an interview?
What they sell, who their customers are, how they earn, what's new, and why this role might be open. Bring one or two questions the research didn't answer.
How can I find information about a private company?
Start with their website and blog, leaders' posts, customer reviews and case studies, and past job listings. People who work there, or used to, are often the best source.
How do I figure out how a company makes money?
Look at what customers pay for and how: subscriptions, one-off sales, services, advertising or contracts. Public companies explain it in their annual reports; for private ones, pricing pages are a good clue.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Most people research a company to avoid an awkward moment in an interview: knowing when it was founded, having an answer ready for why here. That's fine, but it misses the more useful thing. A job exists because a company needs something done, and your application is really an answer to that need. You can only answer it well if you have a decent guess at what it is.
That's why how they make money matters so much. It's the part most candidates skip, and it explains nearly everything else: which teams get resources, what leaders worry about, what your future manager is being asked to deliver. A role on a team that brings in revenue is under different pressure than one that keeps things running. Neither is better, but they want different things from you.
From the hiring manager's side, the difference is easy to notice. Plenty of candidates can describe their own experience; fewer can connect it to what the company is going through right now. When your answers show you already understand their problem, you start to sound like a colleague rather than an applicant. Your questions get better too, because you're asking about the actual business.
This is a familiar step, doing your homework, with the focus moved from facts about them to what they're trying to achieve. It works in your favor as well. Half an hour of honest research can tell you that a role you were excited about isn't what it seemed, or that one you nearly skipped is closer to what you want. Either way, you've learned it before spending an evening on an application.
Other simple things to consider
More in Changing jobs
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.