Company's Web site
The Web site of your prospective employer helps you know how the company wants to be seen. The right tool for you is the mission statement of the company that outlines what the company values. This information can be found on the About Us page or a similar one. When once you got it, see how the position you are seeking relates to the company's mission. Weigh your experience and background vis-à-vis the company's goals. Make use of the mission statement to help you participate in the discussion at the interview.
Achievements of the company
Press Room or the company news page on the Web site displays the recent press releases that give an idea of the company's activities and its achievements. Instead, you may search the Web for news about the company and how it has been faring. Think about long-term plans of the company and how you can be related to them after you take up the job. The Web search may help you prepare a few questions to impress the interviewers. Your knowledge of the company perhaps ultimately decides your success at the interview.
Your interviewers
Use the company's search tool, if it is there, for the names of the people you will be meeting with. The press releases and the bio pages may help you get a hint of their work culture or work ethics. To get some more information about them, search LinkedIn or tap some other Web site. You may find that both you and one of the interviewers are from the same educational institution and you can refer to that link in your conversation, or you may compliment for their recent professional achievement.
Position in the industry
Look into what general publications, trade journals and blogs are saying about the prospective company and the industry as such. Search national publications to know about big corporations and local newspapers about small businesses. You should be prepared to discuss the prospects of your field or the industrial trends in general.
People inside
Another great source of information is the people who work in the company; they can give you an insight into the company's business initiatives, its work culture and even throw light on the personality equations. Begin with LinkedIn to spot any connections you have. Don't end your search there; look of professional organizations and alumni bodies you belong to, and sound your friends and relatives whether they have any information about the prospective hiring managers.
Research yourself
After having gathered every bit of information about your prospective employers and the possible members of the interview board, Google yourself (perhaps the hiring managers must be doing the same). Use your name and city or your name and industry as the search term. Be sure that whatever a Web search discloses about you presents you in a positive manner. Then prepare possibly to discuss the search's top hits.
The dress
The company's Web may give you hints about what you can wear for the interview. The pictures of the company's executives may tell you what you should wear; if they are in dark suits, you can go for a formal dress. If you spot the CEO in a T-shirt, you may opt for business casual but not more casual than that.