You may find this report in a large public library, or perhaps in the library of a local public university. Review it carefully, even though there may be a great deal of accounting and government jargon that can be difficult to penetrate. Get whatever you can from the report, paying special attention to any comments on the company's growth and goals.
If the company is small or privately held, you won't find any public reports. In this case, the best way to get more information is to ask the company itself. (It's probably not a bad idea to do this for the larger companies as well.)
Virtually every company has some kind of promotional literature, brochures, or fact sheets that you can review. Now that you've made it to the second round of interviews, it won't seem unusual to request such information.
Other strategies include doing an article search for newspaper or trade publication pieces about the company. Most such periodicals have some sort of index you can use to look for references to your target company. In addition, any good sized library will be able to provide you with access to general periodical indexes, through which you can investigate any number of headings. Though this process can take some work, you may discover a Business Week article describing the fifty most promising mid sized apparel firms, and mentioning Fancy Footwork prominently. This type of data is invaluable it offers a third party assessment of the company's status. You can use whatever facts you come across in this "overdrive" research effort in your next meeting with your interviewer. Such an effort will undoubtedly leave an impression that you're both thorough and remarkably enthusiastic.
You might also go back to any contacts you've had up to this point who may know something about the company in question or its employees. These contacts can give you important insights into the perceived problems and strengths of the company. Most of your contacts will be eager to help at this point once they see that you've made real progress. Nothing makes contacts feel better than actually helping someone because you may in turn be in a position to help them somewhere along the line!
In specific terms, you should be ready to address questions that begin with, "What would you do if...?" Such queries are designed to get an idea of how you would handle common situations or problems you are likely to encounter on the job.
These questions are difficult to prepare for, because, realistically, there are an infinite number of scenarios with which you may be presented. However, there are some techniques that may prove effective for the hypothetical interview question.
The best bet is to use your past experience as a guide. In other words, parallel the situation you're given with something you have already encountered, and explain how you successfully solved that problem. Indicate that you would probably use a similar strategy on your new job. Admittedly, this will require a certain amount of thinking on your feet and, to some degree, that's what these questions are designed to measure but hypotheticals can be confronted successfully if you keep your poise, make as many connections to your background as possible, and remember to prioritize the problems you are presented with.(An employer may throw a "curve" in this type of question by out lining three problems, one or more of which is of significantly lesser importance than the rest. Which will you address first?)
If you draw a blank when it comes to past experiences, you should use the best common sense answer you can think of and conclude by pointing out that you'd probably consult with your co workers for advice and guidance. This way, even if you give the "wrong" answer (and occasionally there will be no "right" one) your interviewer will respect logical powers, and be impressed by your willingness to ask for help.
Don't even think about guessing. Even if you somehow get lucky and guess correctly, a smart interviewer will sense your nervousness and may well "subtract points" for bluffing. Here's your best answer if you simply have no idea what the correct response is to a technical stumper like the one above:
The Extended Interview
In general, it is important to be well rested for your second round of interviews but it's particularly crucial if you're scheduled to spend a great deal of time with a potential employer. You may be asked to spend the entire day at the company, with the firm picking up your lunch and dinner tab. (Who said there's no free lunch?) Some employers will, if you've travelled some distance for your interview, even put you up for the night somewhere!
Campus on the plane notwithstanding, you'll probably find in these cases that it's very difficult to be at your best for eight hours straight or more. Your face will no doubt feel like plastic after a morning of nonstop smiling, and your voice will eventually crack after a couple of hours of respectful, soothing, attentively enthusiastic tones.
Take any opportunity to "freshen up": this may mean a visit to the rest room, or could entail a brisk walk around the block alone. During those few private moments, try to relax and shake out some of your nervousness.
Mealtimes present interesting situations for the interviewee. New kinds of questions and anxieties surface: What do I order? Should I ask for an alcoholic drink? Should I relax a bit and open up be more human? Should I talk about business only or move on to outside interests? What if the menu is printed in Albanian?
