How can you research and prepare for your next job application to demonstrate your knowledge and interest?

You can follow target company on LinkedIn - news, blog, press release, managers’ updates, etc. Find something that you like about their product, service or culture to praise during interview ??

I often tell my clients to focus on and write down a few things that you note in your research - company values are important because they can sometimes tell you if a company is the right fit for you. Also focus on some recent big announcements or projects - you might find this in external news articles. This will impress employers that you have taken the time to go beyond the "About us" section in their website. However, I also caution people to put the amount of effort in that makes reasonable sense. If you are applying for 3-5 entry level roles a week, it may not be appropriate to do more than surface level research. You can always do more if you are successful in progressing to the interview stage!

I always advise my clients to "know the employer better than the interviewer does." The company website is a great place to start, but focus on the "career" section of their website. They are telling you what they want you to know!

If you do not meet all the criteria for the role, you may still be able to apply. A job description is often a "wish list" from an employer for their perfect candidate, e.g. the story of a developer applying for a role that required 3+ years experience in a certain programming language that the applicant had created the year before! A general guideline would be to apply for something if you meet 75% of what they are looking for. However, if you are lacking one critical skill - i.e. health and safety knowledge for a senior H&S role, then this guideline would not apply.

Look at your past experiences working other people and companies. In what environment were you able to give your best? Teams of 2-5,5-10,10-50? What sort of working conditions were you most productive? Hybrid, remote or on-site How were you able to navigate unexpected situations

Know the industry doesn't need to be hammered that much cause your job is a key part of your life and I have found out that having your job bleed into your feed is a good way to know your industry, keep up with news, connect with others and form networks. Having your mentors, colleagues, co-workers and competitors on your feed is a great way to do passive research on which you build a more active research

It would be ideal if job descriptions or hiring managers straight up informed you of the hiring process, but most don't hence you have reach out to the hiring manager or an executive ( I prefer doing this on LinkedIn) to get more information and if they can provide a clear and cut process then it's probably not a real job posting