Context Slice Interview Prep Research Framework
Researching a company isn't about memorizing facts—it's about building conversational ammunition. The goal is walking into an interview able to ask insightful questions and connect your experience to their actual challenges.
What to Research
Focus on five areas that generate interview value:
Company Fundamentals — What they do, how they make money, who their customers are. This is table stakes. You should be able to explain their business model in two sentences without sounding like you're reading a press release.
Recent News — Product launches, funding rounds, leadership changes, partnerships, challenges. Recent events are conversation starters. "I saw you just launched X—how has the team been adapting?" shows engagement.
Leadership and Team — Who runs the company, who runs your potential team. LinkedIn the people you'll meet. Understanding their backgrounds helps you tailor your narrative and find connection points.
Culture Signals — How they describe themselves (values pages, job postings, employee reviews, social media presence). Look for patterns in language. A company that emphasizes "move fast" differs from one emphasizing "thoughtful decisions."
Competitive Landscape — Who their competitors are, what differentiates them, recent industry trends. This enables sophisticated questions: "How do you think about positioning against [competitor's approach]?"
Research Methodology
Start broad, then drill into what matters for your role. Use Exa to search for company name plus context terms: "[company] recent news," "[company] culture," "[company] interview," "[company] [product area]."
Prioritize recency—news from the last 6 months carries more interview relevance than two-year-old funding announcements. Flag anything that happened in the last month for potential conversation openers.
Cross-reference sources. One Glassdoor review is noise; five reviews mentioning the same concern is signal. TechCrunch articles pair well with blog posts from the company itself.
Generating Interview Questions
Research naturally generates questions in three categories:
Clarifying Questions — Fill gaps in your understanding. "I read about your expansion into X market—what's driving that strategy?" These show preparation without being sycophantic.
Role-Specific Questions — Connect research to the job. "Given the recent product pivot, how do you see this role's priorities evolving?" This demonstrates strategic thinking.
Culture Questions — Probe for fit. "I noticed your team values [specific value]—can you give me an example of how that shows up day-to-day?" Better than generic "tell me about the culture."
Output Format
When preparing someone for an interview, produce a structured prep sheet:
- Company Snapshot — One paragraph: what they do, stage/size, recent trajectory
- Recent Developments — 3-5 bullet points of news from the last 6 months with dates
- Leadership — Key executives and their backgrounds, especially anyone the candidate might meet
- Culture Signals — Patterns from how they describe themselves and how employees describe them
- Competitive Context — Main competitors and how this company differentiates
- Suggested Questions — 5-7 questions the candidate could ask, mixing clarifying, role-specific, and culture
- Talking Points — 3-4 ways the candidate could connect their experience to company challenges
If the user mentioned a specific role they're interviewing for, weight the output toward that role's concerns.