Or... do you just go in a "wing it'? Most candidates our clients interview are very well prepared and that’s a good thing. Some candidates, unfortunately, are not prepared at all... C'mon people!
We live in the information age and many of you reading this article are in charge of IT or Informatics in your own shops. Why would you even consider not taking advantage of the enormous amount of data readily available simply by "clicking on your browser" and doing a little research prior to your interview?
Humor me...Let's start with the organization you will be interviewing with.
Who is the CEO, CFO, COO, CIO? Where did they work before becoming joining this organization? There is NO SUCH THING as six degrees of separation in healthcare IT. It's probably two or three in most cases. You probably know someone that knows someone that can tell you a lot of information about the person you will be interviewing with. The markets we serve and very closely connected. Do your homework
What technology do they have installed? Has the organization won any major industry awards? Are they attending an upcoming trade show (many of the attendee lists for major trade shows are posted on the Web for all attendees to view)? Who do they compete with in their local market? What is their Mission Statement? What's their long term strategy? It's probably on their website along with many of the other data points noted above. If it's a vendor you are interviewing with and they are publically traded - read the latest 10-K or 10-Q. Do your homework well in advance or arriving in their parking lot for the big interview.
By all means, go to the interview well prepared. Have 5-10 engaging questions prepared to show the hiring manager that you have done your homework.
It really shows if you are prepared and unfortunately, it works the other way as well.
