My new-grad correspondent, Emily, wrote to ask me about company research. I always tell job-seekers to research the companies they are approaching. It’s ESSENTIAL. I don’t think that there is any better or clearer differentiator between average candidates and outstanding ones, than the level of understanding of the company’s business that each candidate brings.

Let me be more specific. Here are ten things you should find out about a company BEFORE you go on a job interview (and in the best case, before you compose a written overture to the company):

1) what their business is - not at the level that you can spout it back to them (like, “SAP makes enterprise software”) but at the level that you can EXPLAIN it in layman’s terms. What is enterprise software, exactly? You’d better be able to answer that question if you want to get a second interview with SAP.

2) who their competitors are.

3) approximately how large the company is (in dollar sales) and where its major plants/office are located.

4) the ownership of the company - is it private, is it publicly traded?

5) the leadership of the company - at least a little bit of knowledge about the CEO and other chief officers - bring notes to the interview if you need to.

6) BIG NEWS

7) The major divisions or other organizational splits in the company.

8) A bit about the company’s history. Was it founded last year, or in 1877?

9) Industry news that’s not specific to this employer: for instance, a big regulatory change or a big merger that didn’t include “your” company.

10) Some sense, however elementary, of how the company competes in the marketplace: on cost? product features? what does your research tell you?

You'll find that it's very helpful to create a document (an Excel spreadsheet if you're a rows-and-columns type, a Word document if you're more comfortable with a paragraph format) to capture this information. Your storehouse of company knowledge will be invaluable not only ON the job interview, but in GETTING the job interview in the first place - if you interject some relevant datapoints into your cover letter, too.

Good luck!

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 HR VP, an entrepreneur and workplace expert, and the founder and CEO of WorldWIT, the world's largest online network for professional women (http://www.worldwit.org). Liz's Job Jungle blog is full of job-search wisdom and advice (http://www.worldwit.org/blogs.aspx). Liz lives in Boulder, Colorado.

• True North of Your Career Search: Creating a Professional Mission Statement


• How To Ask For A Raise: Do You Deserve A Pay Raise?


• Navigating the Academic Job Market


• Negotiating Salary And Other Aspects of The Job Offer


• One Consultant Does Not Fit All: Hiring the Right Consultant


• How To Sell Yourself At Work And Get Noticed


• Want A Better Job? Try Working For Nothing!


• Salary Negotiation is a Sticky Subject


• Job Interview Skills - Going for a Job


• Executive Recruiter Tip: They Dont Work For YOU!


• Internet Use At Work: Does Your Employer Allow Personal Internet Use?


• Planning Your Job Search


• Interview Skill Building with Show and Tell Materials


• Up Is Not the Only Way


• Advantages of Self Employment