What you should do before an interview?

Before you actually go for an interview, there are a few things that you need to take care of.
Having done these things, they will give you an upper edge over other candidates who have not taken care of these points. Of course, your selection will depend on your technical skills and your soft skills, but if have spent time over the issues mentioned below, you will have a huge advantage over other candidates. The interviewer will be impressed with your knowledge and your attitude to look into what you are entering into.

Visit the company's website and make a note of the following things. They will make you the most preferred candidate the company may want.

1. Find out all the areas in which the company operates.
Have a look at the company website and find out what fields the company operates. It could be telecom, web design, e-commerce, custom projects, intranets, etc.

2. Find out the skills the company works with
See the various skills that the company uses to build its solutions. They could be software development tools, design tools, testing tools, documentation tools, etc.

3. Always read the About Us page
This page will give you an insight about the company. It will tell you what the company is about, what the company believes in, what the goals of the company are, etc. This page will help you analyze what you could expect from the company.

4. Find out who leads the company
Read about who leads the company. Read about who has lead this company in the past. Read about what changes did they make when they lead the company. Search the internet for these leaders. Look up extra information about them.

5. Read about the history of the company
Find out what the history of the company is. Find out if there were any mergers in the
past. Find out if the company split into smaller companies. Find out the key events in the history of the company like getting the first BIG project, getting ISO or CMM certification, etc

6. Read about the goals of the company.
Read about what the company wants to do in the future. Read what the company wants to achieve. If the company does not advertise its goals on its website, make it a point to find about them in your interview. This will convince the interviewer that you in interested in growth.

7. What money is the company making?
Go to the press releases section and view the company's annual report. Read how much the company makes in one year. See where the company spends its money. If the company provides any article on its expenses, go through it.

8. Find out about training
Find out if the company considers training its staff with the latest technology. This
will explain of the company is concerned about its employees. This will mean that the company wants to retain them. This means the company is building its employees. See how much the company explains about its training. The nature of the article will tell how much importance is given to training, and thus to employees.

9. Do they have an employee section?
A presence of this section on a company website means that employees are valued at the company. This section depicts the life of the employees at the company. It gives insights about what they do, how they work, what are their targets, how they are treated, what benefits do they get, etc.

10. How many offices do they have?
Read about all the locations in which the company has its offices. Read if work is distributed in these offices. For example one office could handle sales, another might target development. But be careful, some companies might just have an office in a foreign location with no work. Be advised, not everyone is true at what they say!

11. Check the news section
Always check the news section of the company. If you don’t see anything new for sometime, understand that there is not much happening there worth mention!

12. Check the validity of testimonials
Never totally believe the testimonials that appear on a website. If you are prepared to take the trouble, contact the person who has submitted the testimonial and ask for his opinion again. This will prove whether the testimonial is genuine and if the person still believes in his testimonial. Many companies just come up with names and submit testimonials from fictitious people. Do not let this fool you!

13. Take it out of the employee's mouth
Without pressing too much, try to ask an existing employee about the company, work and values. People who face it, know it. And don’t decide on one opinion, always listen to three or more people in different departments and then arrive at a conclusion.

14. Finally, Search the internet
Just perform a search with the company name. See where they feature. Read what is
written about them. See what other people feel about them. Feel their presence on the web.

Agreed that all this might take time, but I assure you, its worth the effort. This will enlighten you on how the company is before you are actually are a part of it. This reading will also assist you in making a list of questions to ask the interviewer if you are given the chance.
Be prepared and you will surely outshine!
All the best!