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I'm an intern at a tech company. I might eventually apply there for a full time job.

I found my company's list of interview questions on our Intranet documentation. I'm not sure whether or not it is a good idea to review these sorts of questions or gain information about how my company conducts full-time interviews.

Is it appropriate to try to research the details of a companies hiring process while working there as an intern? Is there a good way to approach this to be able to better interview for a potential FT position?

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    Could you be a little more explicit as to how you "found" the list of questions? Was it lying around unsecured on a server which you had no business poking around in? Was it a sheet of paper lying on a senior's desk? Was it linked to in the company intranet?
    – Stephan Kolassa
    Jun 19, 2015 at 0:04
  • @StephanKolassa It's part of the company's internal documentation.
    – user37283
    Jun 19, 2015 at 1:41
  • Actually, I guess that doesn't tell you much. I was aimlessly browsing the company wiki and came across stuff about interviews and interviewer guidelines.
    – user37283
    Jun 19, 2015 at 1:49
  • Hi @user37283 - I clarified your question a bit and made it a bit more of a question. If this changes your intent too much feel free to edit and update it!
    – enderland
    Jun 19, 2015 at 2:34
  • 4
    If it was important, they would've restricted access to the file(s). Go ahead and read them.
    – Jack
    Jun 19, 2015 at 3:34

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Is it appropriate to try to research the details of a companies hiring process while working there as an intern?

Unless prohibited by your internship agreement, it's perfectly appropriate to read anything accessible to all interns, and to learn whatever you can from your readings.

Is there a good way to approach this to be able to better interview for a potential FT position?

During your internship, you should learn everything you can about the company, the people, the jobs. Read, network with others, ask lots of questions, work hard.

When interviewing interns for full-time positions, hiring managers expect them to know more about the internals of the company, and to have a leg up on applicants who haven't been interns there.

Be aware that the interview questions document you read may not apply when interviewing interns. The interviewer may ask different questions, since you are more of a "known quantity" and have internal knowledge that others wouldn't have. Still, it shouldn't hurt to read and understand it.

(Note that it might not be acceptable to disclose any of this information outside of the company.)

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  • Also keep in mind that your company might not be aware that they're exposing this information to interns - and bringing it up, now or during the actual interview, could open up a whole different can of worms.
    – Zibbobz
    Jun 19, 2015 at 17:51
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It's perfectly acceptable - in fact this is why you are supposed to do internship at the first place!

I interned at one of top tech employees, and I made sure I read everything accessible to interns on intranet which would help me with my FT application, and I landed the job! Companies also don't mind this practice, since company-specific knowledge is valued by companies (shows loyalty, motivation, etc.). It's a win-win situation.

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