I will interview with a place in a couple of weeks. Before that, there is an open day at the place for the public to learn about what the company does etc. Before I knew I was going to be interviewed, I planned to attend the open day - it's a place I am interested in. However, I now worry that I will look creepy or desperate hanging around there before my interview.
4 Answers
Yes definitely. You absolutely should go because:
I will interview with a place in a couple of weeks. Before that, there is an open day at the place for the public to learn about what the company does etc.
Company's are more impressed by the fact that you did your homework about the place you are going to work at. This shows:
- You are serious about where you end up working
- You are well prepared, and preparation is key
- You are not just applying to any job or any company, you are specifically targetting them. And employers do not want somebody who just want to hire someone who's only interested in how much they earn but what they can offer for them (even if this isn't true but hey it works ;) ).
Before I knew I was going to be interviewed, I planned to attend the open day - it's a place I am interested in.
If you're interested in it, then definitely go for it
However, I now worry that I will look creepy or desperate hanging around there before my interview.
Absolutely not. It is encouraged to study and be prepared as mentioned above. God speed my friend :)
-
Thanks, everyone! I tried to accept this comment - a shade of difference in spelling out the rationale - but it is not working for whatever reason. Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 8:21
You should definitely go. It demonstrates a strong interest in the company. If you run into anyone there that ends up interviewing you, then that means you get two opportunities to leave a good impression. This is an opportunity! Treat the visit as if it were the interview (dress appropriately, etc). It's also an opportunity for you to gather some information that can lead to good questions to ask in the interview.
"Creepy" interviewee behavior would be contacting employees outside of official channels (social media or in person off company property) or calling/e-mailing too often.
These kinds of "open" days are invitations for the public to learn about what the company does. For now, you are part of the public, so the invitation includes you. I don't know of any managers that would look negatively on someone who attended before an interview.
Lastly, it gives you an opportunity to learn about the company from people other than your interviewers. When you're considering where to spend 1/3 (or more) of every workday, it helps to get multiple perspectives on the candidate companies. You may even learn something about the company that makes you think it's not where you want to work that wouldn't have been mentioned in the interview.
Think from a different perspective. What if you actually get to hang out with some of the staff members who are trying to hire for that position and that gives you an added advantage? I don't think anyone will really care and think you are being creepy. You never know who you will run into and how that might end up helping you to get the job.
Researching a company before interviewing there is always worthwhile. I might have gotten my first position with IBM because I knew more about IBM's brand-new research into RISC architectures than the folks interviewing me did, and could explain why I found it interesting ... and I'd learned about it not long before the interview, because I spent some time reading a bunch of IBM Research's recently published papers.
