Here's an excerpt from Firefish Software's blog that we thought would be particularly relevant to both candidates and employers: So you have matched a client to a candidate and it’s full steam ahead to the interview stage. Delightful as it would be to pass the buck and leave them to it, a successful placement begins with a successful interview. That’s where you, as the recruiter, have to step in. Some simple, yet often overlooked advice could be all your candidate needs to nail their interview and win a successful placement. Background Checks Aren’t Just for Employers; Candidates Must Do Their Homework Too No matter what kind of recruitment you specialise in, your clients wouldn’t dream of interviewing a candidate without the necessary background checks. The trouble is candidates don’t always realise that this is a two-way street. To be successful at interview, they need to do their homework on the employer too. Considering that Google will give you most search results in less than half a second, candidates really have no excuse for not having an outstanding answer to the question, “So, what can you tell us about the company?”. Yet, somehow, this question frequently reduces otherwise brilliant candidates to a stuttering mess. Thankfully it’s an easy one to prevent though. Give your candidate the rundown on your client and encourage them to do some further independent research before the interview. Even if your candidate’s knowledge is straight out of the first three Google hits, the fact that they have shown enough interest and intuition to check out a potential employer is priceless to interviewers. You can read the full post over on Firefish's recruitment blog.