To research a company before an interview, spend about an hour pulling its basics from ACRA and the company website, check what current and past staff say on Glassdoor and LinkedIn, read recent news about it, then map everything back to the actual role you applied for. The goal is two or three specific things you can mention so the interviewer knows you did the work.
Most candidates skip this. They read the homepage for five minutes, then walk in and say "I want to work here because it's a great company." That answer is forgettable. This guide gives you a concrete checklist, written for Singaporeans aged 18 to 28: poly and university students, fresh graduates, and people interviewing for the first time after national service.
Why company research wins interviews
Interviewers in Singapore screen dozens of candidates with similar grades and similar internships. Research is one of the few things fully inside your control that separates you. When you reference a recent product launch, a funding round, or a service line that lines up with your skills, you signal three things at once: you are genuinely interested, you can do independent work, and you are not spraying the same application at fifty firms.
It also makes you a sharper candidate. Once you understand how the company makes money and who its customers are, your answers stop being generic. You can explain why you fit this particular team rather than any team. That same research arms you to ask good questions at the end, which is itself a question interviewers use to test you.
The research checklist: where to look and what to find
Work through these sources in order. You do not need every row for a junior role, but the first four are non-negotiable. Block out an hour the evening before.
| Where to look | What to find | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Company website (About, Products, Careers) | What they sell, who they sell to, their stated mission, recent announcements | The baseline. If you cannot explain what the company does, you are not ready. |
| ACRA BizFile | Registration date, company type, registered address, paid-up capital, shareholders, directors | Tells you the real size and structure behind the marketing. A free people search shows directors. |
| Glassdoor | Salary ranges by role, interview questions other candidates faced, culture reviews | Sets your salary expectation and warns you about red flags. Read reviews with a pinch of salt. |
| LinkedIn (company page + the interviewer) | Headcount trend, recent hires, who your interviewer is and their background | Knowing whether you face an HR screener or a future manager changes how you pitch yourself. |
| Google News and the company blog | Funding, expansion, leadership changes, awards, layoffs in the last 12 months | One recent, specific fact is the strongest signal of genuine interest. |
| The job description | Required skills, reporting line, team, key responsibilities | Every skill listed is a question you can pre-empt with a real example. |
Start with the website, but read it like an investor
Open the About page, the Products or Services pages, and the Careers page. Answer three questions in your own words: what does this company sell, who pays for it, and how is it different from the firm down the road? If they have a blog or a press section, the most recent posts tell you what the company is proud of right now. That is interview gold, because it is current and specific.
Pull the company's official record from ACRA
A lot of what a company says about itself is marketing. The official register cuts through it. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, ACRA, is the national regulator of business entities in Singapore. Its transactional portal, BizFile, lets you run a free people or entity search that shows when the company was incorporated, its entity type, registered address, and the names of its directors and shareholders. A paid business profile gives more detail, but for interview prep the free search usually answers the basics: is this a five-year-old startup or a forty-year-old family firm, and who actually runs it. That context stops you from calling an established SME a "young scrappy startup" in the interview.
Check Glassdoor for salary and the actual interview
Glassdoor crowdsources employee reviews, salary data, and reported interview questions. Search the company and read three things: the salary range for the role you want, any interview experiences people have posted for that role, and the broader culture reviews. Treat reviews as signal, not gospel, because angry leavers post more than happy stayers. If five separate reviews mention the same problem, though, take it seriously and decide how you would ask about it diplomatically.
Use LinkedIn on the company and the person
On the company's LinkedIn page, look at headcount and whether it is growing or shrinking, recent posts, and who works there in roles like the one you applied for. Then, if you were given a name, look up your interviewer. You are not stalking. You are finding out their role, how long they have been there, and their background, so you can pitch yourself to the right person. If you want to tidy up your own profile before they look back at you, our guide on how to optimise your LinkedIn profile for job hunting walks through it.
Read the news, and use official labour data for context
Search the company name in Google News and on its own newsroom. You are hunting for one or two recent, concrete facts: a new product, a regional expansion, a funding round, a leadership change, or an award. Drop one naturally into your "why do you want to work here" answer and you instantly sound informed.
For market context that no single company will give you, use official sources. The Ministry of Manpower, at mom.gov.sg, publishes labour market and wage data so you can sanity-check whether an industry is hiring or contracting. The national jobs portal MyCareersFuture, run by Workforce Singapore, lists openings with typical requirements and salary ranges, which helps you benchmark what the role usually pays and what skills employers ask for. If you find the company is in a sector you want to grow into, SkillsFuture maps the skills and pathways for many Singapore industries, which is useful both for the interview and for your own plan.
Tie your research back to the role
Research only counts if you connect it to yourself. Take the job description and list every skill and responsibility it names. For each one, write down a moment from school, a CCA, an internship, part-time work, or NS where you actually used that skill. That list becomes the raw material for your answers, and it turns abstract company facts into reasons you specifically fit.
Then prepare two or three questions that come straight from your research. Strong ones reference something real:
- "I saw you launched X last quarter. How does this role contribute to that?"
- "Your team has grown a lot on LinkedIn this year. What does the team structure look like now?"
- "What does success in this role look like in the first six months?"
Questions like these prove your research without you having to announce "I did my research." Once the company homework is done, the rest of your prep is rehearsing answers and logistics, which we cover in how to prepare for a job interview in Singapore. If you also want a head start on the questions themselves, see common interview questions and answers in Singapore.
A realistic one-hour research plan
You do not have unlimited time, so spend it well. Here is a workable split for a typical junior or fresh-graduate interview the night before.
| Time | Task |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | Company website: what they sell, to whom, recent announcements |
| 10 minutes | ACRA BizFile free search: age, type, directors, size |
| 10 minutes | Glassdoor: salary range and any posted interview questions |
| 10 minutes | LinkedIn: company page and your interviewer's background |
| 5 minutes | Google News: one or two recent, specific facts |
| 10 minutes | Map the job description to your own examples and write two questions |
For a final-round or more senior interview, double the time and read deeper: the annual report if the company is listed, competitor coverage, and the backgrounds of more of the people you will meet.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I spend researching a company before an interview?
About one hour is enough for a junior or fresh-graduate role. Split it across the company website, an ACRA BizFile search, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and recent news, then spend the last ten minutes mapping the job description to your own examples. For a senior or final-round interview, spend two hours or more and read the annual report and competitor coverage as well.
Is ACRA BizFile free to use for company research?
A basic people or entity search on BizFile is free and shows incorporation date, entity type, registered address, and directors or shareholders. A full business profile is a paid product. For most interview prep the free search gives you enough to understand the company's real age, size, and structure.
What if I cannot find much information about the company?
Small or private firms leave a thin online trail, which is normal in Singapore. Lean harder on the ACRA record, the job description, and the recruiter's email or LinkedIn. It is also fair to ask thoughtful questions in the interview about the company's customers, growth plans, and how the team is structured. Asking shows interest rather than ignorance.
Should I mention my research during the interview?
Yes, but show it instead of announcing it. Weave one specific fact into your answer to "why do you want to work here," and let your questions reveal the rest. Saying "I researched your company" sounds rehearsed. Saying "I saw you opened a Jakarta office last year, how does this team support that?" proves it.
Doing the homework will not guarantee an offer, but it puts you ahead of the candidates who wing it. If you want structured practice with mock interviews and feedback from people who have actually hired, the free FINternship masterclass and apprenticeship are built for Singaporeans aged 18 to 28 who want to get job-ready fast.