How do I research a company before an interview?

The 4-source pattern. First, their careers or engineering blog — read one recent post in depth. Second, founder/CEO LinkedIn — read their last 3 posts to understand current priorities and tone. Third, the most recent product launch or company announcement — usually on their website's 'news' or in TechCrunch / Sifted / industry press. Fourth, Glassdoor and Reddit (carefully) for unfiltered employee perspective.

What to extract. One specific non-obvious fact you can reference in the interview. 'I noticed your engineering blog post on idempotency in withdrawal flows — that's the kind of system rigour I'd want to be part of building' is the kind of detail that lifts you above 80% of candidates.

What's not worth memorising. Their full About page (interviewers wrote it). Founder bios beyond what's relevant to the role. Old news (anything older than 12 months). Press release language they wouldn't actually use in conversation.

Glassdoor calibration. Glassdoor reviews skew negative — most happy employees don't write reviews. Look for patterns rather than specific complaints. If 5 reviews independently mention 'great work-life balance' or 'high-pressure culture', that's signal. One review either way is noise.

Reddit caveat. Subreddits like r/cscareerquestions, r/UKjobs, r/recruitinghell sometimes have specific employer threads worth reading — especially for specific teams or hiring managers. Ignore generic complaints; look for specific recent threads with substantive replies.