"What do you know about this company?" -interview question

[iHeartNICU]

I'm a 3rd semester nursing student and in about a year will be looking for my first RN position. On this BB I have read many posts on interview questions and one is something like "What do you know about this company?" What exactly is this asking? The mission statement of the hospital, what you have heard about the hospital, etc. I just want to make sure when I go to an interview I am not totally off track with my answer. Thanks.

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

I didn't (and still don't) know the mission statement, but it was a local community hospital so I just told the recruiter what I knew about it.

I got the job too.

Blee

[elkpark]

I don't think facilities are looking for any one, specific, "trick" answer when they ask that type of question -- they are wanting to know if you have any real information about the facility that would have led you to be specifically interested in working for them, or have you just applied more or less at random because there was an opening.

It's so easy nowadays to review a hospital's website and get all kinds of info; good responses to that question might be along the lines of, "I'm really interested in working here because it's the only magnet hospital in the area," "I know that SDA hospitals have a really good reputation," "This hospital is really known for its cardiac program and that's the specialty I'm most interested in," "I've heard such good things about your orientation program for new grads," that sort of thing. Something that shows you have a personal interest in that facility versus all the other potential employers in the area.