SHORT ANSWER
Get a basic understanding of what the business does, then focus on what could change your decision: whether the employer and the contact are genuine, recent changes affecting the team, why the role exists, and the real work arrangement. Set yourself a timebox, such as half an hour, and turn anything you cannot find publicly into a question.
Much company research advice is really interview preparation. That is useful later. Before you apply, the question is narrower: is there anything about this employer that would make you not want the job, or not want to send your details?
1. Understand the business in a few minutes
What it sells, to whom, roughly how big it is, and where the team you would join fits. That is enough context to read everything else sensibly.
2. Check registration, and verify the contact separately
ABN Lookup and ASIC’s registers show whether a business or company is registered and some basic details. That is a registration check only. It does not prove the business is trading, that the person contacting you really represents it, or anything about its finances or culture.
Verify the contact independently: find the employer’s own website or switchboard yourself rather than using links or numbers in an unexpected message. Scamwatch lists common signs of job and employment scams, such as being asked to pay money or move to a private chat app.
3. Look for recent changes affecting the team
Recent news about restructures, mergers, funding or redundancies, and whether the same role has been advertised repeatedly. Neither is decisive, but both are fair questions to raise.
4. Why does the role exist, and how will it really work?
A new role means you will be shaping it; a replacement raises the question of why the last person moved on. Work arrangements are often set team by team. These are rarely public, so expect to ask rather than find them online.
Questions to ask
- Is this a new role or a replacement?
- Has the team changed recently, for example through a restructure or merger?
- What is the work arrangement for this team specifically?
A worked example (fictional)
A fictional Perth energy services firm advertises a Program Manager. ABN Lookup shows an active registration, which the candidate notes as a registration check only. News shows a merger completed six months ago, and the role has been advertised twice this year. The candidate keeps the role at Consider and asks whether it is a new role created after the merger or a replacement. The answer decides whether they apply.
If the ad comes from a recruiter and names no employer, see recruiter ads and confidential employers.