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Unfortunately this is not always an option as many professional positions are posted as confidential. Its only when they call you for an interview do you learn the company's details. Good luck being prepared if its a telephone interview or an in person interview scheduled for the next day. I agree with you however.
It's rare that your first contact is much more than a cursory conversation of what you are doing now and why you want to leave, or when are you available. Even if its only a day you can get a lot of research done. You are right that many professional jobs are confidential, but i have found that you can almost always find them.
Try googling phone numbers, emails and address, you'd be surprised how many times that will lead to the company through similar ads or other online postings. Also, one I like to use is finding a unique section of the job description with 6 to 10 words and then searching on that exact string (with quotation marks). Many times you will find this job description posted in other places and often it leads to the company.
I am still trying to get a full time job and leave semi retirement:
I had a job interview yesterday and the man who interviewed me said they had received well over 200 resumes for the position I had applied to and for some reason he had printed them all out and put them in a huge pile for everyone to see.
After some small talk he asked me the first interview question which floored me:
"Look at the pile of resumes we got for the job opening (pointing at the huge pile). Tell me what makes you special and able to be more qualified than all these applicants."
How would you reply to this challenging question?
if you really want to floor them you need to do a bit of research about the company before you go there. Based on the job description you'd have in mind what they are looking for and then your answer should just outline your qualities that should fit right in with their needs, of course praising yourself, your diligence, your experience exactly in what they need. This is what makes you special: you're what they are looking for and other aren't but you have to present yourself in a very convincing way.
This question is often the most important question you will be asked. Lets imagine that there are 4 equally qualified persons that could due to education and background, be the ideal person for the job. The problem then comes down to finding if the person being interviewed:
1: Can think on their feet, and are not easily shaken up. A test to see how fast a thinker you are. If this question throws you off your game, it will be assumed when a problem is thrown at you, you will be flustered.
2: You are being asked to give a reference on yourself. If you can't come up with an acceptable answer, you are not the one they will hire.
3: It gives the interviewer a look at the real you.
If there are several people all equally qualified, the one selected will be the one that impresses the interviewer the most with the answer to this one question. It tells the interviewer what type of person you are, apart from your technical ability to do the job.
This is not something new, as I was asked a similar question to this in 1945, when being interviewed for my first part time job when a freshman in high school. Pete liked my answer, and I got the job on the spot. Later found out that several boys had applied, but had failed to impress him with their answer.
I have asked versions of this question many times, when on the hiring side of the table.
That sounds like a softball question to me. What makes people special is their soft skills, that's where I would have focused.
Having the pile of resumes in front and all that, well, that's just an elitist and idiotic way to ask the question. It's like he was welcoming you to bash on others rather than all about your own strengths and uniqueness. Kind of a fail.
Because of my military background I follow directions unquestionably and am totally dedicated to being a team player and doing what's best for my employer. <-- my answer.
I definitely agree that the question is your 30-second elevator pitch. However, I also punt that question right back to the employer. I'm sure many feel like this is a risky move but I'm not interested in being a cog / filling an empty hole that they're willing to give to anyone. If an organization cannot articulate how they can grow/elevate me, it will not be a good relationship. It also gives me an indication if they've listened to anything I've said based on them tailoring the answer to me.
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