[quesera]

This is canonical advice, but I think it's often taken too far, or over-interpreted.

The vast majority of companies are not special or interesting. And the vast majority of candidates are the same. Making the candidate pretend to think there's something special about your company makes you look foolish.

If you water it down to "You need someone with my skills, you're located conveniently (or remote), you pay reasonably well, and (so far at least) I don't hate you.", then sure. That's fine, but wanting more is often self-deluding.

OTOH, showing some initiative and a vague understanding of what the company does? OK sure. Candidate should have read the home page and maybe About Us. If only to establish that they have determined the company passes the first couple stages of their filter and that the conversation is not a total waste of time.

Addendum: The above is for staff positions, where I interview most candidates. I also do peer interviews at the leadership level, and expectations at that level are definitely higher and include the desire to help set the tone for the organization -- which should trend toward specialness, but presuming that you've succeeded in the eyes of a candidate is, well, presumptuous. :-)