2023年外企面試常用語

1.So,tellmealittleaboutyourself.

Youdon’tneedtoexplaineverythingfrombirthtopresentday.Relevantfactsabouteducation,yourcareerandyourcurrentlifesituationarefine.2.Whyareyoulooking(orwhydidyouleaveyoulastjob)?

Thisshouldbeastraightforwardquestiontoanswer,butitcantripyouup.Presumablyyouarelookingforanewjob(oranyjob)becauseyouwanttoadvanceyourcareerandgetapositionthatallowsyoutogrowasapersonandanemployee.It’snotagoodideatomentionmoneyhere,itcanmakeyousoundmercenary.Andifyouareintheunfortunatesituationofhavingbeendownsized,staypositiveandbea***riefaspos***leaboutit.Ifyouwerefired,you’llneedagoodexplanation.Butonceagain,staypositive.3.Tellmewhatyouknowaboutthiscompany.

Doyourhomeworkbeforeyougotoanyinterview.Whetherit’***eingtheVPofmarketingorthemailroomclerk,youshouldknowaboutthecompanyorbusinessyou’regoingtoworkfor.Hasthiscompanybeeninthenewslately?Whoarethepeopleinthecompanyyoushouldknowabout?Dothebackgroundwork,itwillmakeyoustandoutassomeonewhocomesprepared,andisgenuinelyinterestedinthecompanyandthejob.4.WhydoyouwanttoworkatXCompany?

Thisshouldbedirectlyrelatedtothelastquestion.Anyresearchyou’vedoneonthecompanyshouldhaveledyoutotheconclusionthatyou’dwanttoworkthere.Afterall,you’reattheinterview,right?Putsomethoughtintothisanswerbeforeyouhaveyourinterview,mentionyourcareergoalsandhighlightforward-thinkinggoalsandcareerplans.5.Whatrelevantexperiencedoyouhave?

Hopefullyifyou’reapplyingforthispositionyouhavebagsofrelatedexperience,andifthat’sthecaseyoushouldmentionitall.Butifyou’reswitchingcareersortryingsomethingalittledifferent,yourexperiencemayinitiallynotlooklikeit’smatchingup.That’swhenyouneedalittlehonestcreativitytomatchtheexperiencesrequiredwiththeonesyouhave.Peopleskillsarepeopleskillsafterall,youjustneedtoshowhowcustomerserviceskillscanapplytointernalmanagementpositions,andsoon.6.Ifyourpreviousco-workerswerehere,whatwouldtheysayaboutyou?

Ok,thisisnotthetimeforfulldisclosure.Ifsomepeoplefromyourpastaregoingtosayyou’reaboringA-hole,youdon’tneedtobringthatup.Staypositive,always,andmaybehaveafewspecificquotesinmind.“They’dsayIwasahardworker”orevenbetter“JohnDoehasalwayssaidIwasthemostreliable,creativeproblem-solverhe’devermet.”7.Haveyoudoneanythingtofurtheryourexperience?

Thiscouldincludeanythingfromnightclassestohobbiesandsports.Ifit’srelated,it’sworthmentioning.Obviouslyanythingtodowithfurthereducationisgreat,butmaybeyou’respendingtimeonahomeimprovementprojecttoworkonskillssuchasself-sufficiency,timemanagementandmotivation.8.Whereelsehaveyouapplied?

Thisisagoodwaytohintthatyou’reindemand,withoutsoundinglikeyou’rewhoringyourselfallovertown.So,behonestandmentionafewothercompanie***utdon’tgointodetail.Thefactthatyou’reseriouslylookingandkeepingyouroptionsopeniswhattheinterviewerisdrivingat.9.Howareyouwhenyou’reworkingunderpressure?

Onceagain,thereareafewwaystoanswerthi***uttheyshouldallbepositive.Youmayworkwellunderpressure,youmaythriveunderpressure,andyoumayactuallyPREFERworkingunderpressure.Ifyousayyoucrumblelikeagedbluecheese,thisisnotgoingtohelpyougetyourfootinthedoor.10.Whatmotivatesyoutodoagoodjob?

Theanswertothisoneisnotmoney,evenifitis.Youshouldbemotivatedbylife’snoblepursuits.Youwantrecognitionforajobwelldone.Youwanttobecomebetteratyourjob.Youwanttohelpothersorbealeaderinyourfield.11.What’syourgreateststrength?

Thisisyourchancetoshine.You’rebeingaskedtoexplainwhyyouareagreatemployee,sodon’tholdbackandstaydostaypositive.Youcouldbesomeonewhothrivesunderpressure,agreatmotivator,anamazingproblemsolverorsomeonewithextraordinaryattentiontodetail.Ifyourgreateststrength,however,istodrinkanyoneunderthetableorgetatopscoreonMarioKart,keepittoyourself.Theinterviewerislookingforwork-relatedstrengths.12.What’syourbiggestweakness?

Ifyou’recompletelyhonest,youmaybekickingyourselfinthebutt.Ifyousayyoudon’thaveone,you’reobviouslylying.Thisisahorriblequestionandonethatpoliticianshavebecomemastersatanswering.Theysaythingslike“I’mperhapstoocommittedtomyworkanddon’tspendenoughtimewithmyfamily.”O(jiān)h,there’safireableoffense.I’veevenheard“IthinkI’mtoogoodatmyjob,itcanoftenmakepeoplejealous.”Please,let’skeepourfeetontheground.Ifyou’reaskedthisquestion,giveasmall,work-relatedflawthatyou’reworkinghardtoimprove.Example:“I’vebeentoldIoccasionallyfocusondetailsandmissthebiggerpicture,soI’vebeenspendingtimelayingoutthecompleteprojecteverydaytoseemyoverallprogress.”13.Let’stalkaboutsalary.Whatareyoulookingfor?

Runforcover!Thisisonetrickygametoplayinaninterview.Evenifyouknowthesalaryrangeforthejob,ifyouanswerfirstyou’realreadyshowingallyourcards.Youwantasmuchaspos***le,theemployerwantsyouforaslittleasyou’rewillingtotake.Beforeyouapply,takealookatsalaryforagoodideaofwhatsomeonewithyourspecificexperienceshouldbepaid.Youmaywanttosay,“well,that’ssomethingI’vethoughtlongandhardaboutandIthinksomeonewithmyexperienceshouldgetbetweenX&Y.”O(jiān)r,youcouldbeslyandsay,“rightnow,I’mmoreinterestedintalkingmoreaboutwhatthepositioncanoffermycareer.”Thatcouldatleastbuyyoualittletimetoscopeoutthesituation.Butifyoudohaveaspecificfigureinmindandyouareconfidentthatyoucangetit,I’dsaygoforit.Ihaveonmanyoccasions,andeverytimeIgotveryclosetothatfigure(bothbelowandsometimesabove).14.Areyougoodatworkinginateam?

UnlessyouhavetheI.Q.ofahouseplant,you’llalwaysanswerYEStothisone.It’stheonlyanswer.Howcananyonefunctioninsideanorganizationiftheyarealoner?Youmaywanttomentionwhatpartyouliketoplayinateamthough;it’sagreatchancetoexplainthatyou’reanaturalleader.15.Tellmeasuggestionyouhavemadethatwasimplemented.

It’simportantheretofocusontheword“implemented.”There’snothingwrongwithhavingathousandgreatideas,butiftheonlyplacetheyliveisonyournotepadwhat’sthepoint?Betterstill,youneedagoodending.Ifyourpreviouscompanytookyouradviceandendedupgoingbankrupt,that’snotsuchagreatexampleeither.Bepreparedwithastoryaboutanideaofyoursthatwastakenfromideatoimplementation,andconsideredsuccessful.

16.Hasanythingeverirritatedyouaboutpeopleyou’veworkedwith?

Ofcourse,youhavealistaslongasyourarm.Butyoucan’tsaythat,itshowsyoua***eingnegativeanddifficulttoworkwith.Thebestwaytoanswerthisoneistothinkforawhileandthensaysomethinglike“I’vealwaysgotonjustfinewithmyco-workersactually.”Usethisquestionasachancetoshowthatyouareateamplayer:“TheonlypeopleIhavetroublewitharethosewhoaren’tteamplayers,whojustdon’tperform,whocomplainconstantly,andwhofailtorespondtoanyeffortstomotivatethem.”Theinterviewerisexpectingaresponsefocusedonpersonalityandpersonaldislikes.Surpriseherbydeliveringananswerthatreflectscompanyvalues17.Isthereanyoneyoujustcouldnotworkwith?

No.Well,unlessyou’retalkingaboutmurderers,racists,rapists,thievesorotherdastardlycharacters,youcanworkwithanyone.Otherwiseyoucouldbeflaggedassomeonewho’spickyanddifficultifyousay,“Ican’tworkwithanyonewho’saBronco’sfan.Sorry.”18.Tellmeaboutanyissuesyou’vehadwithapreviou***oss.

Arrgh!Ifyoufallforthisoneyoushouldn’tbehiredanyway.Theintervieweristestingyoutoseeifyou’llspeakbadlyaboutyourprevioussupervisor.Simplyanswerthisquestionwithextemetact,diplomacyandifnecessary,abigfatlossofmemory.Inshort,you’veneverhadanyissues.Theanswerto18iscompletelywrong.Iamadirectoratamajormediacompany’sinteractivedivision.OurcompanyisexpandingandIamalmostinaconstantstateofhiring.Iaskavariationofthisquestionineverysingleinterviewandifacandidatehasneverhadoneissueordisagreementwithanyone,(Istatedavariation:Iaskifithashappenedwithanyoneintheworkplace)Ipegthemasaliarandrejectthemimmediately.Iwentwellwithmypreviou***oss.Ifthereisanconflict,Iwillbeopenmindandtalkaboutfacts.oncedecisionismade,Iexecuteitwell.19.Wouldyouratherworkformoneyorjobsatisfaction?

It’snotaveryfairquestionisit?We’dalllovetogetpaidaTrump-likesalarydoingajobwelovebutthat’srareindeed.It’sfinetosaymoneyisimportant,butrememberthatNOTHINGismoreimportanttoyouthanthejob.Otherwise,you’rejustsomeonelookingforabiggerpaycheck.20.Wouldyouratherbelikedorfeared?

Ihavebeenaskedthisalot,invariousincarnations.ThefirsttimeIjustdrewablankandsaid,“Idon’tknow.”Thatwentoverbadly,butitwasrightatthestartofmycareerwhenIhadlittletonoexperience.SincethenI’verealizedthatmygenuineansweris“Neither,I’dratherberespected.”Youdon’twanttobefearedbecausefearisnowaytomotivateateam.Youmaygotthejobdonebutatwhatcost?Similarly,ifyou’reeveryone’***estfriendyou’llfinditdifficulttomaketoughdecisionsorhitdeadlines.Butwhenyou’rerespected,youdon’thavetobeacompletebastardoralameducktogetthejobdone.21.AreyouwillingtoputtheinterestsofXCompanyaheadofyourown?

Again,anothernastyquestion.Ifyousayyes,you’reacorporatewhorewhodoesn’tcareaboutfamily.Ifyousayno,you’redisloyaltothecompany.I’mafraidthatyou’llprobablyhavetosayyestothisonethough,becauseyou’retryingtobetheperfectemployeeatthispoint,andperfectemployeesdon’tcutoutearlyforJimmy’***a***allgame.itissituational.ifyou…;ifyou….Ethicsandprofessionalism

22.So,explainwhyIshouldhireyou.

AsI’msureyouknow,“becauseI’mgreat”or“Ireallyneedajob”arenotgoodanswershere.Thisisatimetogivetheemployeralaundrylistofyourgreatesttalentsthatjustsohappentomatchthejobdescription.It’salsogoodtoavoidtakingpotshotsatotherpotentialcandidateshere.Focusonyourselfandyourtalents,nototherpeople’sflaws.23.Finally,doyouhaveanyquestionstoaskme?

I’llfinishthewayIstarted,withoneofthemostcommonquestionsaskedininterviews.Thisdirectlyrelatestotheresearchyou’vedoneonthecompanyandalsogivesyouachancetoshowhoweager