外企面试常用语

1. So, tell me a little about yourself.

You

don’t

need

to

explain

everything

from

birth

to

present

day.

Relevant

facts about education, your career and your current life situation are

fine.

2. Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?

This should be

a straightforward

question to answer, but it can trip you

up.

Presumably

you

are

looking

for

a

new

job

(or

any

job)

because

you

want

to advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as a

person and an employee. It’s not a good ide

a to mention money here, it

can

make

you

sound

mercenary.

And

if

you

are

in

the

unfortunate

situation

of

having

been

downsized,

stay

positive

and

be

a***rief

as

pos***le

about

it. If you were fired, you’ll need a good explanation. But once again,

stay positive.

3. Tell me what you know about this company.

Do

your

homework

before

you

go

to

any

interview.

Whether

it’***eing

the

VP of marketing or

the mailroom

clerk,

you should know

about the company

or business you’re going to work for. Has this company been

in the news

lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about? Do the

background

work,

it

will

make

you

stand

out

as

someone

who

comes

prepared,

and is genuinely interested in the company and the job.

4. Why do you want to work at X Company?

This

should

be

directly

related

to

the

last

question.

Any

research

you’ve

done

on

the

company

should

have

led

you

to

the

conclusion

that

you’d

want

to

work

there.

After

all,

you’re

at

the

interview,

right?

Put

some

thought

into

this

answer

before

you

have

your

interview,

mention

your

career

goals

and highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

5. What relevant experience do you have?

Hopefully

if

you’re applying

for

this

position

you

have

bags

of

related

experience, and if that’s the case you should

mention it all. But if

you’re switching careers or trying something a little different, your

experience may initially not look like it’s matching up. That’s when

you

need

a

little

honest

creativity

to

match

the

experiences

required

with

the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just

need

to

show

how

customer

service

skills

can

apply

to

internal

management

positions, and so on.

6.

If

your

previous

co-workers

were

here,

what

would

they

say

about

you?

Ok, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people from your

past are going to say you’re a boring A

-

hole, you don’t need to bring

that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specific quotes in

mind. “They’d say I was a hard worker” or even better “John Doe has

always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-

solver he’d ever

met.”

7. Have you done anything to further your experience?

This

could

include

anything

from

night

classes

to

hobbies

and

sports.

If

it’s related, it’s worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do

with

further education is great, but maybe you’re spending time on a home

improvement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, time

management and motivation.

8. Where else have you applied?

This is a good way to hint that you’re in demand, wit

hout sounding like

you’re whoring yourself all over town. So, be honest and mention a few

other

companie***ut

don’t

go

into

detail.

The

fact

that

you’re

seriously

looking

and

keeping

your

options

open

is

what

the

interviewer

is

driving

at.

9. How are you w

hen you’re working under pressure?

Once again, there are a few ways to answer thi***ut they should all be

positive.

You

may

work

well

under

pressure,

you

may

thrive

under

pressure,

and

you

may

actually

PREFER

working

under

pressure.

If

you

say

you

crumble

like

aged

blue

cheese,

this

is

not

going

to

help

you

get

your

foot

in

the

door.

10. What motivates you to do a good job?

The

answer

to

this

one

is

not

money,

even

if

it

is.

You

should

be

motivated

by life’s noble pursuits.

You want recognition

for a job

we

ll done. You

want

to

become

better

at

your

job.

You

want

to

help

others

or

be

a

leader

in your field.

11. What’s your greatest strength

?

This is your chance to shine. You’re being asked to explain why you are

a

great

employee,

so

don’t

hold

back

and

stay

d

o

stay

positive.

You

could

be someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing

problem

solver

or

someone

with

extraordinary

attention

to

detail.

If

your

greatest strength, however, is to drink anyone under the table or get a

top score on Mario Kart,

keep it to

yourself. The

interviewer is looking

for work-related strengths.

12. What’s your biggest weakness

?

If you’re completely honest, you may be kicking yourself in the butt.

If

you

say

you

don’t

have

one,

you’re

obviously

lying.

This

is

a

horrible

question

and

one

that

politicians

have

become

masters

at

answering.

They

say things like “I’m

perhaps too committed

to my work

and don’t spend

enough

time

with

my

family.”

Oh,

there’s

a

fireable

offense.

I’ve

even

heard

“I

think

I’m

too

good

at

my

job,

it

can

often

make

people

jealous.”

Please,

let’s

keep

our

feet

on

the

ground.

If

you’re

asked

this

question,

give a small, work-

related flaw that you’re working hard to improve.

Example: “I’ve been told I occasionally focus on details and miss the

bi

gger picture, so I’ve been spending time laying out the complete

project every day to see my overall progress.”

13. Let’s talk about salary. What are you looking for?

Run for cover! This is one tricky game to play in an interview. Even if

you

know

the

sala

ry

range

for

the

job,

if

you

answer

first

you’re

already

showing all your cards.

You want as

much as pos***le,

the employer wants

you for as little as you’re willing to take. Before you apply, take a

look at for a good idea of what someone with your specific

experience

should

be

paid.

You

may

want

to

say,

“well,

that’s

something

I’ve thought long and

hard about and

I think someone

with my experience

should get between X & Y.” Or, you could be sly and say, “right now,

I’m more interested in talkin

g more about what the position can offer

my career.” That could at least buy you a little time to scope out the

situation. But if you do have a specific figure in mind and you are

confident

that

you

can

get

it,

I’d

say

go

for

it.

I

have

on

many

occasions,

and every time I got very close to that figure (both below and sometimes

above).

14. Are you good at working in a team?

Unless you have the I.Q. of a houseplant, you’ll always answer YES to

this one. It’s the only answer. How can anyone function inside an

organization if they are a loner? You may want to mention what part you

like

to

play

in

a

team

though;

it’s

a

great

chance

to

explain

that

you’re

a natural leader.

15. Tell me a suggestion you have made that was implemented.

It’s important here to focus on

the word “implemented.” There’s

nothing wrong with having a thousand great ideas, but if the only place

they live is on your notepad what’s the point? Better still, you need

a

good

ending.

If

your

previous

company

took

your

advice

and

ended

up

going

bankr

upt,

that’s

not

such

a

great

example

either.

Be

prepared

with

a

story

about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and

considered successful.

16. Has anything ever irritated you about people you’ve worked with?

Of course, you have a l

ist as long as your arm. But you can’t say that,

it shows you a***eing negative and difficult to work with. The best way

to answer this one is to think for a while and then say something like

“I’ve always got on just fine with my co

-

workers actually.”