Job interview encounters "difficult and strange questions"

Encountering "difficult and weird questions" in job interviews

Encountering "difficult and weird questions" in job interviews. A positive and responsible work attitude is a potential promotion trend. Interpersonal communication in the workplace attaches great importance to details. People Quality is revealed in the details. You should also pay attention to some details during the interview. Have you learned the "difficult and strange questions" encountered in the job interview?

Encountering "hard questions" in job interviews

"If you go to visit a friend, he thinks that the gift you brought with you is for him, but it is not the case. How should you explain this to your friends?" Zhou Weiwei, who just started working in 20xx, still clearly remembers that after attending a professional interview with a company in 20xx, the examiner asked him questions with a cold smile.

At that time, Zhou Weiwei, who was studying at Shandong Technology and Business College, had just entered his senior year, but he had already clearly felt the employment pressure surrounding him: his roommates were all busy rushing for written examinations and interviews, and the examiners said strange things. The issue has also become a major focus of the "night talk".

The examiner’s question caught Zhou Weiwei by surprise. He was stunned for a moment before answering. The main idea was to politely explain to his friend and ask him to keep the gift for him first. He recalled that his answer was not smooth, and he only saw the examiner nodding expressionlessly, without comment.

In the end, Zhou Weiwei failed that interview. He still doesn't know whether he lost the election simply because he didn't answer the question well, or because his previous performance was not good enough.

Later, Zhou Weiwei participated in an interview with a real estate company in Yantai. This time, he also failed to understand the "real intention" of the manager's question. Because he was applying for the marketing department, the company manager asked him: "Do you hope that after you work, you can have more than 100,000 yuan in assets within a few years?" Zhou Weiwei felt that he couldn't exaggerate, so he thought for a while and said: "Three to five years" "

As a result, the manager was not satisfied. He said that I hope your answer is within a year. I asked this question just to see how ambitious you are and whether you have courage and courage.

Zhou Weiwei lamented that his "humility" was used in the wrong place. This company is a private enterprise. The young manager started from scratch with his own ability and perseverance after graduating from college. Naturally, he also wants to recruit graduates with the same ambition.

"It turns out that different companies have their own 'personalities', and you must understand them thoroughly before the interview." After encountering various "difficult and strange questions" in interviews, Zhou Weiwei and his roommates summed up this experience and lesson. .

Zhang Ping, majoring in automation at East China University of Science and Technology, was much luckier. According to his own words, during the interview, he "answered questions that reached the heart of his supervisor."

In the last step of the interview, the company manager asked the "sensitive" question of "salary": "What do you think of the company's salary and benefits?"

Zhang Ping was not worried. He answered slowly: "I think when working in a good company, employees don't need to think about remuneration. They just need to devote themselves to their own work and pursue advancement. This is what a competent employee should do." The supervisor listened. Hou was overjoyed and immediately patted Zhang Ping on the shoulder and said, "Just because of your words, the company will keep you!" In this way, Zhang Ping successfully entered the company of China's "communications industry giant".

Of course, Zhang Ping knew that his successful application was not solely due to the answer to this question, but this "satisfactory" answer undoubtedly made the supervisor determined to hire him.

What the examiner asks is not the “question” itself

At every campus recruitment fair, well-known foreign companies will always become the hot spots pursued by economics and management graduates, but these foreign companies have so many interviews, The difficulty of interview questions is also obvious. Among the many interviewees every year, only a handful of the best get the last laugh. In particular, famous companies such as Procter & Gamble and Microsoft often come up with "weird questions", which discourages many students.

In October 20xx, Xu Chen, a business administration major at Tianjin Business School, passed five hurdles and became the only fresh graduate of the school to receive an OFFER (letter of intent) from Procter & Gamble. He was regarded by his classmates as The “myth” of the school.

This talkative young man carefully recalled his interview experience at Procter & Gamble, which lasted for one and a half months. He felt that throughout the process, the so-called "difficulties" were a disguised test of whether he could quickly complete the job in a short period of time. Reaction, this is where he feels the most challenging.

“There are many intelligence test questions in P&G’s written examination, and some are very difficult.” Xu Chen said, there are math questions, reading comprehension questions, chart analysis questions, etc., such as calculating the speed of water flow, according to a Group data is used to analyze product sales trends, economic growth rates, etc. The number of questions is large, and 55 questions must be completed within 60 minutes to test the candidates' fuzzy computing ability, logical reasoning ability, quick reaction ability, etc. Xu Chen usually does things neatly and neatly, and he feels that this personality trait of his has become an advantage.

“After entering the interview, many questions are open-ended and cover a wide range of topics, and there are often no standard answers.” Xu Chen said that the examiner will ask you to talk about what activities you have participated in on campus. , give examples of how you demonstrate your leadership skills.

“Although the questions are common, it is not easy to answer them well. The examiner will ask questions in a chain and ask you to give as many and detailed examples as possible, so the answer must be very organized and convincing. Strength." Xu Chen later analyzed that this must be the examiner's test of the applicant's integrity, logical thinking and language organization skills.

Chen Xiao, who now works at Citibank, also encountered similar questions during interviews, such as "Who do you admire most?" and "Do you want to work in a big company or a small company?" etc. It is to understand the applicant's character, quality and ability from the side.

What impressed Chen Xiao the most was a difficult third-order equation question, which tested the candidates’ computational reasoning ability. She was unable to answer it at the time. Although she felt that there was little hope of being admitted, after the interview, she ran to the examiner unwillingly and humbly asked her the answer and solution to the question, and the examiner patiently told her.

To Chen Xiao’s surprise, he was hired! Later, she learned the examiner's evaluation of her interview performance: "Although the question was not answered, my initiative to find the answer afterwards is also very commendable." Now, she is a senior test engineer of the company who did not graduate from a prestigious university. .

"Whether the answer is right or wrong is one aspect. The key is how to answer, the skills and attitude of the answer. Moreover, many open questions have no right or wrong." Chen Xiao summed it up this way.

Behind the problem - corporate values ??

Someone on the Internet summarized the eight classic P&G interview questions. Both Chinese and English versions are widely circulated, such as "Please describe what you did in a short period of time." "The process and results of making a decision" and so on, and "Why are manhole covers round" was once a classic "strange question" of Microsoft. While many students are preparing carefully, they also question whether it is necessary to examine such difficult problems and whether they can really effectively select outstanding talents.

“Actually, all of P&G’s interview questions revealed P&G’s core values, which are ownership, leadership, integrity, self-improvement and competitiveness.” After joining P&G, Xu Chen gradually understood the interviewer He found that the qualities tested during the interview were almost all necessary for the job.

Xu Chen has previously participated in interviews with eight large companies, including PepsiCo, Skyworth, and Vanke. He is familiar with corporate interview patterns and found that although many large companies require very few people, they still invest so much every year. The manpower and material resources come to colleges and universities to recruit, which can be said to be "well-intentioned", just to recruit ideal employees who meet the company's needs and have a sense of identity with the corporate culture.

When he first started working, Xu Chen was surprised to find that his colleagues in the "Customer Business Development" department were all cut out of the same mold. They were all cheerful and talkative, able to quickly adapt to the new environment, and welcomed the new environment enthusiastically. Challenge, I will have a strong sense of belonging and identity when I come here. When I go to other departments, I feel that it is a different style. For example, the employees in the "Human Resources Department" all appear kind, steady, generous and logical. tight.

Xu Chen understood that through the difficult interview rounds, P&G had indeed recruited the people the company needed.

Mr. Peng is the department director of a pharmaceutical development company in Shanghai. In early November 20xx, he went to Peking University, Tsinghua University and Beijing Institute of Technology to recruit graduates. He has solid professional knowledge, strong communication skills and good foreign language skills. The student is very interested.

When it comes to interviews, Mr. Peng said that in addition to professional knowledge, he will also ask some open-ended questions, because even for science and engineering students, companies also value the students’ comprehensive qualities, such as work attitude and personal conduct. Even personality preference, see whether the student's values ??are consistent with the company's values.

"Problems" misunderstood by applicants

Two years ago, Huang Tao, a journalism graduate, applied for the online editor position at Shanda Software Company. He clearly remembered that question Facing a question that stumped him, the examiner asked: "Many parents hate online games for poisoning young people. The company has launched a new game software. How can you convince the parents of their children and successfully sell the game to them?"

Huang Tao thought hard while talking. After talking a lot, the examiner told him that he was very good at expressing himself, but he failed to grasp the core of the problem throughout the process and kept talking about the periphery. Huang Tao recalled that the examiner's evaluation was indeed on point, and he couldn't even convince himself.

These types of questions are classified as "hard questions" by job applicants. Students who are approaching graduation and eager to find a job also generally have a fear of "hard questions".

Is this type of question considered a "hard problem"? Many people think differently. Xu Chen said that except for some tricky intellectual questions that may be asked in recruitment interviews in the IT industry, most companies do not deliberately create "difficulties" to make things difficult for applicants.

Two years later, Huang Tao became the account director of a clothing magazine in Shanghai. In May 20xx, he also went to colleges and universities for recruitment. He was defeated by "difficult questions" during the interview. Some so-called "hard problems" test others.

"For example, a commonly used skill in computer operation is actually very simple, but many people can't answer it, which means they are not careful enough." Huang Tao said, Microsoft's classic question "How long is the subway in Shanghai?" It has stumped a large number of applicants. In fact, this is not a problem. It can reflect a person's insight and whether he can understand the nuances. Huang Tao once asked a job applicant who was born in the 1970s, if your department head is a "post-80s generation", how do you plan to get along with him? As a result, the applicant could not answer the question. Huang Tao himself was born in 19xx. He thinks this question is of great significance. Of course, he understands that such questions are likely to be blacklisted by applicants as "problems."

“The transition from candidate to recruiter made me feel that the core of the interview is that the examiner is not trying to deliberately stump you, but is trying every possible means to see your deep-seated strengths and weaknesses or problems through questions. Personality characteristics to determine whether you are suitable for the company's needs. "Huang Tao said that when interviewing candidates, every question is carefully conceived. In addition to listening to the answers, he also pays attention to capturing the eye movements of the candidates, because this can reflect the situation. Their experience, psychology and even personality.

The examiner hopes to find out the true qualities of the applicant

Huang Tao recalled that when he participated in the interview with Shanda Company, Shanda was ready to hire him because of his good overall performance. At that time, the examiner asked about the salary requirements, and Huang Tao did not avoid it. , Frankly speaking, it can be considered if it costs more than 3,000 yuan. Although this standard is too high for an undergraduate, the examiner did not reject it outright. Instead, he said that it is not too much for young people to hope for a high salary, but you have to prove to me that your ability is worthy of the company paying you so much. .

In order to successfully pass the company interview, many students will deliberately answer questions according to the examiner's preferences when answering questions, especially in some behavioral interviews and pressure interviews. For example, students who are usually quiet try their best to behave A very cheerful and outgoing person who likes to work alone pretends to be a strong team player. A classmate who is good at execution rather than decision-making says how much his leadership skills are appreciated...

Mr. Peng, who is an interviewer He is deeply aware of this phenomenon. He believes that there is no need for graduates to deliberately "please the examiner" because different companies have different corporate cultures, which are all reflected in the interview questions. If they fail to pass, it means that the student is not suitable for the company. Even if you are lucky enough to be hired through "pretending", you may feel inadequate in future work.

“Integrity is crucial in interviews, otherwise it is easy to be self-defeating.” Xu Chen believes that sometimes, applicants’ insincere answers can be overturned by their subconscious expressions and movements, and the company will be more Graduates are expected to show their true colors during interviews.

“The job interview is a two-way selection process. The company is choosing you, and you are also choosing the company.” Huang Tao feels that many outstanding graduates are repeatedly frustrated in their job search, sometimes not because of their own abilities, but just because of their own abilities. The two sides are just not suitable for each other in many aspects.

When an automotive network company in Beijing was recruiting, its CEO often complained that it received nearly a thousand resumes from graduates every month, but it was difficult to find even one satisfactory talent.

Huang Tao thinks this kind of thing is not surprising, because when companies interview, they hope to recruit people who can best meet the needs of the company in terms of professional skills and mentality and personality, but in fact it is not easy. "So, on the surface, the interview questions are becoming more and more difficult, and graduates are struggling to cope with them, but the success rate is not high. This phenomenon is not surprising."

When dealing with job interviews, Xu Chen suggested that everyone should have a clear positioning and rational evaluation of themselves, have a deeper understanding of the company, show their true colors with a peaceful mind, and pursue what suits them. Instead of blindly following the trend or forcing yourself.

Selection of "Problems"

Question 1: How long is the subway in Shanghai?

Question 2: How many ways are there to sell the paper cup you drink from for $20?

Question 3: You misjudged the price of a product worth 15,000 yuan and only sold it for 1,500 yuan. How can you get it back without offending the customer?

Question 4: If you had unlimited time and financial resources, how would you use them?

Question 5: Tell me something about yourself that is not reflected on your resume. Question 6: When a problem occurs, should we hold a meeting first to discuss what the problem is or should we solve the problem first and then hold a meeting? Why? Question 7: If PPFU (short for Greater China President) met you in the elevator and asked you to give a one-minute interview report, what would you say? (Chinese and English)

Question 8: Why did you leave your previous company?

Question 9: If you were to run this company, what would you do differently?

Question 10: What would you do if our competitor offered you a job? (Xing Baiying)