Dismantling of classic interview problems

Breaking down classic interview problems

Breaking down classic interview problems. People with strong interpersonal skills are also very comfortable in the workplace. No matter what they do, they must have a good sense of proportion. In the workplace You can learn a lot by following the senior experts, such as people who are better than others, answers to classic interview questions, and things in the workplace. Dismantling of classic interview problems 1

According to a survey recently released by the Beijing University Graduate Employment Guidance Center, the order of employment basis for college students is: first, interview results, second, written test scores, and third, resume , the fourth is relationship.

Experts suggest that "interviews" play a huge role in college students' job search and recruitment, and should be highly valued by job-seeking college students.

" Please introduce you and your family."

"What are your expertise and hobbies?"

"You What foreign languages ??do you know and how proficient are you? ”

If the company’s arrangements are not in line with your wishes, are you willing to comply?

Compared with the common questions in these interviews, the most difficult questions for job-seeking college students are the questions that human resources managers inadvertently raise during the interview process. These questions are hidden in some common questions, and if you don't answer, you may lose all your previous jobs. Relevant experts from the Graduate Employment Guidance Center of Peking University summarized 15 questions: The questions that job-seeking students usually encounter in interviews may seem simple and sound simple, but in fact they need to be carefully considered and answered:

"Please introduce yourself in the most concise language and describe your past experience and academic situation."

Expert analysis, this is to test whether candidates can summarize their main studies in a few sentences information and key performance, rather than repeating what has already been stated in the resume, in the form of a running account. Although most questions about basic abilities can be reflected on a resume or application form, the answers can be used to test the applicant's verbal ability, appearance, gaze, body language, etc.

"Why did you apply for your job?"

Experts say this question tests whether the applicant's motivation for looking for a job is reasonable. The answers can be used to check whether the candidate can explain the reasons objectively and tactfully.

"Which organization is your first choice for job hunting?"

Experts explained that this is a clear and unambiguous position towards the candidate himself and the job-seeking unit, rather than a blind candidate. .

"What qualities do you think this job has?"

This is to test the degree of consistency between the quality of work considered by the applicant and the quality of work required for recruitment.

"Please tell me your understanding of your profession and what important achievements you have made in your profession?"

This is to test the candidate's professional skills.

"What do you think is your competitive advantage in this position?"

Experts explain that this is to find the difference between the advantages of this candidate and other candidates through the answers.

"What have you learned from past exercises or work?"

Expert analysis, this is to examine candidates from the aspects of career achievements, interpersonal relationships, organizations, products, services, etc. Can you answer the question? Recruiters can test whether a candidate is loyal and respectful to employees when it comes to past experience.

"What do you think is the most effective way to communicate?"

Experts suggest that the usual answer of "face-to-face direct communication" is the least likely to be misunderstood, unless the two meet at the same time .

"How do you usually allocate time between studying and working?"

This is the time habit that candidates allocate and use during the exam.

"What are your goals for the next three years? How will you achieve them?" Check whether the candidate can set clear goals for themselves and develop a realistic plan of action; rather than "continue doing what you are doing now" and the concept of “reinforcement learning.”

“How much do you know about our company and the position you are applying for?”

Experts suggest that serious applicants often get to know the applicant through various channels before the interview. If the candidate has been briefed on the interview situation during the interview, this question can be tested for the candidate's attention. If the other party has not briefed the candidate in advance, the candidate can take this opportunity to understand the situation of the unit. After the introduction, the interviewer can also review the applicant through similar questions.

“Describe the last time you criticized your work.”

Experts pointed out that this is a test of the applicant’s communication ability in personal privacy and highly professional fields, and tests whether the applicant can withstand criticism, as well as understanding their previous work environment and communication.

"How would you describe your personality?"

Test the match between the candidate's personality and the recruiting unit's culture, ethos, code of conduct, job characteristics, etc.

"Please list your three strengths and three weaknesses?"

Test whether the candidates can honestly understand their own characteristics and consider whether their characteristics affect the position. Work and teamwork.

"What treatment do you expect?"

Experts suggest that candidates can take a step back and ask, "As long as there is an opportunity for development, I am willing to accept your company's salary standard. I am not willing to accept the salary standard of your company." Know what the pay scale is for this position?" That way you can discover the bottom on the other side instead of exposing your own bottom. Talking about salary requires mastery of skills. The best way is to tell the other party a salary range based on the actual situation, leaving room for both parties.

Relevant experts from the Beijing Employment Guidance Center remind most job seekers, "During the language communication during the interview, candidates should pay attention to listening to each other's questions, master situational interview skills, focus on listening to each other, and do not distract , answer questions concisely, clearly, naturally, and generously, with affinity and a sense of humor. "It is not stiff, boring, or cold, let alone pretending to be humorous and deliberately making people laugh." "Troubleshooting 2 Classic Interview Problems

"If you go to visit a friend, he thinks that the gift you brought with you is for him, but in fact it is not the case. How should you explain this to your friend? Zhou Weiwei, who just started working in 2006, still clearly remembers that after attending a professional interview with a company in 2005, 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 question 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 general idea was to explain to his friend politely and ask him to give the gift to him first. Keep it for you. He recalled that his answer was not smooth, and he only saw the examiner nodding expressionlessly.

In the end, Zhou Weiwei did not know that he had passed the interview. Whether he was defeated simply because he failed to answer the question well or because his previous performance was not good enough.

Later, Zhou Weiwei participated in another interview with a real estate company in Yantai, and this time he also failed to understand the question asked by the manager. “Real intention. 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, maybe. .

As a result, the manager was not satisfied. He said that I hope your answer is within one 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 interview questions, 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, “the answers he answered reached the heart of his supervisor.

At the last moment of the interview, At this time, the company manager touched on the sensitive issue of "salary": "What do you think of the company's salary and benefits?"

Zhang Ping answered unhurriedly: "I think when working in a good company, employees don't need to think about remuneration. As long as they devote themselves to their own work and pursue advancement, that's it." This is what a competent employee should do. After hearing this, the supervisor was overjoyed and immediately patted Zhang Ping on the shoulder and said, "Based on your words, the company will keep you!" In this way, Zhang Ping successfully entered China's "communications industry giant company."

Of course, Zhang Ping knew that his success in applying was not solely due to the answer to this question, but this "satisfactory answer" undoubtedly made him The supervisor was determined to get him.

What the examiner is asking is not "the question itself"

Every year at campus job fairs, well-known foreign companies will always become the hot spots pursued by economics and management graduates. However, these foreign companies have so many interviews and interviews. The difficulty of the questions is also obvious. Among the many interviewees every year, only a few of the best can win the last prize. Especially for famous companies such as Procter & Gamble and Microsoft, "weird questions often come up, which makes many students." Intimidated.

In October 2005, Xu Chen, a business administration major at Tianjin Business School, passed five tests and won six, becoming the only fresh graduate of the school to get an OFFER (letter of intent) from Procter & Gamble, and was regarded by his classmates as The "myth of the school.

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This talkative young man carefully recalled his interview experience at P&G, which lasted for a month and a half. He felt that throughout the process, the so-called " The problems are all a disguised test of whether he can react quickly in a short period of time. 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 that there are math questions, reading comprehension questions, chart analysis questions, etc., such as calculating the speed of water flow, according to a group of Data analysis product sales trends, economic growth rates, etc. are very large, with 55 questions to be completed in 60 minutes, testing the candidates' fuzzy computing ability, logical reasoning ability, quick reaction ability, etc. Xu Chen usually does things neatly and neatly. I feel that this personality trait of mine 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 the activities you participated in on campus and give examples of how you demonstrated 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. 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 this during the interview. Similar questions, such as "Who do you admire most," do you want to work in a large company or a small company, etc., are all about understanding the applicant's personality, quality and ability from the side.

Chen Xiao was most impressed. The question was a difficult third-order equation question that tested the applicant's computational reasoning ability. Although she felt that there was little hope of being admitted, she still ran to the examiner unwillingly after the interview and asked humbly. After knowing the answer to the question, the examiner patiently told her.

To Chen Xiao’s surprise, she was hired! Later, she learned the examiner’s evaluation of her interview performance: “Although the question was not answered. It is also commendable to take the initiative to find answers afterwards.

Today, 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 answering. Moreover, many open questions do not matter whether they are 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 the process of making a decision in a short period of time and The results are etc., and "Why are manhole covers round" was once a classic Microsoft question. 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.

“In fact, 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’s “With painstaking efforts, he found that almost all the qualities tested during the interview were 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 My colleagues in the "Customer Business Development Department" are all carved out of the same mold. They are all cheerful and talkative, can quickly adapt to new environments, and enthusiastically meet challenges. When I come here, I will have a strong sense of belonging and identity, and As soon as he went to other departments, he felt a different style, such as "The employees in the human resources department all seemed kind, steady, generous, and logical.

Xu Chen understood that passing the difficult interview rounds , P&G has indeed recruited the people the company needs.

Mr. Peng is the department director of a pharmaceutical development company in Shanghai. In early November 2006, he went to Peking University, Tsinghua University and Beijing Institute of Technology to recruit graduates. He is very knowledgeable about his professional knowledge. Graduates with solid skills, strong communication skills, and good foreign languages ??are 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 students majoring in science and engineering will be asked. , the company also values ??the students' comprehensive qualities, such as work attitude, personal conduct and even personality preferences, to see whether the students' values ??are consistent with the company's values ??

"Problems misunderstood by applicants

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

After Huang Tao thought hard and talked a lot, the examiner told him. , He was very good at expressing himself, but he failed to grasp the core of the problem throughout the process and kept talking around the periphery. Huang Tao recalled that the examiner's evaluation was indeed accurate, and he could not even convince himself.

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Such questions are classified as "hard questions" by applicants. Students who are about to graduate and are eager to find a job also generally have a fear of "hard questions"

Is the 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 "hard problems to make things difficult for applicants."

Two years later, Huang Tao became the editor-in-chief of a clothing magazine in Shanghai. In May 2006, he also went to colleges and universities for recruitment. He was defeated by "difficult problems" during interviews.

" Such as computers. A commonly used technique in operation is actually very simple, but many people cannot answer it, which shows that they are not careful enough.

Huang Tao said that Microsoft's classic question "How long is the subway in Shanghai" 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 are you going to get along with him? As a result, the applicant could not answer the question. Huang Tao himself was born in 1980. He thinks this question is of great significance. Of course, he understands that such questions are likely to be included in the "blacklist of difficult problems" by candidates.

"From candidates to The change in the 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, weaknesses or personality traits through questions to determine whether you are suitable for the company's needs. Huang Tao said that when he interviews 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 their work 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 examiners" because different companies have different corporate cultures, which are all reflected in the interview questions. If they fail to pass, it means that the students are not suitable for the company. If necessary, 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 some of the applicants’ insincere answers can be overturned by their subconscious expressions and movements, and the company hopes that Graduates show their true colors in 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 hunting. Sometimes it is not because of their own abilities, but because both parties are not suitable 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.

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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. people, but in fact it is not easy. "So, on the surface, the interview questions become more and more difficult, and graduates are tired of coping, 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, rather than blindly follow the trend or forcefully Own.

"Selected Problems

Question 1: How long is the subway in Shanghai?

Question 2: The paper cup you drink from now costs 20 How many ways are there to sell it for US dollars?

Question 3: You misjudged the price of a product worth 15,000 yuan and sold it for only 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 on your resume. What is reflected.

Question 6: When a problem occurs, should we hold a meeting first to discuss the problem or solve the problem first and then hold a meeting?

Question 7: If PPFU (Greater China) (the abbreviation of the district president) met you in the elevator and asked you to give a one-minute interview report. What would you say?

Question 8: Why did you leave your previous company?

Question 9: What would you do differently if you were running this company?

Question 10: What would you do if our competitor offered you a job?