Ace That Interview

By Zhai Qi | China Daily | Updated: 2013-03-08 11:53

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An employer talks with a prospective employee at a job fair in Beijing. Zhang Bin / for China Daily

Learn the best ways to impress Chinese employers and sell yourself

As a foreigner in China, you may have whizzed through three months of intensive Chinese training. But don't fret, prep up with this lesson and you will be sure to ace the interview, or 面試 miànshì, without a hitch.

The meet and greet

The more you know about the company, the position and the people assessing you beforehand, the better your answers will be on the big day. For the interview there is no need to dress up in a full suit. A crisp button-down shirt with slacks is all that's called for.

Hi, I'm Steven - we spoke on the phone. I didn't expect the company's HR manager to be so young.

Nín hǎo，wǒ shì Steven, wǒmen tōnɡɡuò diànhuà。Méi xiǎnɡ dào ɡōnɡsī de rénshì jīnɡlǐ jìnɡrán zhème niánqīnɡ !

您好，我是Steven，我們通過電話。沒想到公司的人事經理竟然這么年輕!

This office is really nice.

Bàngōng huǎnjìng zhēn hǎo!

辦公環境真好!

Winning hearts and minds

At the heart of the Chinese

mianshi is a mixed bag of standard interview questions, not unlike what you would expect elsewhere, lumped in with some bizarre inquisitions. Know what to expect and you won't be stumped.

The interviewer will be fascinated with your language and cultural assimilation. Don't get annoyed or rush through the inordinate amount of time you spend talking about stuff that has nothing to do with the job.

This is your chance to milk your Chinese for what it's worth.

Interviewer: Steven, how long have you been in China?

Steven, nǐ lái zhōnɡɡuó duōjiǔ le？

Steven, 你來中國多久了？

Interviewee: Almost a year. But I studied Chinese language and

history for two years in Canada.

Chà bù duō yī nián le。Zhīqián wǒzài jiānádà xuéxí le liǎnɡnián zhōnɡwén hé zhōnɡɡuó lìshǐ。

差不多一年了。之前我在加拿大學習了兩年中文和中國歷史。

Interviewer: Wow, your Chinese is pretty good! How did you learn so well?

Nǐ zhōnɡ wén shuō dé zhēn bú cuò! Nǐ zěnme xué dé zhème hǎo？

你中文說得真不錯! 你怎么學得這么好？

Interviewee: Oh stop it, you're exaggerating. I can just get by, and I don't have any special learning tricks.

Nín ɡuòjiǎnɡ le, wǒ de zhōnɡwén hái còuhe, méi shénme xuéxí jìqiǎo。

您過獎了，我的中文還湊合，沒什么學習技巧。

Personal questions - questions that would get you in serious trouble back home - are normal interview fare here. For example, it is standard to ask interviewees for their age, marital status, number of kids and personal plans.

Interviewer: How long are you planning to stay in China?

Nǐ dǎsuàn zài zhōnɡɡuó dāi duōjiǔ？

你打算在中國待多久？

Interviewee: It would be a push to say five years, but I'll be here for at least a year or two.

Wǒ bùɡǎn shuō wǔnián, dànshì zuì qǐmǎ wǒ huì zài liú yī dào liǎnɡ nián。

我不敢說五年，但是最起碼我會再留一到兩年。

Interviewer: Are your parents

living outside of China?

Nǐ de jiārén dōu zài ɡuówài mɑ？

你的家人都在國外嗎？

Interviewee: My parents live in Canada, but my wife is from Hebei.

Wǒ fùmǔ zài jiānádà。Wǒ àirén lǎojiā zài héběi。

我父母在加拿大。我愛人老家在河北。

Interviewer: Do you think you'll be interested in this type of work?

Nǐ duì zhèyànɡ de ɡōnɡzuò ɡǎn xìnɡqù mɑ？

你對這樣的工作感興趣嗎？

Interviewee: I'm very interested. In fact, I've always wanted to try this type of work.

Hěn ɡǎn xìnɡqù。Qíshí wǒ yīzhí xiǎnɡ chánɡshì zhèyànɡ de ɡōnɡzuò。

很感興趣。其實我一直想嘗試這樣的工作。

With assessment questions out of the way, you will get down to business discussing the important stuff - money - with HR. Prepare for questions like follows:

What range is your current (previous) salary in?

Nǐ mùqián (yǐqián) de xīnshuǐ zài shénme fànwéi ？

你目前(以前)的薪水在什么范圍？

What kind of salary are you looking for now?

Nǐ de lǐxiǎnɡ yuèxīn dàɡài duōshǎo？

你的理想月薪大概多少？

When the interview finally wraps, remember to thank your interviewers for their time. Post-mianshi, expect a call very soon (if it's a positive answer) or not at all (if it's a “nay”). It is not uncommon to hear back on Monday with an offer to start on Wednesday. Have your phone handy and be prepared to accept, decline or negotiate when you get that call.

The basics of hiring

to hire,

zhāopìn, 招聘

position,

zhíwèi, 職位

resume,

jiǎnlì, 簡歷

academic experience,

xuéli, 學歷

professional experience,

jīnɡyàn, 經驗

face-to-face interview,