猫瘟疫:经典面试经验报告

1。 简历 简历不能超过一页长，言语要力求简练。对我做过的每一个position，我用的格式顺序是：company name, title, responsibilities and results.
“Responsibilities”用一串过去式动词+宾语的形式说明。动词尽量用那些感觉strong的，避免同一个动词的大量重复，避免感觉weak的动词。 比如，虽然你没有财会背景，但你要申请这方面的工作，你就要去参考有这方面工作背景的人写的简历。看他们用的什么关键词，怎么组织句子的，怎么描述工作经验的，然后把你自己的经历用这样的形式和语言包装。一句话，天下文章一大套，就看你套的妙不妙。
什么样的动词听起来比较strong呢？我来给你一些例子。下面是我的简历里用的不同的动词：
manage, establish, develop, build, control, monitor, create, implement, utilize, commercialize, oversee, evaluate, analyze, recommend, conduct ~ ~ analysis, coordinate, negotiate, served as the central liaison of ~ ~。 
光陈述你有过的responsibilities是不够的，在一系列过去式动词加宾语之后，另起一行，用bullet points列出results. “Results”一定要把它量化，用数字，用百分比，来表示诸如销售增长，成本下降，效率提高，减少浪费等等你的成绩。 
很重要一点，responsibilities和results，一定要捡主要的，要起到能够highlight你的工作经历的作用。你可能在一个位置做过很多事情，但你要list那些能反映your best quality and skill set that best match the positions you target for. 如果你申请不同的工作，最好把简历作几个不同的版本。 举例：XXX Corporation, Business Development Manager

Developed markets in five geographic areas, and executed marketing strategies representing the Asia/Pacific Vice President. Oversaw the implementation of export sales contracts with importers and distributors to ensure the issuance of import permits, timely production planning, shipments, and payments. Managed day-to-day representative office operations.
• Successfully implemented strategic plans, and commercialized five products in highly regulated markets, resulting in a sales increase by 100% in two consecutive years.
• Recruited a number of value added companies as XXX’s distributors, and developed a strong distribution network in key provinces and markets.
• Built a close liaison with government agencies and departments to ensure compliance of local laws and regulations.
• Negotiated to get tax exemption and rent deduction, resulting in a 30% decrease of office operating cost.

2。 面试问题 在我经历的大大小小的20多个面试中，我最常遇见的问题有：

Tell me about your self.
Leadership example
Teamwork example
Project management example
Problem-solving example
Taking initiative example
What’s the most difficult decision you’ve made recently?
Why are you interested in this position/this company?
What do you see yourself five years later in this organization?

关于leadership，我想多说一点。可能因为是MBA，公司对应试者的leadership quality 非常重视。我们国人的概念是leader就是领导，就是有一定权力的人，有下属汇报的人。但要知道，有的人在领导的位置上，不一定就有leadership，而有的人不在领导的位置上，但他或她可能在工作当中表现出很好的leadership的素质和能力。刚开始的时候，我觉得英文这个所谓的leadership很抽象，很难具体化。后来我渐渐明白leadership can be demonstrated in different ways.

For example, sometimes, a leader needs to be a change agent. When you initiate something new to change the common practice or the status quo, you have to rationalize your ideas, convince others, motivate them to change, and overcome various obstacles etc. In this case, you are in a leadership role.

Another example. Sometimes, it’d be more difficult to lead people and have them work in concert when they are not reporting you. In my case, as an Export Sales Manager in charge of export sales to China, Japan and Korea, I need internal production, processing and logistic teams to work with me and to insure the production is in place on time, the product quality meets my customer’s requirement and the shipments to my customers are on time. It takes leadership and teamwork skills to get the job done.

Leadership can also be demonstrated in crisis management, for example, when there is a quality problem with your company’s products that may potentially cause a huge loss or negative publicity to your company or your customer. It takes leadership to act fast and decisively, so that the situation would be remedied and the potential damage would be minimized.

Leadership can be also demonstrated when you successfully carry out a project under the challenging timeline or with limited resource, or when you take initiative, identify a potential business opportunity and bring a new revenue stream to the company.

我在这里想说的是，不要把leadership理解的很教条和僵化。美国人可以把小小的或看似简单的事情给安上一个漂亮的名字。就象project这个词。只要是有这么一件事情，有一定的objective, 需要人力物力在一定的时间里完成，都可以称之为project. 你完成个作业都可以是个project. 再比如model这个词，以前在我的眼里那得是个实实在在的，高深复杂的东西。但是我曾有幸看见一个公司所谓的Leadership Model。这是个有全球员工近10万人的大公司，不可谓不牛吧。结果这个他们引以为骄傲的，还要keep confidential的Leadership Model实际上是个PowerPoint slide, 就一张slide. 上面中间一圆圈，内写Leadership，然后四周画了几个方块还是圆圈，内写几项leadership quality，用了不同的颜色，看起来比较fancy。这就是一个model。
在谈了我对面试的几个主要问题的理解之后，现在可以谈谈我的体会，怎样回答这些问题。

除了Tell me about yourself 这个问题，the most commonly used structure/format to answer behavioral questions is STAR – Situation, Task, Action and Result.  一般来说，对每个问题的回答得控制在2-3分钟以内。在这很短的叙述例子的过程中，你的重点应该是强调Action 和Result，这是面试者最关心的部分。所以在时间分配上，对于Situation和Task你要非常简洁地一笔带过，交代清楚大概的背景就可以了。关于Result, 就象我前文中写resume一样，it needs to be a tangible result (or results). 尽量用数字或百分比来表示。 在此，我建议大家，把你所有的例子写下来，严格按照STAR的形式写，然后反复斟酌记忆。有可能的话，找老美改下，要那些写作好的老美改。面试的时候，千万不要让人感觉你在面无表情的背书。模仿老美讲话，抑扬钝挫，眉飞色舞。

很重要的一点是，你的例子不能用大白话写和说，要用professional business language来写和说。记得有这样一句话，写得很好。”In business, communications are not only the way that we express ourselves, but also, more importantly, the way that we work with people.” McKinsey，美国知名的consulting firm，办了一份季刊，叫”McKinsey Quarterly”。里面的文章涉及各种business issues, very analytical and insightful。每篇文章都不长，个人觉得比Harvard Business Review容易读。对于我来说，最大的好处是学习他们用的business language，他们用的词和句子都是很simple but professional的东东。 A.向前看．不提旧公司不好，说新公司或新工作机会多么好．

你可以说新的工作present or offer a more challenging and rewarding opportunity．新的工作给你greater responsibility，or more exposure, or exposure to a different functional area.新的工作的公司culture 好，同事好，领导好等等．新的工作行业是你感兴趣的行业等等．你得小心别把话说太满了．

B. 向后看．就是说旧工作不好．

下面paste一段我建议一个ＭＭ怎么处理这种情况．那个ＭＭ离开那个公司的真实理由是，有company politics,头头也换了，公司业务发展也慢．我给的建议如下：

I would say "I felt that the overall situation was not healthy. I think that it‘s time for me to pursue a new, challenging and rewarding career opportunity.", then move on to talk about your interest in the position and your skills that fit the position. This is a good way to transfer the interviewer‘s attention.

If the interviewer further asks you "what do you mean that the situation is not healthy", you can say "the business is slow, and constant management turnover made the situation even worse."

You don‘t need to mention "company politics", because it‘s a very negative word and it may happen everywhere (even in the company you are interviewing for), and your interviewers may not want to here it.       关于我前面说的回答Tell me about yourself的套路，把我presentation的原文写在下面。大家可以用来借鉴，根据自己的情况work on your stories.原文如下：

I would like to thank everyone for being here and interviewing me. I am going to give you a presentation about my resume.

My name is ~ ~. I got my bachelor degree at XXX University, a top-10 university in China. My major was Japanese. It’s funny that I ended up in the US, instead of Japan.

I got my first job at N Company, which was a top-10 Japanese international trading company. I was working as a sales representative dealing with import/export business between China and Japan. This job brought me a great learning opportunity. I learned how to work with different people, such as importers, exporters, suppliers and customers in both counties. I learned how to negotiate with them, and how to close a deal. My communication and interpersonal skills were developed greatly. During 3.5 years, the business I was in charge of grew from $1.5M to $5M. Then, it reached a point, where I felt that import/export business was too broad and general. I wanted to go to an industry and gain specific industrial knowledge and expertise.

D Corporation presented me with a wonderful opportunity, where I could not only utilize my import/export experience, but also have greater responsibilities, such as strategic implementation and market development. I was reporting directly to the Asia Pacific VP. Since he was based in the U.S. and only visiting China 5-6 times a year, most of time, I was working on my own. It takes initiative, self-management and self-motivation to get the job done. From 1995 to 1999, I successfully implemented strategic plans, commercialized five products in highly regulated markets, recruited five exclusive distributors, and developed a strong distribution network. Sales grew from half million US dollars to $3.4M.

Due to my significant contribution to the company’s bottom-line, I was promoted again from China Office Manager to Export Sales Manager in charge of export sales to China, Japan and Korea. I was transferred from Beijing Office to the company’s headquarters in IL. In the meantime, D Corporation was acquired by M Company. We all became M’s employees.

As an Export Sales Manager, my responsibilities included pricing, budgeting, production planning, inventory management, and coordinating internal production, processing and logistics teams to fulfill customer’s demand. My focus was gradually transferred from developing the top-line to watching out the bottom-line. Profit of China sales continually doubled in 2000. Sales to Japan increased by 30% due to successful delivery of commitments to customers. Sales to Korea were maintained same during an economic recession.

However, during my work, I realized that I needed to expand my knowledge and understanding in accounting and finance areas. This was one of the major reasons that I decided to leave M Company and pursue an MBA degree. The second reason was that I believe an advanced US MBA education degree would bring me more career advancement opportunities in the near future. Thirdly, B-school is a perfect place to meet people, make friend, and build my own professional network in this country.

At XXX School, I took 22 credits in accounting and 11 credits in finance. Plus Business Law I took before, I am now eligible for sitting on CPA exam.

In 2003, I got my internship at H Company in the marketing department, which deals with climate control products for residential consumers. I worked on a distribution project to review the current distribution strategies, analyze distribution network coverage and evaluate the distributors’ performance. I was able to finish the project under a limited timeline, and provide the management team with meaningful recommendations.

Today, I am ready for a new set of challenges and an opportunity to bring all I have learned to a more challenging and rewarding position at C Company (注：我面试的公司).

Now, I am open for questions. Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks.  3。研究调查公司 

How to research a company?

在面试之前，通过各种途径和方式了解你要面试的公司和工作是一个必须做的homework。

以我的个人经验，研究公司有如下几个目的：

A.研究公司可以帮助你找出你想要问的问题。

在面试的最后，通常面试者会留下几分钟让你问问题。大家不要小看这个问问题环节。不要觉得面试快完了，就可以掉以轻心了。问题问的好了，可以show your interest, and set yourself apart from other candidates.

B.研究公司能帮你了解公司的文化。有时候，你会有点clue，这个公司到底喜欢什么样的人，需要什么样的人。很多公司都以他们的文化骄傲。比如有的强调innovation，有的强调technology, 有的是growth, 有的是efficiency（或称之为operational excellence）, 有的公司的business model是通过dealership 或distributors来服务市场的，他们就特别强调relationship-building。而这些东西在你准备你的例子的时候，具有一定的指导作用。一一对应前面说的，你也许需要准备一个例子表现你的creativeness, 你用technology提供了什么solution, 你做了什么使得公司业务增长，成本下降，效率上升，你怎么build relationship or satisfy customer的。

举个例子。
第一个原题我记不清了，意思是你是通过什么方式了解客户对你的满意度的？我想了下告诉她:

For China business, we don’t have a formal customer survey to evaluate their satisfaction, but we know for sure they are very satisfied, because we serve the best quality product in the market. In seed business, one of the most important quality standards is germination rate. While the germination rate of local products is at average 75% - 80%, we offer a substantially higher standard, which is 95%. We don’t have to do that, and it costs more to maintain higher quality standard. However, we knew that we would get paid-off over the long run because our customers would be extremely satisfied by our products. And I think the fact that our sales doubled in three consecutive years is the best proof of customer satisfaction.

他们问的第二个问题是：how would you handle when a customer’s request is unreasonable?我说：

Personally, I don’t think any request from customers would be unreasonable. I always seek the best way to accommodate their request. For example, Japanese is probably the most demanding customer in the world. Sometimes, my Japanese customer would ask me to split a small quantity of the products into three shipments, and these three shipments need to be sent to three different ports in Japan. This would create a lot more tasks and workload on the logistics; for example, I need to issue three sets of shipping documents for a small quantity. Their request may sound unreasonable, but I know if I don’t do my best to satisfy them, they would switch orders to our competitors next time. In addition, Japanese business has the best profit margin among other businesses, and I want to make best efforts to make them happy. As a result, due to successful delivery of commitments to Japanese customers, sales to Japan increased by 30% in 2000.

再和大家说一下如何理解customer这个词。就象和理解leadership一样，也不能理解的太僵化和教条了。不一定只有我上面例子里的external customer是 customer。如果你以前的工作和sales/marketing没有关系，比如你是做财务或IT，这些部门在公司内部都是supporting functions，实际上提供的也是一种service, providing information to help internal customers make better business decisions. 你的customers可以是下面的business units或上面的 management teams。所以大家在想例子的时候，一定要拓宽思维。

C．研究公司可以增加你的自信和对该公司的兴趣

，大家要记得在每一个面试结束前，一定要用最enthusiastic的语气强调自己对该位置该公司的兴趣，希望work with the interviewer in the near future。

话题how to research a company：

一个是了解公司的基本面。可以去公司的网站上看看。我主要看下面几个内容：
about us, mission statement, business (or business of each business unit), history, recent press release and annual financial report.

Annual financial report 有很多看头。在financial statement以前management 回顾过去，总结业绩，展望未来，有很多information。从中对公司的文化，现阶段公司大的issue和 initiative，都可以有一定的了解。从中都可以找出问题来问。

然后就稍稍流览下financial statement。我通常主要看他们的Income Statement。一般公司都会列出二到三年的数字。这里可以作一个简单的分析。我一般看两项东西：Sales/Revenue and Operating Profit。比如你可以计算一下2003比2002年的变化幅度，增加或减少的百分比。你也可以去看看上个年度的报告，这样你就会有4，5年的数字，你就可以看出一个trend来。我还会计算一下Operating Profit Margin（Operating Profit Margin = Operating Profit / Sales）。不光是要看Sales/revenue and operating profit 的trend, 还应看看operating profit margin的trend。这里，有时可以看出很多问题。

举个例子。我曾经面试过一家保险公司for a permanent position in its leadership development program。我算了他们五年的Operating Profit Margin，发现前面两年和最后两年，这四年都比较接近大概在7.2% - 7.5%，中间那一年突然有一个很大的drop，只有4.7%，这可是一个将近40%的drop，对一个公司来说非常不正常。面试我的是一个有点级别的manager (not HR), 我就问了他这个问题 （如果是HR，这个问题就不一定合适，我后文再具体谈）。他当时就说看来你做了你的homework，你的问题很好。事后，他留在学校给我的feedback在我对公司的兴趣这栏给了很高的分，还专门写了comments: Excellent questions!

再举个例子，如果一个公司的sales is flat over years, but operating profit margin got improved. This indicates that they must have done a good job on managing/reducing operating cost. 尤其在经济不景气的时候，公司都会下功夫练内功来降低成本。你就可以问：I found that operating profit margin got improved recently，in this tough business environment, how did your company achieve that?

如果你发现公司的sales growth很快，你可以看看这个成长是不是主要由于M&A (merger and acquisition)带来的。你可以问面试者，他怎么看，今后公司会继续focus在通过M&A来 expanding呢，还是会focus on organic growth? Organic growth 是指公司通过自己本身的产品或开发的新产品，带来新的销售，increase market shares。

注：上面这些问题都更适合问manager, instead of HR.

除了在公司网站上了解信息，我觉得还有一个办法也比较有效。就是找找看，有没有在那个公司尤其是面试的这个部门工作的alumni。学校一般都有alumni association，可以搜到是否有alumni在那儿工作。可以给alumni 送email，打电话，甚至一起吃个午餐，让他（她）谈谈他的经验。可以问问他（她）的建议，问什么问题比较合适。往往insider会给你提供比较好的信息。一般，alumni都挺愿意帮忙的。而且，你可以在面试的时候对面试者说，你和谁谁谈过，people all said great things about this company/this division，来显示你的兴趣。

做company research， 在第一轮面试做些主要的，基本面的了解。当你进入第二轮时，你可以多下点工夫。