英文求职面试 （1）
07/17/2011 9:20 pm
为了一个学术会议的发言，花了不少时间准备，作了不少研究，原先准备从人力资源管理的角度切入，可是研究下来，发觉网上提供的信息许多不准确，甚至误导，故决定在论文的基础上修改、加工，使之成为有一定指导意义的小手册。本系列共有近二十个标题，其中三分之一针对性很强，阅读层次局限于申请教职的朋友。另外的三分之二具有共性，对在以英文为沟通媒介的国家，如美国、英国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰,乃至国内的大部分使用英文的外企，应该有一定的适用性。现在暂时准备发表其中一部分，看看大家是否有兴趣。
当然，挂一漏万和同网上和其它已经发表的出版物雷同之处一定会有，但是肯定不会太多。原因是大部分案例是自己亲身经历，本人在多年的管理和教学生涯中，面试过数以百计的美国博士和博士研究生，并先后招聘过近六十位管理和教学人员，录取过近二百多位美国博士生。这数百人中，仅有六位是华裔。所以，本系列中的各种答案均来自以白人为主体的、并至少拥有硕士学位的群体，面比较窄，对其它行业的适用性，笔者无甚把握。先后同四位从事IT的朋友（两位在美国、两位在加拿大）和数位在美国华尔街以及教育界的朋友谈论有关内容，反响似乎很不错。
笔者在尽量不浪费大家的宝贵时间的前提下，也想借次此平台作为一个 Bouncing Board，希望能够听到大家的意见，当然也希望大家踊跃参与。对于那些初入行的年轻朋友和无法阅读英文的朋友们，先道个歉，因为有些问题必须用英文来回答，不过我在讲评时尽量用中文。
What’s your greatest weakness? （What are your areas for improvement？）（Tell us your weaknesses.）
你最大的缺点是什么？（哪些地方你需要改进？）（说说你有那些缺点。）
这似乎是个大部分应聘者都无法回避的问题。这个问题有不同的版本，但是大同小异，笔者仅仅列举了另外两个。
并非西方老板特别爱问这个问题，故意让应聘者感到紧张。这个问题除了看应聘者对棘手问题的反应以外，更是看应聘者的诚实和是否可信赖。网上那些所谓专家认为没有必要如实回答。笔者不敢苟同。相反，应该学会如何巧妙应对，变坏事为好事，将缺点转化为将来可能性的优点。事实上，在美国应聘工作，雇主一定会仔细查询应聘者的以往经历，会同应聘者的推荐人和介绍人详细了解情况。想要隐瞒，很难。这如同三十岁左右的人告诉别人自己从来没有谈过恋爱一样，不是弱智、脑袋瓜出问题,就是身体有毛病，再不就是撒谎成性。归根结底，没戏。
网上提到过那些自作聪明的回答“我最大的缺点是过于追求完美”，有的人以为这样回答会显得自己比较出色，美国人确实有这么回答的。并非如同网上评论的那样，应聘者已经岌芨可危了。如果应聘者能够提供一些证据，证明自己确实是过于追求完美，应聘者还是有希望。亲耳听到一个美国应聘者做了如下的补充说明: I always want everything to be perfect, but I guess I should know that no one is perfect. While I should continue to have very high expectations for myself, I perhaps should make some adjustments and be reasonable with my colleagues.
另外一个应聘者常用的答案：“I have been working too hard.”（我工作太勤奋。）这确实有点卖弄小聪明，咋一听雇主会以为：怎么啦，想到我这儿来偷懒、享清福来了? 可是有一个应聘者接下来的解释很完美: When I was working as a Capital Funds manager on the Wall Street, I used to spend 60 hours in office, then spend another 20 hours in evenings and weekends at home, even when we were on vacations, almost totally neglected my spouse and children. After seeing a marriage counselor, I have changed my career. Now I spend an average of 50 hours in office, no more than 10 hours in evenings and weekends on my job.
下面的回答似乎比较适合我们中国同胞：
Answer 1: English is my second language, while my English grammar is excellent, and can read and write very well, I still need to improve my communication skills.
Answer 2: I was raised and educated in China. From very early on, we were trained to be modest, to keep a low key, which could appear to lack self-confidence. Boasting is not considered a good quality by the Chinese culture. Even if I know something with 100 percent certainty, I would only say that I had 70 percent certainty; unlike some of my western colleagues, they only knew less than 70 percent, they would tell you: No problem! I am absolutely sure I can do it. I guess that is some kind of cultural difference that we all experience.
有关点评分析，且听下回分解。
当然，挂一漏万和同网上和其它已经发表的出版物雷同之处一定会有，但是肯定不会太多。原因是大部分案例是自己亲身经历，本人在多年的管理和教学生涯中，面试过数以百计的美国博士和博士研究生，并先后招聘过近六十位管理和教学人员，录取过近二百多位美国博士生。这数百人中，仅有六位是华裔。所以，本系列中的各种答案均来自以白人为主体的、并至少拥有硕士学位的群体，面比较窄，对其它行业的适用性，笔者无甚把握。先后同四位从事IT的朋友（两位在美国、两位在加拿大）和数位在美国华尔街以及教育界的朋友谈论有关内容，反响似乎很不错。
笔者在尽量不浪费大家的宝贵时间的前提下，也想借次此平台作为一个 Bouncing Board，希望能够听到大家的意见，当然也希望大家踊跃参与。对于那些初入行的年轻朋友和无法阅读英文的朋友们，先道个歉，因为有些问题必须用英文来回答，不过我在讲评时尽量用中文。
What’s your greatest weakness? （What are your areas for improvement？）（Tell us your weaknesses.）
你最大的缺点是什么？（哪些地方你需要改进？）（说说你有那些缺点。）
这似乎是个大部分应聘者都无法回避的问题。这个问题有不同的版本，但是大同小异，笔者仅仅列举了另外两个。
并非西方老板特别爱问这个问题，故意让应聘者感到紧张。这个问题除了看应聘者对棘手问题的反应以外，更是看应聘者的诚实和是否可信赖。网上那些所谓专家认为没有必要如实回答。笔者不敢苟同。相反，应该学会如何巧妙应对，变坏事为好事，将缺点转化为将来可能性的优点。事实上，在美国应聘工作，雇主一定会仔细查询应聘者的以往经历，会同应聘者的推荐人和介绍人详细了解情况。想要隐瞒，很难。这如同三十岁左右的人告诉别人自己从来没有谈过恋爱一样，不是弱智、脑袋瓜出问题,就是身体有毛病，再不就是撒谎成性。归根结底，没戏。
网上提到过那些自作聪明的回答“我最大的缺点是过于追求完美”，有的人以为这样回答会显得自己比较出色，美国人确实有这么回答的。并非如同网上评论的那样，应聘者已经岌芨可危了。如果应聘者能够提供一些证据，证明自己确实是过于追求完美，应聘者还是有希望。亲耳听到一个美国应聘者做了如下的补充说明: I always want everything to be perfect, but I guess I should know that no one is perfect. While I should continue to have very high expectations for myself, I perhaps should make some adjustments and be reasonable with my colleagues.
另外一个应聘者常用的答案：“I have been working too hard.”（我工作太勤奋。）这确实有点卖弄小聪明，咋一听雇主会以为：怎么啦，想到我这儿来偷懒、享清福来了? 可是有一个应聘者接下来的解释很完美: When I was working as a Capital Funds manager on the Wall Street, I used to spend 60 hours in office, then spend another 20 hours in evenings and weekends at home, even when we were on vacations, almost totally neglected my spouse and children. After seeing a marriage counselor, I have changed my career. Now I spend an average of 50 hours in office, no more than 10 hours in evenings and weekends on my job.
下面的回答似乎比较适合我们中国同胞：
Answer 1: English is my second language, while my English grammar is excellent, and can read and write very well, I still need to improve my communication skills.
Answer 2: I was raised and educated in China. From very early on, we were trained to be modest, to keep a low key, which could appear to lack self-confidence. Boasting is not considered a good quality by the Chinese culture. Even if I know something with 100 percent certainty, I would only say that I had 70 percent certainty; unlike some of my western colleagues, they only knew less than 70 percent, they would tell you: No problem! I am absolutely sure I can do it. I guess that is some kind of cultural difference that we all experience.
有关点评分析，且听下回分解。
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