一般而言,在面试结束之前,主考官往往会留几分钟的时间让应聘者提问,外企面试尤为如此。主考官这样做的真实意图是为了进一步了解应聘者对应聘职位有多大的兴趣和热忱。如果应聘者在提问时担心问题不妥当而吞吞吐吐,或是不知该从何问起,甚至直接回答没有问题,主考官可能会认为应聘者想获得这份工作的愿望与决心还不够强。因此,应聘者应充分利用好这宝贵的几分钟,积极主动地向主考官提出一些与应聘公司和职位密切相关且具有实质意义的问题。 应聘者恰到好处的提问不但有助于加深主考官对自己的印象,向主考官表明自己对应聘职位的浓厚兴趣,同时也可以进一步了解该公司的背景、企业文化以及所应聘的职位是否适合自己。那么应聘者该如何合理妥当地向主考官提问呢?针对这一问题,下文分别阐述了应聘者向主考官提问的总体建议、具体技巧以及禁区。
总体建议
总的来讲,应聘者向主考官提问要把握好时机,切勿打断主考官。提问时要礼貌得体,不要钻牛角尖,切勿提出过于专业、复杂且需要很长时间回答的问题来试图难倒主考官,这样做只能作茧自缚,弄巧成拙。除此以外,应聘者在提问时还应注意以下三个方面。
1. 控制问题的数量,以三四个问题为宜
通常情况下,应聘者在面试的提问环节向主考官提三四个问题为妥。但在面试前,应聘者应准备七八个问题。这是因为有些问题可能在前面的面试过程中已经谈到过了,或者有些问题根据当时的具体情况不太适合提。总之,应聘者在提问前要充分准备好具体的问题,做到胸有成竹,以灵活应付现场。
2. 把握提问的方向,提问应具有实质意义
应聘者提问的目的是为了了解更多与应聘工作相关的情况,而不是为了讨好或者敷衍主考官。因此,应聘者的提问要具有实质意义,所提问题应尽量紧扣工作任务和职责等内容,譬如:应聘职位应承担的具体责任以及所面临的挑战是什么;该职位典型的工作任务以及工作目标是什么;该职位与所属部门的关系、与公司的关系如何等。
3. 多提开放性问题,拓宽问题的覆盖面;提问涉及问题应全面
应聘者应多提一些开放性问题,尽量少提封闭式问题。因为封闭式问题只需要对方回答“是”与“否”,这样不仅获得的信息量少,而且也会影响面试的连贯性。此外,应聘者所提问题的涉及面应广一些,尽量做到每个问题涉及一个方面。例如,应聘者如果打算提四个问题,这四个问题可以分别涉及如下四个不同的方面:应聘职位的职责、应聘职位的领导、应聘职位的所属部门以及应聘公司的企业文化。这样提问不仅表明应聘者所关心的问题全面,而且也表明其提问的逻辑思维清晰。
具体技巧
外企面试通常包括三轮:第一轮面试一般由公司人力资源部的人员担任主考官;第二轮面试一般由应聘部门的主管或经理主持;第三轮面试由公司高层管理人员担任主考官。针对不同类型的面试主考官,应聘者的问题也应有所变化。下文将分别介绍向人事经理、部门主管或经理、高层管理人员提问时的具体技巧,并提供了一些问题供读者参考。
1. 向人事经理提问
应聘者向人力资源部的考官提问,主要是为了获取有关应聘职位的一般性信息。因此,应聘者所提的问题不宜太难或过于专业。常见问题一般应涉及应聘职位的工作重心、工作目标、领导上司、工作评估、晋升培训以及企业文化等。应聘者可参考如下问题。
① 工作重心:
● What is the critical responsibility of this position?
● What are the priorities in this job?
● How would you describe a typical day in this position?
② 工作目标:
● How would“doing an excellent job”be defined in this position?
● What are your expectations for new hires within their first three to six months on the job?
● What might I expect to be doing over the next two to three years?
③ 领导上司:
● Can you tell me about the person I will be reporting to?
● Can you describe the reporting structure for this position?
● What is the overall structure of the department where the position is located?
④ 工作评估:
● How and when will my performance be evaluated on this job?
● How will my performance be measured and by whom?
● How often are performance reviews given and how are they conducted?
⑤ 晋升培训:
● What are the prospects for growth and advancement?
● What sorts of opportunities are there for advancement within the company?
● Does the company support ongoing learning and training for employees to stay current in their positions?
⑥ 企业文化:
● What are the company’s values?
● How would you describe the work environment at the company?
● How are the company’s values reflected in everyday activities?
2. 向部门经理提问
应聘者向应聘部门的主管或经理提问,主要是为了获取与应聘职位有关的各方面具体信息,包括该职位的工作期望、具体职责、领导风格、部门情况、业务问题五方面。
① 工作期望:
● What would you most like to see done in the next six months?
● What are some examples of the best results produced by people in this position?
● What are the most important things you look for in a member of your team or department?
● How do you measure success on the job?
② 具体职责:
● What are the challenging facets of the job?
● What do you consider are the three most important routine responsibilities of this job?
● What have been identified as the areas for change and improvement in this job?
● How does this position interface with the objectives that have been set for the department?
③ 领导风格:
● Can you describe the type of employee who works well with you?
● How would you describe your own management style?
● How much freedom do I have in the decision-making process?
● How do you like your subordinates to communicate with you?
④ 部门情况:
● Can you tell me something about the employees who work in this department?
● What does the department hope to achieve in the next two to three years?
● What sort of reputation does this department have in the organization?
● Are there any weaknesses in the department that are being worked on?
⑤ 业务问题:
● How is a marketing plan developed in this department?
● How is a training budget set?
● What’s the most effective way of chasing payments?
● Could you tell me the percentage of China region business out of the global business?
3. 向高层管理人员提问
应聘者在向公司的管理高层人员提问时,应尽量少提一些涉及招聘职位具体信息的微观性问题,而应重点就公司的管理风格、发展战略、企业文化、员工面貌等宏观方面提问,以便充分了解自己是否能够融入该公司的大环境,具体如下:
① 管理风格:
● What is the company’s management style?
● What do your company’s managers and supervisors have in common?
● How does the management philosophy of this company differ from your competitors?
② 公司发展情况:
● What are the company’s biggest challenges and how is it placed to meet those challenges?
● What changes do you envision in the near future for this company?
● What will be the likely changes in this industry in the next few years?
③ 发展战略:
● What are the company’s future plans for growth and development?
● I read that a major competitor of yours is increasing its market share in this region. What plan does your company have to regain this lost share?
● Your new CEO comes from a main competitor, so what changes can the company expect and will there be any impact on this position?
④ 公司文化:
● What is the company culture?
● What values does this company emphasize?
● What makes your company different?
⑤ 公司员工:
● What types of employees are most successful at this company?
● Can you describe the company’s management style and the sort of employee who fits in well with it?
● Are there any areas I need to clarify in order to confirm my suitability for this job?
提问禁区
在了解可以提问哪些问题之后,应聘者还应知道哪些问题不适合提。面试中应避免提及如下这些常见的禁忌问题。
① 从应聘公司网址上可以轻松获得答案的问题:
● What does your company do?
● What’s your main business?
● Do you sell anything? What do you sell?
② 过于关注应聘者自身利益的问题(如薪水待遇、年假天数、年终奖金、福利措施、工作环境等问题):
● How many weeks leave do I get?
● If I get the job, when can I take time off for vacation?
● What type of health insurance does the company offer?
● The job description mentions weekend work. Would I really have to do that?
● Do you reimburse the cost of getting an MBA?
③ 过于急功近利且与应聘职位关系不紧密的问题:
● Did I get the job?
● How can you determine my qualifications in a short interview?
● How am I as a candidate?
● What is the zodiac sign (星座) of your company’s president?
尽管应聘者向主考官提问这一环节在面试过程中所占比重不大,但是不可小觑。纵使应聘者之前的面试进展得很顺利,也有可能因该环节的瑕疵而功亏一篑。因此,应聘者想要最终赢得心仪的职位,除了提高自身的能力之外,掌握适当的面试技巧也是应聘成功的必要条件。