英语面试中的大玄机

英语面试中的大玄机

　　"Tell me about yourself."

　　“谈谈你自己吧。”

　　This seems like such an innocuous question, but many novice job candidates have a hard time giving an answer. Even experienced interviewees can sound like canned ads for the jobs they are interviewing for. Employers ask such open-ended questions so they can see how candidates will present their skills, abilities, and ambitions.

　　这看起来是最无害的一个问题，却让很多初入职场的人煞费苦心寻找答案。即使是经验丰富的求职者的答案也可能听起来像一个应征工作的沉闷广告。雇主们问出这样开放式的问题就是想看看求职者如何展现他们的技术、能力和野心。

　　Four Common Errors

　　四个常见的错误

　　First, here are common pitfalls to avoid:

　　首先，这里有一些常见的陷阱要避免：

　　1. "True Confessions": Focus on positives. For example, if you're going to talk about why you are interested in this position, convey your enthusiasm for the new opportunities -- not that you are looking to get away from your current boss. Keep your interviewer's view of you in a positive light.

　　1.“完全坦白”：你应该集中在积极的方面。比如，如果你要谈到为什么你对这个职位感兴趣，传达出你对新机遇的激情——而不是你要从现在的老板身边逃开。让面试官对你有一个积极的印象。

　　2. "Home and Personal Life": You are here to convey your skills as an employee. Disclosing personal information, such as how many children you have, won't get the right message across.

　　2.“家庭和私人生活”：你在这里是要做为员工来展示你的技术的。透露你的私人信息，比如你有几个孩子之类的不能传达出正确的信息。

　　3. "The Commercial": Some people have read interviewing books or been trained by career counselors. They may give a 30-second commercial which shows their skills being tailored to the job needs. These often sound too canned and may be too limiting in showing the candidate's abilities.

　　3.“太广告”：一些人读过面试方面的书或者接受过职业顾问的训练。他们可能会给出一个30秒的广告来显示他们所具备的技术简直是为这份工作度身定做的。这些通常听起来都太沉闷刻板了，在展示求职者的能力方面又太有限。

　　4. "I'll Tell You Exactly What You Want to Hear": Remember that the interview process is one of finding a mutual fit. You'll avoid later problems by selling your true strengths and traits, not those you think the interviewer is looking for.

　　4.“你想听什么我就说什么”：记住面试是一个期望实现双赢的程序。你要通过出售你真实的能力和品质来避免以后的问题，而不是你认为面试官想要得到什么你就说什么。

　　What Interviewers Want

　　面试官想要得到什么

　　Now that you know how not to answer the question, here is guidance on how to ace it.

　　现在你知道面试官不想听到什么样的答案了，下面教你如何轻松拿下这个问题。

　　The interviewer is looking to see how your skills and personality will fit into and help their organization. So a good starting place is to understand yourself and your personal strengths, and then be ready to tailor these traits as part of your answer. You can try the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (free online at www.keirsey.com) or the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to help understand your personal style.

　　面试官期望看到你的技术和个性能怎么适合并且帮助他们的公司。所以一个好的开始是了解你自己和你个人的力量，然后把这些转化成你答案的一部分。你可以做做Keirsey Temperament Sorter或者Myers Briggs Type Indicator小测验来了解你的性格特征。

　　Review your assessment and highlight areas that demonstrate skills you enjoy using. Write down verbs that show you in action and nouns that show qualities that you exhibit. Next, write down three adjectives that describe you. Then, think of a time when you solved a problem. Employers like to hire people who show initiative. Then organize these items into a 30-second "commercial."

　　回顾你的评估，重点集中在那些你愿意使用的技术上。写下一些展示你行动的`动词，还有一些展示你的品质的名词。接下来，写下三个形容你的形容词。然后，想想你解决过的一个问题。雇主们喜欢雇佣有主动性的人。然后把这些组成一个30秒的“广告”。

　　Four Sample Answers

　　四个成功的回答模板

　　Here are four examples of each of four basic personality types using this information when talking with various interviewers:

　　下面是四个样本，当他们和不同的面试官打交道的时候，每一个都使用了这个信息来展示他们基本的个性。

　　Gina, an aspiring accountant, wanted to emphasize her organizational abilities, dedication, and timeliness. She answered, "Last summer I worked as an intern for XYZ Accounting. I was known for being thorough and accurate in my work. We were in a big rush to make a deadline and I noticed that one page was missing from the master I was copying. I let my boss know. We found it, and were able to get the pages in order and the report printed in time for his meeting. I'm sure that my attention to detail and to high-quality work will be an advantage for your company."

　　吉娜是一位有抱负的会计师，她想要突出她的组织能力、奉献精神以及和职位的匹配程度。她回答说，“去年夏天我作为实习生在XYZ会计师事务所工作。我在工作中耐心和准确广为人知。那时我们在做一件非常赶时间的事情。我注意到我正在复印的材料中缺少了一页，我告知了我的老板，我们找到了这一页，让材料都按顺序排好并及时打印出了这份他要在会议上使用的报告。我相信我对细节的关注和高质量的工作会对贵公司有好处。”

　　Brian was interviewing for a customer service position, and emphasized his versatility, fast response time, and energetic problem-solving abilities. He answered in this manner. "I've spent 10 years in customer service. People want solutions, and they want them quickly. I'm known as a guy who gets things done. One of our dealers had a customer interested in a luxury used sports car that needed a particular part. He'd had no luck through his usual channels and asked me for help. I made a few calls and the part was on its way to him from across the country in two hours. The sale went through. I'm really energized by solving problems for people."

　　布莱恩曾面试一份客户服务的职务，想要强调他的变通、快速反应和解决问题的能力。他是这么回答的：“我曾从事了十年的客户服务工作。人们需要解决问题，并且希望快速的解决。我是一个能解决问题的人。我们曾有一位顾客对一辆需要特殊部件的豪华运动型轿车感兴趣。不幸的是通过他的正常渠道不能解决这个问题，所以他向我求助。我打了几个电话然后这个部件在两小时内就从全国各地上路了。销售进行得很顺利。我在为人们解决问题方面是很有办法的。”

　　Interviewing for a Manager of Employee Relations position in a large company, Inez emphasized her ability to work in teams and to coach others to success. Her answer: "This department requires knowledge of legal liability and requirements for businesses. Both employees and managers are uncomfortable with employee relations issues. Education of all parties given with a large dose of tact is necessary to keep problems to a minimum. In my last position we were able to forestall a potential lawsuit. One thing I particularly pride myself on was being able to solve issues of employee/supervisor mismatch. Helping them understand their roles, responsibilities, differences in strengths and weaknesses solved many problems. At times it was necessary to reassign the employee to a different manager so they could continue to be of value to the company. I'd like to bring my knowledge to serve this company."

　　为了一个大公司员工关系经理职位面试的伊奈兹要突出她团队合作和引导别人成功的能力。她的回答是：“在这个部门工作需要具备法律责任和商业需求方面的知识。员工和经理对员工关系方面的问题都会感到不安。所以老练的教育各方是很必要的，能把问题的影响减小到最低。我在之前的公司曾阻止了一次潜在的诉讼。我对自己特别骄傲的是我能解决员工和上司的矛盾。帮助他们了解他们在解决问题时的作用、职责和强势及弱势。有时给员工换一个上司也是必须的，能让他们继续为公司贡献价值。我很愿意用我的知识为这家公司服务。”

　　Tony was applying for the Manager of Information Systems. He emphasized his ability to analyze systems and strategic issues and to create innovative and pragmatic solutions. He answered, "In general, people who are attracted to IT are self-educating problem solvers. But the rate of change and pressure on the staff can be so high that people get burned out. One of the innovations that I used at my last company was giving spot awards to individuals who volunteered to show new techniques to colleagues. Many people in IT concentrate on their own projects and don't pass information along and the spot awards have encouraged a more communicative environment. I'm now looking for a new challenge in a larger sized company and believe I would be a good fit for your needs."

　　托尼申请一个信息系统经理的职位。他突出了他分析信息策略方面以及在创新务实的解决问题的能力。他回答说，“通常做IT的都是自学解决问题的。但是变化的速度和员工的压力可能太大会把人们压垮。我在之前的公司采取的一个创新是给那些愿意教同事新技术的人发奖励。很多从事IT工作的人都只关注他们自己的项目不会分享信息，这个奖励可以鼓励创造一个交流更多的环境。我现在希望在一个更大的公司寻找挑战，我相信我能很好的适应你们的要求。”

　　In each case, the person answering the question gave a true picture of how he or she solved problems and brought value in their last situation. None portrayed themselves in a phony style. Each of them received a job offer.

　　在每一个答案中，回答这个问题的人都给出了他们如果解决问题为原公司创造价值的真实的场景。没有人用虚假的风格打造自己，他们最后都得到了想要的工作。