Position interviewed for: ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST

Application process: Submitted résumé through 104, online test, interview, awaiting notification (not selected)

Interview process: First round (conducted in English): English self-introduction + why I wanted to join; a 30-minute Chinese-English translation test (the question format was the same as the online test); briefly looking at English vocabulary and immediately translating it into Chinese; reading an English article, identifying grammatical errors, and correcting them

Second round (conducted in Chinese): Learning about the applicant’s academic and professional background and past experience

Overall interview evaluation: Well, good enough.

The company environment was comfortable, and I had a good, relaxed conversation with the interviewer in the second round. However, after the second round ended, I could not proceed to the third-round interview because the interviewer had to attend another meeting. Later, I received a very official email notifying me that I had not been selected (receiving an email reply was also a positive point).

I graduated from elementary and junior high school at an English-language school, scored 945 on the TOEIC without preparation, and have several years of experience translating documents, business correspondence, and books between Chinese and English.

The first-round test did indeed make it clear that the company hopes to find candidates with strong English skills, but during the process, the interviewer used “good enough” to comment on my answers at least three times, which left me somewhat confused. One part involved correcting grammatical errors in an English manuscript. The interviewer first said there were probably around seven or eight errors. I asked whether I should correct only grammar or also fix awkward meaning or word choice, and the interviewer said I could change anything that seemed strange. So I really pointed out and corrected every place that seemed off, ultimately making possibly more than twenty corrections. The interviewer’s comment on my answers was also “good enough.” After the entire test, I seriously questioned whether the company had the ability internally to judge applicants’ English proficiency accurately.

Advice for future interviewees: When correcting grammatical errors, do not correct errors involving meaning or inappropriate word choice. Only correct errors such as is/am/are, a/an, and whether verbs need an -s. This may increase your chances of being hired.