Workplace reviews and discussion: 首都大飯店股份有限公司

Unknown

January–March 2019: Interview for an accounting position

I did not actually go to the in-person interview. After considering the content of the three phone calls they made to me, along with relevant interview experiences shared online, I decided not to attend the interview.

I applied for an accounting position, but they asked me why I wanted to join the hotel industry. Someone else also called to ask how many Chinese characters I could type per minute and what software I used.

Maybe I really do not understand the hotel industry. I only applied because the job description they posted on the employment website matched my professional skills. I am already a senior accountant (cost accounting/general ledger); I look at the job duties, not the industry. When they asked me this question, I felt I could not answer it because I am not a server.

My résumé states that I have 10 years of administrative/accounting work experience. When you ask me how many Chinese characters I can type per minute, that is such a bizarre question that I have never seriously counted. But if I were really very slow at typing Chinese, how would I have gained my previous work experience? Wouldn’t my employers have gone crazy?

How much was your salary at your previous job?

It felt like they asked this question only to find out your absolute minimum, but at the time I answered honestly and in good faith.

They clearly found my résumé on the employment website, but instead of sending the interview invitation through the website, they sent a highly unprofessional text message by phone, completely bypassing the employment website.

They called for the first time in January to make inquiries. Some of their questions made me feel that they were very unprofessional, and others made me feel that they did not really respect job applicants.

The last call came in March, after the Lunar New Year had ended. Maybe someone had joined and then left during the intervening period? But the position had been open for two months with no contact phone number or email address at all, which made the company seem very disorganized. In addition, the company was reported in 2016 for violating the Labor Standards Act. The entire company was impossible to trust and did not seem like one I would want to stay with for five years, so I gave up on the interview directly.