面试，是两个人的一场对话。
一家公司联系你去面试已经说明了你的各种履历、成就给他们留下了不错的印象。他们只是想通过面试来确认以下几点：
- 为人友善，可以和公司所有人融洽相处；
- 符合简历所述
- (如果是专业性较强的职位，你要能解出一些专业相关的小难题)。
这样看来，语言并不是最大的障碍。只要日常英语、专业术语能流畅运用就能和面试官正常对话并回答问题。真正的难点在于表现出自己符合公司文化。
面试官会留意你是否自信、善于交际，有一些幽默感最好。我帮中国留学生练习面试的时候，他们给我的感觉大多是唯唯诺诺，过于恭敬、消极。
面试更多地是一场对话而不是一个测试。面试官和应试者谈话的时候，一定在想：“我会喜欢以后和他一起工作吗？”如果你说话乏味、笨拙，面试官对你的兴趣就会减弱。
面试中紧张情有可原，但是一定要做到以下几点：
- 保持微笑，幽默、调侃时放声欢笑
- 看着面试官的双眼
- 提问
提问或许是最最重要的一点，因为这能体现应试者真的对公司有意向。要问具体而不是笼统、面试官那天已经答了好多次的问题。
要问出高质量、颇有见地的问题需要做一些这家公司的背景调查。仔细浏览他们的网站，如果有公司博客、通讯稿、相关新闻，都要读。熟悉他们的各种产品、服务，找一个你想加入的。搜一下雇员的照片来了解他们工作氛围是较正式的还是较随便的。
做这些小小的调查，面试官就会乐于和你谈更多。
下面是我和@程毅南 关于美国的少数族裔特别是美籍华人、中国留学生是否会遭到歧视或区别对待的讨论。
(Thank you @余临风 for this awesome translation!)
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The interview is a conversation between two people.
If a company has called you in for an interview, then that means your credentials have already impressed them. During the interview, they just want to confirm that
- You’re a friendly person who will work well with everyone else in the company
- You’re actually who your resume says you are
- (For technical positions, you can solve relevant problems and some brainteasers)
In this case, language isn’t the biggest barrier. If you’re conversationally fluent in English and fluent in the jargon of your field, then you should be able to communicate and answer questions about your resume without any problems. The hard part is fitting into the company culture.
The personality traits that interviewers are looking for are confidence and sociability, preferably humor. When I help Chinese international students with practice interviews, my impression is that they’re generally too deferential and too passive.
The interview is a conversation more than a test. When the interviewer is talking to a candidate, they’re invariably thinking, “Am I going to enjoy working with this person in the future?” If the conversation is stale or awkward, then the interviewer’s interest will wane.
I know that people can be nervous during an interview, but it’s important to
- Smile and laugh
- Look at the interviewer’s eyes
- Ask questions
Asking questions is probably the single most important thing because it shows that the candidate is sincerely interested in the company. Asking a specific question is better than asking a general one that the interviewer has already answered 10 times that day.
To know what’s an insightful question to ask, do some background research on the company. Explore their website. If they have a blog, read it. If they have press releases, read them. If they were in the news, read about them. Familiarize yourself with their products and services and pick one that you’d like to work on. Search for pictures of their employees to figure out if the workplace culture is formal or casual.
Do this little bit of research, and the interviewer will be talking more than you.
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This is an expansion of a discussion I had with @程毅南 in his answer to 美国人对留美的学生究竟有何真实看法，留美学生是否会受到区别对待？成为美国公民的华裔在美国又遭受何等对待？
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本文作者：Brian
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