Looking for a Job in Shanghai Part 3: Interview Questions

I went through a couple weeks of constant interviews during my job search. On one day in particular, I managed to stack up four interviews in a row! I figured I’d minimize the number of times I had to iron my interview suit. All in all, I managed to go on about 12 interviews before I landed a job. Below are some of the questions I answered, some extremely challenging and some just plain strange!

• How long do you intend on being in Shanghai? This is a fair question, as employers are looking to hire people who plan on being in China for quite some time.
• Why did you quit your teaching job? Teachers are held in high regard in China so I had to be able to justify my decision to leave the position.
• What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? Interviewing 101. 
• Will you be ashamed to be a Copywriter? I don’t know, should I be?
• How long have you lived in China? Employers want to ensure that you fully realize what you’re getting yourself into by living and working here. In other words, they don’t want someone who will realize in a few months that China isn’t for them.
• What animal do you most identify and what are three reasons why? Uhhh, an elephant? Because I never forget?
• Now name another animal. Okay, seriously??
• Do you speak Chinese? Makes sense, we’re in China. In my case, I don’t speak Chinese so I had to be prepared to give a reasonable answer.
• What types of events do you attend? When I interviewed for sales jobs, many of the interviewers wanted to determine whether I had useful contacts.
• What are your career goals? Tough one. I’m not even certain what my career goals are.

I was prepared for most of the questions I was asked though some of them definitely caught me off guard. I’m glad to put interviewing (for now) behind me!

Read more about how I found my job:
What I DIDN’T Want
Chinese-Japanese-American and Unemployed
Hired in Shanghai