daisy and the job interviews

my dear chinese friend, daisy, is currently in her last year of getting her masters and that means, you also need to find a job- now. i learned a LOT of new, interesting, and different things about interviews in china from her today.

lesson #1: be prepared for an interview, at anytime!
she's had about 4-5 job interviews so far and today during a study she got a phone call for another job interview... for today. they wanted her to come at that moment but she said she had "something to do" and they compromised to have it at 6pm tonight.. 3 hours later! haha

lesson #2: dress casual, they understand
later i asked her if she needed to change her clothes for the interview, and she said "no, because I'm a student- they understand."- apparently if you're a student and if they don't specify business suit attire you can go in your striped sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes... and remember, jeans in China is not as casual as it in America.

lesson #4: hope that you get a foreign interviewer
it's guaranteed, she said, that at some point during the job interview or before they officially accept you that they will ask you all kinds of personal questions (ei. do you have a boyfriend? when will you get married? what about your family? when will you have a baby?)... in America, there's laws against these kind of personal questions but in China they don't want to hire and invest in someone and then that person will leave the company for their boyfriend or take a maternity leave too soon. daisy said once she lied and felt horrible for it, so now she just hopes that she'll have a foreign interviewer because they wouldn't ask those questions!

lesson #5: ask them what they think
after your interview is finished, you can find out if you are hired or not by asking "are you satisfied with my interview?" sounds awkward and strange but i guess it's okay to ask and find out.. i personally would feel insecure and wouldn't want to know what they think haha..

job interviews are pretty different here.. please remember her as she looks for a good job and that she will have integrity and be a light in dark places!