As a foreigner in China, there is ample opportunity to propel your career beyond your wildest dreams. Before you get too caught up in that dream, however, you’re going to have to jump over one very important hurdle: the job interview. Just like many aspects of life here, interviewing can be an all together different experience. Here are four strange things that might happen in a job interview in China.

作为一名在中国的外国人，有很多机会让你的职业生涯超越你最狂野的梦想。不过，在你沉浸在梦想中之前，你必须跨过一个非常重要的障碍：求职面试。就像生活中的很多方面一样，面试也可能是一种完全不同的体验。以下是在中国求职面试时可能会发生的四件怪事。

Discrimination

歧视

Let’s tackle the most controversial point first. Unfortunately, some Chinese employees will still judge you on race, nationality, gender and age. A lot of employers, especially for English teaching jobs, sadly prefer white candidates and openly discriminate against people of colour. Many employers will insist you send them a photograph of yourself before the interview so they can weed out any candidates that don’t meet their company’s cookie-cutout of a model employee. English teachers who hail from countries where English is not the native language may also find themselves lumped into a less-desirable category, as will women of childbearing age and anyone pushing 50.

我们先来讨论最有争议的一点。不幸的是，一些中国员工仍然会根据种族、国籍、性别和年龄来判断你。很多雇主，尤其是英语教学工作的雇主，偏爱白人求职者，公开歧视有色人种，令人痛心。许多雇主会坚持让你在面试前给他们寄一张自己的照片，这样他们就能剔除任何不符合公司模范员工标准的应聘者。来自英语不是母语的国家的英语教师可能也会被归入不受欢迎的类别，育龄妇女和年过 50 岁的人也是如此。

Luckily, times are slowly changing and such antiquated ideas, particularly in more cosmopolitan cities, are gradually fading, but it all still depends on the personal prejudices of whoever is hiring. If you’re worried about being discriminated against, don’t. Would you really want to work for an employer with such backwards ideas anyway? Keep applying to jobs, especially in more developed cities and at international schools, and you’re bound to find an employer that judges you on your merits, not your demographics.

幸运的是，时代正在慢慢改变，这种陈旧的观念正在逐渐消失，尤其是在国际化程度较高的城市，但这仍然取决于招聘人员的个人偏见。如果你担心受到歧视，那就不要担心。无论如何，你真的愿意为思想如此落后的雇主工作吗？继续申请工作，尤其是在较发达的城市和国际学校，你一定会找到一个根据你的优点而不是你的人口统计学特征来判断你的雇主。

Personal questions

个人问题

Some interviewers in China will openly ask questions about your personal life. Are you married? Do you have kids? What do your parents do? How much is your rent? Could you please describe in detail your future family plans? This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been in China for a while, since the average expat gets asked such probing questions every day by complete strangers.

在中国，有些面试官会公开询问有关您个人生活的问题。你结婚了吗？有孩子吗？你的父母是做什么的？你的房租是多少？你能详细描述一下你未来的家庭计划吗？对于在中国呆过一段时间的人来说，这些问题并不奇怪，因为普通的外籍人士每天都会被完全陌生的人问到这样的问题。

After six (long) years in China I’ve become rather desensitized to these highly personal questions and don’t mind honestly giving my answers, but my replies probably won’t affect my job prospects in the same way they might for a woman planning to start a family soon. If you find yourself in the latter category and are worried about being honest, the simplest solution is just to lie. The Chinese government has recently taken steps to discourage such intimate questions, however, so you could point this out if you’re feeling brave and/or aggrieved. Such action could, of course, lead your interviewer to put a big black mark against your name, however unfair that would be.

在中国待了六年（漫长的）之后，我对这些高度私人化的问题已经变得相当麻木，我不介意诚实地回答这些问题，但我的回答可能不会像计划很快成家的女性那样影响我的工作前景。如果你发现自己属于后一种情况，又担心自己是否诚实，最简单的办法就是撒谎。不过，中国政府最近采取了一些措施来阻止此类私密问题，所以如果你觉得自己很勇敢和/或委屈的话，可以指出这一点。当然，这样做可能会导致面试官在你的名字上打上一个大大的黑点，不管这有多不公平。

Penchant to party?

喜欢派对？

Here’s one that I dare say mainly affects male job applicants in China. Although this is another aspect of professional life that the government is trying to stamp out, smoking, heavy drinking and even enjoying the company of ladies of questionable repute are still very much part of doing business in some circles. If you’re applying for a job that involves entertaining clients, your interviewer may ask if you drink and smoke, hoping the answer will be, “yes, heavily.” Some jobs may require the candidate to drink and smoke so they can “better entertain” clients at seedy KTV parlors and boozy luncheons.

在中国，我敢说这是一个主要影响男性求职者的问题。虽然这是政府正在努力杜绝的职业生活的另一个方面，但在某些圈子里，吸烟、酗酒甚至与名声有问题的女士为伴仍然是做生意的一部分。如果你申请的工作涉及招待客户，面试官可能会问你是否喝酒抽烟，希望你的回答是“是的，酗酒”。有些工作可能会要求应聘者喝酒抽烟，这样他们就能在破旧的KTV包间和觥筹交错的午餐会上“更好地招待”客户。

This may sound like a dream job for some, but for others it would be quite the opposite. If you find yourself faced with such questions, don’t be afraid to ask frank questions in return and have your potential employer clarify what exactly will be expected of you. It’ll save you both a lot of time, and hangovers, in the long run.

对一些人来说，这听起来像是一份理想的工作，但对另一些人来说则恰恰相反。如果你发现自己面临这样的问题，不要害怕提出坦率的问题作为回报，并让你的潜在雇主澄清对你的期望。从长远来看，这将为你们俩节省很多时间和宿醉时间。

Language ambush

语言埋伏

Anyone searching for jobs in China will have noticed that the phrase “Mandarin skills are a plus” crops up a lot on adverts for jobs aimed at foreigners. You may have alluded to some Chinese skills in your application, but how will these claims actually be tested? While a potential employer may ask to see certificates of any HSK exams or other Chinese qualifications you have, it’s much more likely they they’ll just ambush you suddenly at the beginning of the interview to assess your level themselves. Even if you’re fairly confident of your Chinese skills, be sure to brush up on a few key phrases and vocab related to your experience and the job before your interview. If you’re fresh off the boat and still can’t ask where the nearest toilet is, it’s probably best to be completely honest about this in your application so you can avoid this stressful interview aspect all together.

任何在中国找工作的人都会注意到，在面向外国人的招聘广告中，“会说普通话者优先”这句话经常出现。您可能在求职申请中提到了一些中文技能，但这些说法如何得到实际验证呢？虽然潜在雇主可能会要求查看您的HSK考试证书或其他中文资格证书，但他们更有可能在面试开始时突然袭击，亲自评估您的水平。即使您对自己的中文水平相当有信心，也一定要在面试前恶补一些与您的经历和工作相关的关键短语和词汇。如果您刚下船，还不会问最近的厕所在哪里，最好在申请表中如实说明，这样就可以避免面试时的压力。

Is it really that bad???

真的那么糟糕吗？？？

Yes and no. Basically, it entirely depends on the job and company you’re applying to. Just as in the West, some interviews here may be casual, easy-going conversations, while others may require several rounds of drilling, interrogation and tests. As Forest Gump’s mamma taught him oh so well, you never know what you’re gonna get.

是，也不是。基本上，这完全取决于您申请的职位和公司。就像在西方一样，这里的一些面试可能是轻松随意的交谈，而另一些面试则可能需要几轮钻研、盘问和测试。正如阿甘的妈妈教导他的那样，你永远不知道你会得到什么。