As a veteran with 30 years of workplace experience, let me share some insights into how our company interviews candidates.

When I interview candidates, I typically ask four questions (excluding technical questions):

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Which science subject do you excel in?

3. Share an experience that left a lasting impression on you (whether successful or unsuccessful), or something you are particularly skilled at.

4. What advantages do you bring to this position?

Asking these four questions follows my own evaluation logic to assess the candidate's abilities, personality, and job fit. Below is a brief explanation of the purpose behind each question for reference:

1. “Tell me about yourself”

· Surface purpose: To break the ice and understand your basic background.

· Deeper assessment:

² Communication and expression skills: This question may seem trivial, but it actually aims to understand how you handle such trivial issues in your work. Additionally, can you organize your language clearly, concisely, and logically? Can you highlight the key points?

² Self-awareness and self-positioning: How do you view yourself? Which experiences, skills, or traits do you choose to highlight? This reflects your values and career goals.

² Relevance assessment: Can you identify and highlight the information most relevant to the position you are applying for? Can you quickly connect yourself to the job requirements?

² Preparation and attitude: Have you prepared seriously for the interview? Do you have an understanding of the company/position?

² First impression: Your overall appearance, confidence level, and professional demeanor.

· If you have a well-structured self-introduction (e.g., educational background + core skills/experience + interests/achievements relevant to the position), with a clear focus (centered on the job requirements), appropriate time management (typically 1-3 minutes), and a natural transition to why you are interested in the position, this question can score highly, with a 50% chance of passing the interview.

2. “Which science is better?”

· Surface purpose: To understand your academic background and knowledge strengths.

· Deeper assessment:

² Core competencies and knowledge foundation: Do you possess the core theoretical or technical knowledge required for the position? Are your areas of strength aligned with the job requirements?

² Learning ability and potential: Performing well academically typically indicates strong comprehension skills, effective learning methods, and a willingness to put in the effort. The interviewer aims to assess your potential to acquire new knowledge and skills.

² Interest and passion: Subjects you excel in are often areas you are passionate about. This reflects your intrinsic motivation and career orientation.

² Honesty and self-assessment: Can you objectively evaluate yourself? Do the subjects you chose to mention genuinely reflect your strengths?

² Application ability: It’s not just about high scores; the interviewer wants to know if you can apply the knowledge you’ve learned in practice (you can be prompted to discuss this).

· Choose a subject that you truly excel in and is relevant to the position you are applying for. Clearly explain why you excel in it (e.g., interest, effective methods, significant effort), and emphasize how this subject has developed skills or knowledge useful for work (e.g., logical thinking, data analysis, programming skills, market analysis frameworks, communication skills, etc.), and even provide simple examples of how you have applied these knowledge or skills.

3. “Tell us about a memorable experience you had (success/failure/something you are good at).”

· Surface purpose: To understand your past experiences.

· Deeper examination:

² Behavioral patterns and abilities: This is the core question of behavioral interviews. Through the specific events you describe, the interviewer assesses the abilities you have actually demonstrated, such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication and coordination, stress resistance, leadership, execution, learning ability, and innovative thinking. The “STAR” principle (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is the key framework for answering such questions.

² Reflection and Growth: Especially when discussing failures, the focus is on what you learned from them and how you improved. This assesses your self-reflection ability, growth mindset, and attitude toward setbacks. When discussing successes, also highlight your thought process and conclusions.

² Values and Motivation: The choice of what to discuss (teamwork? overcoming challenges? innovation?), the role you played, and your focus (results? process? personal contribution? team collaboration?) all reflect your values and work motivation.

² Authenticity: Are the details specific and genuine? Can they withstand further questioning?

² Achievements and Potential: What you excel at demonstrates your core competencies; successful experiences prove your capabilities; and how you handle failures reflects your resilience and potential.

· A specific, complete, and authentic story (you can refer to the STAR principle). The focus should be on your thinking, actions, and role in the event, as well as the final outcome and your reflections/takeaways. The chosen event should ideally demonstrate the key competencies required for the position you are applying for. When discussing failures, be honest but emphasize lessons learned and improvements; when discussing successes, be confident but avoid self-praise; when discussing strengths, provide concrete examples to prove them.

4. “What advantages do you have for this position?”

· Surface purpose: To have you self-promote and explain why you should be chosen.

· Deeper assessment:

² Understanding of the position: Have you thoroughly researched the core responsibilities, required skills, and team/company culture of this role? Can you accurately identify the key requirements of the position?

² Self-awareness and fit analysis: Do you clearly understand your core competencies? Can you objectively assess which of your traits, skills, or experiences are precisely what this role most needs?

² Differentiated competitiveness: What unique value can you offer that other candidates may not have? How can you stand out among numerous applicants?

² Persuasiveness and confidence: Can you clearly, forcefully, and confidently articulate your strengths and support them with concrete evidence (experience, achievements, data)?

² Motivation and passion: Does your articulation of your strengths reveal your passion and alignment with this position/field?

² Communication Strategy: Do you know how to highlight key points and promote yourself concisely, rather than listing all your strengths?

· What makes an excellent answer? (Answer Points - Golden Formula: Strengths + Evidence + Relevance to the Position)

1. Align with Job Requirements: Select 2-3 strengths that are most directly related to the core requirements in the job description (JD). Carefully review the JD to identify keywords (e.g., data analysis, cross-departmental communication, project management, user growth, stress resilience, innovative thinking, etc.).

2. Specific Strength Statements: Clearly articulate what your strengths are (e.g., “One of my core strengths is the ability to analyze and solve complex problems” or “I have successful experience in building a user growth system from scratch”).

3. Provide compelling evidence:

§ Demonstrate through past experiences: “For example, in the XX project at my previous job (context), I was responsible for XX tasks (tasks). By applying XX methods/skills (actions), I achieved XX quantifiable results (outcomes), which fully demonstrate my ability in this area.”

§ Demonstrate through skills/knowledge: I am proficient in XX tools/technologies/methodologies (e.g., Python, SQL, Agile Development, Financial Modeling), enabling me to quickly take on responsibilities in XX areas."

§ Demonstrate soft skills: “I possess strong learning and adaptability skills. For example, in XX circumstances, I quickly mastered XX new knowledge/skills through XX methods and successfully applied them to XX work.”

4. Clearly link to the position: The most critical step! Clearly state how this advantage can help you create value, address pain points, or achieve goals in the position you are applying for. For example: “This advantage enables me to quickly understand the requirement of ‘analyzing user behavior data to drive product iteration’ mentioned in your position and effectively utilize my analytical framework and tools to achieve the goal.” Or “My project management experience can help the team advance the XX-type projects currently underway in your department more efficiently, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery.”

5. (Optional) Differentiating supplement: If there is a particularly outstanding strength or one that aligns highly with the company culture/team style, emphasize it: “Additionally, I understand that your team places great emphasis on innovation and trying new methods. The exploratory spirit and rapid experimentation capabilities I demonstrated in the XX project/experience will also bring new perspectives to the team.”

· Common pitfalls to avoid in your response:

o Vague lists of adjectives: “I am a strong learner, responsible, good at communication, and have team spirit...” (lacks evidence, lacks persuasiveness).

o Lack of evidence: Simply stating “I am good at communication” without providing specific examples to demonstrate how you are good at it and the results achieved.

o Exaggeration or false claims: Easily exposed when questioned.

o Disparaging others: “I am better than other applicants...” (unprofessional).

o Focusing only on strengths without explaining how they apply: Failing to connect strengths to specific job requirements.

o Should strengths unrelated to the position be mentioned? For recent graduates, you can mention “I sing well” (preferably with awards or certificates), participating in marathons, and achieving certain results, etc.

Why ask these four questions consecutively? (Ultimate connection)

1. 【Build an initial profile】“Tell me about yourself”: Understand your background, expression, focus, and first impression to see if you can quickly establish a connection.

2. 【Assess underlying abilities】“Which subject did you excel in?”: Understand your knowledge foundation, learning ability, and areas of interest to assess your core hard skills and potential.

3. [Validate Behavioral Patterns] “Share a memorable experience”: Through specific behaviors (STAR), deeply assess your capabilities (soft and hard skills), mindset, values, stress resilience, and growth potential to predict future performance. (The most critical evidence)

4. [Focus on Fit] “What advantages do you bring to this role?”: Based on the information from the first three questions, have you actively summarize and argue why you are the most suitable candidate. Does the candidate possess:

o Can you accurately identify the core requirements of the position?

o Can you effectively distill your core values that align with the position?

o Can you convincingly persuade the interviewer that you are the person who can solve problems and deliver value?

These four questions build upon each other, forming a complete assessment loop: from initial impressions to capability validation, and finally to focus on fit and self-promotion.

Summary and Response Strategies:

· Thoroughly research the job description (JD): This is the foundation for answering all questions, especially the fourth one. Clearly identify what the position most needs.

· Organize your own experiences: Prepare core stories (preferably using the STAR method) and core strengths that are strongly related to the target position.

· Establish strong connections: When answering each question, keep in mind: “How does this demonstrate that I am qualified for this position?” When answering the fourth question, make this connection explicit.

• Back up claims with evidence: Strengths are not just stated; they are proven through past experiences and achievements.

• Be confident and authentic: Believe in your value and communicate it clearly, specifically, and logically.

In future interviews, try to think from the interviewer’s perspective: Each answer should convey “Why am I the best fit for this role?” Your task is not just to answer questions but to use these answers to showcase your unique value and demonstrate what you can bring to the team. An interview is essentially a “live exam” to demonstrate your problem-solving abilities, and these four questions are the key scoring points. When preparing for an interview, practice in front of a mirror, imagining yourself as both the job seeker and the interviewer. This will make your answers more impactful. Best of luck in your next interview!