Question: So how are you enjoying Taiwan so far?
Answer: Well, it’s not a very nice place. It’s actually quite dirty.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hone
An opinion expressed with sincerity…gotta give credit for that. He/she has culture shock and he/she’s moaning a bit. That’s fairly normal if he/she’s fresh off the boat.
True, iIt’s not the best answer to the question in an interview situation but he/she’s just being honest.
Imagine the opposite; a BS ‘wonderful cultural experience’ answer to the same question aimed to please the interviewer rather than reflect his or her true feelings.
I’d rather some BS, than a moaner right off the bat.
I remember once when I was a young lad in desperate need of some pocket money, I applied at the local Burger King, when asked why I wanted the job, my honest reply was that it was better than working at McDonalds, where I later worked, because, guess what, BK didn’t hire me.
We were all fresh off the boat at one time or another, some fresher than others, but I bet most didn’t slag the country while trying to find a job.
The stupidest interview answer I’ve ever heard of:
Two friends of mine were looking for a caregiver. They were interviewing one woman.
Woman: Oh, some friends of mine know you two.
Friend: Oh, really?
Woman: Yeah, they said one of you was a real bitch, but I forget which one.
Impleased,
You sound like an idiot.
Explain why s/he shouldn’t have said what they said?
Question: Please tell me why you want to work as an engineer for our company.
Answer (my brother’s): Frankly, you know that this is a stupid question.
He got the job. The other candidates were sent to an assessment centre. 
Honesty beats sleazy insincerity any time. At least where I come from. But obviously people in Taiwan, like Impleased, don’t agree - they actually prefer slimy, insincere, Ken & Barbie yuppies over genuine people with honest opinions. It’s sad but most employers in Taiwan are similarly shallow in their hiring preferences.
Ouch, Back Packer, you sound like a…um…backpacker.
Let me see, two weeks in, already a complainer, tells me what it will be like in two months, six months…why bother hiring this person when he/she will be quiting soon and I’ll have to find some one else.
Honesty did save me a lot of legwork, so for me it was a great answer, for the person looking for a job it was a stupid answer.
Since when did name calling become part of this?
I am the idiot that is interviewing you, so what does that make you?
A good reason why he/she shouldn’t have said it is because he/she is still looking for a job. Do you like complainers? Maybe you are looking for a kindred spirit. Rolling the dice hoping the interviewer has the same complaints/likes the same booze etc as you do? I can see your staff now, full of complainers, drunks and pedophiles because you respected their honesty. I suppose you advocate lie detectors and truth drugs during the hiring process. I can hear you now, Can’t everyone just tell the truth? Wake up, loser!
I hope you give the same answer when looking for jobs then you can return to sticking your head up your ass in your home country looking for work and giving stupid answers to your potential employees, idiot.
As for you, Mod Lang, I suppose you put on mask before every interview you do because there is no way any “shallow Taiwanese” would hire someone with a mug like yours.
So when you ask an employee “How’s the job going?” he should only tell you good things, never bring up any negative points?
For me there’s a difference between complaining (i.e., proactively beginning a topic with someone that involves your negative comments about something) and answering a question. You surely can’t deny that Taiwan is fairly dirty…and anyway, he didn’t say “I hate all Chinese people” or “Chinese culture absolutely $ucks” or “This place is a real $hithole” or similar…guess you’re looking for a bunch of yes-men. Well, with all the newbies fresh off the boat, I’m sure you’ll find enough of 'em.
[quote=“hypermegaglobal”]Question: Please tell me why you want to work as an engineer for our company.
Answer (my brother’s): Frankly, you know that this is a stupid question.
He got the job. The other candidates were sent to an assessment centre. [/quote]
I love this - it’s like something out of Dilbert 
I think all impleased is demonstrating is that the ‘right’ interview answer is the one that pleases the interviewer. I’ve always suspected that the person who gets the job is usually the one who gets on best with the interviewer - credentials etc. certainly count in order to even be in the running, but it’s the personal rapport that tips the balance. This makes a lot of sense when it’s the person you’ll be working for, but this isn’t always the case, particularly in a large company.
I can’t help thinking hypermegaglobal’s brother’s interviewer was also an engineer
Moot, this person already has the job and I would want to hear everything good or bad.
Similar? No, this is exactly what was implied.
No, just someone with enough positive energy that other people will want to be around them. Maybe this thread should have been called…
Initial Indications of an Employee That May Not Last in Taiwan
Edit implied / said
[quote]Woman: Oh, some friends of mine know you two.
Friend: Oh, really?
Woman: Yeah, they said one of you was a real bitch, but I forget which one.[/quote]
Didn’t you say that he said [quote]Well, it’s not a very nice place. It’s actually quite dirty.[/quote] ???
Now it seems that he said that the place was a “$hithole”. Can we get it straight, just for the record, what “exactly” did he say?
Taiwan compared to home is “not a very nice place” and “it’s actually quite dirty”. I fail to see any problem with this exept when it is followed up with stuff that would lead you to believe that he won’t last 6 months. The initial quote in itself is not a very fair reason to dismiss someones application for the job. This is Taiwan, you’re meant to say …
- Sorry, you don’t have blue eyes
- The parents will think you are ugly
- You are too fat
- You look like you enjoy drinking too much
- Sorry, we are looking for someone to control and dominate. You’re just too damn confident.
- What, you have a boyfriend - next
… The above would be a Taiwanese bosses reasons for not hiring someone.
An honest answer…
So, how do you like Taiwan so far.
“Duuuuuude, the girls are easy. I could never get such hotties at home. Yeah, the reason that I don’t have a job yet is that I haven’t got out of bed since I got here… wink, wink, ya know what I mean. Hey, is that a fridge? Got any beer? No, well #$#@ this, you’re so boring. Look, I’ll take the job though 'cos I need an ARC and well, you guys open at 2pm, right? So, if I am too smashed in the morning that’s ok, and I’ll need to cook some eggs for that hottie from last night. Damn, I got the munchies, what’s for lunch”. 
For the record: I digress, similar, to me equals this is a $hithole. 
This alone does not preclude someone from employment, but it is/was a good start down that road.
I will always hire a positive person before I hire a negative person, regardless. If I was Taiwanese, I probably wouldn’t even notice alot of personality traits, therefore…Remember the last blue-eye we got here? Wasn’t he trouble! Let’s not do that again!
"Duuuuuude, the girls are easy. I could never get such hotties at home. Yeah, the reason that I don’t have a job yet is that I haven’t got out of bed since I got here… wink, wink, ya know what I mean.
This I could handle, in the immortal words of Graham Greene, “Soldiers that can’t f*&k, can’t fight.”
"Hey, is that a fridge? Got any beer? No, well #$#@ this, you’re so boring.
Starting to cross the line.
“Look, I’ll take the job though 'cos I need an ARC and well, you guys open at 2pm, right?”
I don’t think I could accept this.
So, if I am too smashed in the morning that’s ok, and I’ll need to cook some eggs for that hottie from last night. Damn, I got the munchies, what’s for lunch".
Having the munchies is no crime, well not where I’m from. And cooking eggs for a hottie, you have to respect that.
[quote=“impleased”]I will always hire a positive person before I hire a negative person, regardless…"Duuuuuude, the girls are easy. I could never get such hotties at home.
[/quote]
Sounds pretty negative about his experience in his home country, which he should be more content in and well-adjusted to than a place he’s only been in for a matter of weeks…
[quote=“impleased’s job seeker”] "Yeah, the reason that I don’t have a job yet is that I haven’t got out of bed since I got here… wink, wink, ya know what I mean. "
[/quote]
Hmmm…either we have a person who lacks fundamental energy to do MORE than the implied activity (that sounds negative to me) or we have a potential case of herpes/gonorrhea/syphilis on our hands…because a person who refers to women as ‘hotties’ isn’t likely to be educated enough to realize the importance of condom use (“Whoa, dude, I don’t think so…anyway not to be negative again but those darn Chinese ones are just too small for the likes of me, ya know what I mean, wink wink…”)
So what were his TEACHING qualifications and LANGUAGE like? Did you even get that far? 
IL, I think you just replied to Bassman’s recollections of his first job interview here, not to impleased’s impressions of a newbie.
I think if someone stated that ‘this is not a very nice place’ in response to a direct question from me I would appreciate an honest answer. I may even agree with him, but then I would ask how big a problem it is for him.
If the answer suggests that he’s not going to stay the distance then goodbye, but he could equally just shrug and say “Well, it’s a bit of an eye-opener but it’s not for me to judge another culture. I guess I’ll just have to adapt, and people are nice.”
Of course, that’s just me trying to be positive at the end of a long day. Realistically, I would rather see someone who is prepared to make the effort to be positive instead of relying on me to see the good side.
If the answer suggests that he’s not going to stay the distance then goodbye, but he could equally just shrug and say “Well, it’s a bit of an eye-opener but it’s not for me to judge another culture. I guess I’ll just have to adapt, and people are nice.”
Yeah, I agree - is this what the OP is saying, though?
If not, he shouldn’t be in charge with screening applicants.
Sounds like a hypocrite to me.
[quote=“stragbasher”]IL, I think you just replied to Bassman’s recollections of his first job interview here, not to impleased’s impressions of a newbie.
[/quote]
I was trying to respond to impleased’s responses to Bassman’s statements, not to Bassman’s statements themselves. impleased said that some of those statements were things he could accept, and others were not, so I was addressing that, and pointing out that depending on which set of glasses one had on at the time (rose-colored or otherwise) each statement could have various interpretations.
How does that make me a hypocrite?
When doing an interview:
First is Attitude.
Second is ability to adapt.
Third is personality.
Fourth is interaction with students.
A distant fifth is teaching ability.
(Please feel free to rearrange or add criteria if you differ, I’d be interested to know other opinions)
You can have all the ability in the world but if you spend your time bitchin about cleanliness, food, culture, there is no way you will last without pissing off everyone around you.
Unfortunately, when it comes to interviewing foreignors in Taiwan, compromise is something that we have to do, and most often regret, I might add.
Half of the backpackers that come through any schools doors are scraping the bottom of the barrel, just as half the schools in Taiwan are not exactly well-run. The best situation is when Joe-backpacker meets decrepit school, then we have reached Nirvana.
Until the time, which I think other threads have said is here or fast approaching, when both are extinct, I will continue not to hire negative people.
If the first impression is “Damn this weather sucks” or “I hate these f*&%$in Taiwanese drivers”, I will send Joe backpacker packin.
I don’t expect everyone to love this place but as the first impression you want to give to a potential employer?..keep lookin for work.
If you ask a direct question what’s wrong with an honest answer? Besides, Taiwan is dirty - that’s a fact and not a negative opinion.
True, most Taiwanese can’t take the truth so you better give a more diplomatic answer, but the response of the candidate was not phrased in a way that you can call him a negative person or someone who is (constantly) bitching about the place. More a mistake of someone who is not yet familiar with the local ‘rules’ (I assume he was fairly new to Taiwan).
That said while most Westerners and companies there may appreciate an honest answer here it does not work that way, unless perhaps you are working here in a Western influenced environement (foreign management, international company etc.).