面試技巧:教你回答面試官提出的奇怪問題

Interview Questions should be fair and designed to find out if you can do the job - but in reality, candidates can be asked some very odd things. While you can't predict what questions you will be asked, you can prepare by developing a strategy for answering them.

面試的目的是檢測面試人是否有能力勝任這份工作，然而，當面試人接受面試時，可能會遇到一些奇怪的提問，雖然這些問題很難預計到，然而，你可以有相應的策略去迎接那些奇怪的面試問題。

'Your answers might not reveal how well you will perform in the role - but they do give an indication of how well you cope under pressure and if you can think on your feet,' says John Lees, career coach and author of "Just the Job!".

《如此工作》的作者，職業策劃人約翰.李斯講過：“不用大腦想也知道，面試官不希望你一定你能證明你有多能勝任工作，但是你希望看到你在面對工作壓力時如何反應。”

What kind of questions can you expect?

能預計到的面試問題

Questions like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" are difficult, but not surprising. Brain teaser questions tend to be unexpected and challenge you to think laterally. In theory, you could be asked anything, but certain roles attract particular types of questions.

面試中，類似於“你的優點和缺點是什麼？”的問題很難回答，但是這樣的問題不足爲奇。面試中那些類似於腦筋急轉彎的問題很難預測，挑戰你的思考能力。理論上講，你可能被問及任何問題，但是問這些問題的目的就那麼幾個。

'Some seemingly strange questions are actually related to the role, for example, "How would you sell me this water cooler?"' explain John. 'If you're going for a sales job or one that requires improvisation or quick thinking, the question is not totally unexpected.'

“一些問題看似很奇怪，卻萬變不離其宗。比如說‘你如何想我推銷這個飲水機？’如果你是想求得一份銷售類工作，或是需要即興演講或需要敏捷反應的工作，類似於這樣的問題不是不能預測的。

If the role demands quick approximation skills, don't be surprised if your maths skills are put to the test. This might be posed as a simple calculation or you could be asked something more lateral, like how many tennis balls fit into a Mini.

如果面試官想考察你的商業估算能力，那麼考察你數學怎樣就是很自然的事。有可能會讓你做一個簡單地運算，也有可能問的很有策略，比如，你可迷你車裏面可與裝多少個網球。

Interviewers often pose "what if?" questions which are entirely explains: 'So if you were up for a hotel receptionist job, you might well have to answer the question "How would you handle an angry customer who refuses to pay his bill?"'

面試中，面試官可能會提一些與工作相關的，類似於“如果….怎樣“的問題。約翰解釋道：“如果你事在面試一份賓館前臺的工作，你可能會要求回答‘如果你遇到一個客人很生氣，拒絕付房費，你應該怎麼辦？’”

Also be prepared for a seemingly throwaway question at the end of the interview. Questions like "What three things would you take to a desert island?" are designed to reveal something of your personality.

面試快結束的時候，要對一些看似漫不經心的問題有所準備。比如“如果要去沙漠，你會帶那三件東西？”類似於這種問題時考察你的責任心。

John says: 'As will all these type of questions, stay calm and give you answer along with your reasoning behind it - keeping it light and friendly.'

約翰說道：“在回答問題時，保持冷靜，在回答完爲什麼時，加上理由，整個面試要顯示出自己不緊張和友好。”

How to answer these questions

這些問題如何回答

'The main skills being tested by brain-teaser questions are problem-solving and creative thinking - and while there's no right or wrong answer as such, there are good and bad ways to handle them,' says Rob Williams, a chartered occupational psychologist and author of "Brilliant Verbal Reasoning Tests".

《言語推理測試》的作者，特約心理學家羅布.威廉斯講到：“那些類似於腦筋急轉彎的問題主要考察解決問題的能力和創造思維的能力。這些問題是沒有正確答案或是錯誤答案的，只有你回答得好不好的判斷。”

'The most famous brain-teaser question is, "Why are man-hole covers round?" A good strategy is to rephrase the question. So try explaining, "Why aren't man-hole covers square or rectangular?"Think about what would happen if you lifted the cover up, turned it sideways and dropped it diagonally through the hole. This actually gives you the answer since a round man-hole cover won't fall through its hole!'

“最經典的腦筋急轉彎問題是‘爲什麼下水道井蓋是圓的呢？“回答類似問題的策越是先換一種方式複述問題，‘爲什麼不能做成方的或矩形的呢？’試想一下，當打開井蓋，將它轉到對角，再蓋上去，這時井蓋可能蓋不下去，所以井蓋要做成圓形。”

Other types of brain teaser question are more open-ended.'You might be asked for an estimate, but don't simply answer with a figure off the top of your head,' warns Rob. For example, if you were asked, "How many tennis balls could a Mini car carry?" Rob recommends using the following three steps to answer the question (which works for any sort of brain teaser question).

其他的腦筋急轉彎問題答案就很多了。“你可能會被要求估算什麼，不要想着一定要有個確切的數字。”羅布解釋道：“比如說問你一部迷你汽車可以裝多少個網球之類的問題。”羅布推薦用一下三步回答（也適合其他的腦筋急轉彎問題）

1. Repeat back the question slowly. Reflect upon each part of the question and give your immediate thoughts/ideas. Then you can go through saying how you are going to answer the question and why you have decided to do it that way.

1. 慢慢複述提出的問題。想清楚問題的每個細節，然後迅速作答。作答的套路是，先回答要怎樣處理這樣的問題，然後解釋爲什麼這樣處理。

2. Break the question down into parts then give an estimate of the number that would fit into a bucket. Then break down the different spaces in a Mini into say, front of car, back of car, in the boot, on the roof. Then all you have to do is to estimate how many buckets would fit into each of these four spaces.

2． 將問題拆開，先估算一個桶裏能放多少網球，然後將迷你車的空間做個劃分：車前、後、尾箱、車頂。最好你要做的事估計在車的四個空間裏可以裝多少個桶就好了。

3. Typically some clarification of the question will be allowed. This does not mean that you should criticise the question - or say that it is impossible to answer! What you will not be given is any guidance about how to answer or how "good" your answer is.

3. 對一些問題作出澄清是允許的，但不是說你需要去評論面試官的問題怎樣，或是說這個問題是不可能回答的。關於類似面試問題時沒有一個教材可以告訴你怎樣回答類似的問題，和怎樣回答好類似的問題

Some final tips to remember

一些提示

- You are being tested on thinking creatively when put under pressure. Feel free to spend time thinking through your answer.

—面試官想測試的是你在面試壓力下的創造力。 你可以充分思考，不要有壓力。

- Talk through your reasoning as you go since it is how you get to the answer and not the answer itself which is of interest to the interviewer. Any brain teaser question requires thinking through several stages of reasoning.

—給出答案的同時交代你推理的過程，要知道面試官對答案的本身是不感興趣的。任何腦經急轉彎的問題都是有幾個推理階段的。

- It's thinking outside of the box that's needed so aim to come up with some unusual lines of thinking.

—跳出固定思維模式，需要你有一些不同尋常的觀點。

- Don't panic when you first hear a brain-teaser question. You have plenty of time to answer and after you think it through the question probably isn't as tricky as it sounds!

—當你第一次被問及腦筋急轉彎問題時，不要慌張。你有足夠的時間供你思考，當你想明白了，也許你也不會覺得這些問題奇怪了。

- If you do feel stuck then change your focus to probing your interviewer for more information on the question. Even if the interviewer refuses to give anything away, it is always worth showing that you have and creative-thinking skills.

—如果你怎都沒有頭緒，轉變策略，向面試官尋求更多的信息。即使面試官不給你任何提示，也你的做法也向他們證明了你有批判性的思維和創造性的思維能力。