On the afternoon of November 30, 2024, the Alumni Association of the Business School of Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE), together with the HR Research Association, successfully held a simulated recruitment activity that hit the job market directly in the Case Classroom 1 of CUFE Building. The event was honored to invite Prof. Yang Zhongying, Prof. Lin Lin of the Department of Human Resource Management, Mr. Li Wei, majoring in International Business Management in the class of 1997 and Vice President of the Alumni Branch of the School of Business, Ms.Liu yiyang, majoring in Human Resource Management of the School of Business in the classes of 2010, 2014 and HR Manager of China Minsheng Bank Head Office, and Mr. Xu Changda, majoring in Human Resource Management of the School of Business in the class of 2010 and Senior HR Manager of Sunshine Asset Management Co.
After a strict resume screening process, we screened out 11 students from various colleges who applied for the program.
At the beginning of the event, the host Geng Hanyang gave a warm welcome to everyone and read out the rules of the interview: the interview was divided into two sessions, the first one was a leaderless group discussion, and the second one was a personal interview. Wang Houwei, the timekeeper on the right side of the interview area, was responsible for assisting the timekeeping and helping the students to grasp the time.
First Session: Leaderless Group Interview
After carefully reading the relevant case materials, each contestant introduced himself/herself for one minute and made a self statement on the given topic. According to the position of each contestant, they will be divided into two groups, “pro” and “con”, to start a leaderless group discussion, and finally make a concluding speech and debate.
In this session, each player's performance was very wonderful, thinking logically and rigorously, elaborating their own arguments from multiple dimensions, and closely related to the actual situation.
Afterwards, the interviewers, Ms. Liu Yiyang and Mr. Xu Changda, made a summary speech on this session, in which they emphasized the importance of emotion management and the importance of not over-immersing oneself in the emotion of debating when conducting a leaderless group interview. In addition, they also indicated that when elaborating, one should focus on the problem and fully demonstrate one's own logical thinking and insights.
Second Session: Personal Interview
In this session, each participant was given 5 minutes to introduce themselves and answer structured interview questions. The interviewer asked questions such as “Most memorable project experience in your internship/school department?” “For those interviewers who did not major in Human Resource Management, why did you come to interview for this position?” “How do you convince the interviewer that you are qualified for this position?” “What in your internship experience or participation experience supports that you meet the criteria for the position?” and a series of other questions. Each contestant thought deeply about the interviewer’s questions and maximized his or her professional ability and character advantages.
Third Session: Interviewer's Critique Session
While the staff was counting the scores of the contestants, each interviewer made detailed comments and guidance to the interviewees, clearly pointing out the corresponding areas for improvement and giving pertinent suggestions.
Mr. Xu Changda suggested that the interviewers should emphasize their strengths both in their resumes and in their language, explain the relevance of their abilities and experiences to the position, and pay great attention to the time control issue.
Ms. Liu Yiyang told us that leaderless group discussion is not a one-person affair, and that we should try to figure out what kind of role we are suitable for in the team, enhance our insight, control the details of multiple parties, and complete the role tasks in our regular study.
Li Wei emphasized the influence of details on the success or failure of the interview, such as dress, sitting posture, communication style, etc. He also emphasized that the language of the introduction should be consistent with the description of your resume.
Prof. Lin Lin asked the contestants to think deeply about how to stand out from the crowd of candidates of similar level, and also mentioned that instead of deliberately “acting” good in the interview, it is better to exercise their leadership and organizational skills in daily life.
Mr. Yang also emphasized the issue of attitude, the unity of language and resume, and said that attitude is crucial in the interview, no matter what the purpose is, you should take it seriously and be correct.
The interviewers’ comments were full of sincere feelings, and these valuable experiences are undoubtedly a precious gift to the students.
Fourth Session: Award Ceremony
First Prize: Yang Qingqing, Mei Luying
Second Prize: Su Wenfa, Jiang Jinbing, Lu Ruijia, Ji Ran
Third Prize: Guo Tingting, Wang Baiyi, Luo Ruixue, Zhang Yaotian, Tang Mingxi
Fifth Session: Group Photo
As this activity was coming to an end, all the members took a group photo to record the success of this activity and draw a perfect ending for today's mock interview activity.
We would also like to express our special thanks to Mr. Qi Yu, the instructor of Business School Alumni Association and HR Research Association, and all the students who participated in and organized this activity. At the same time, we would like to express our sincere thanks to Prof. Yang Zhongying, Prof. Lin Lin, Mr. Li Wei, Ms. Liu Zhiyang and Mr. Xu Changda for their presence and guidance.
