SMC’s Helpful Tips: Nailing Your First Interview

An increasing number of people are attempting to get employment in foreign countries. As globalism takes a hold on the world’s workforce, an increasing number of employers utilize phone  or video interviews to screen potential candidates for a specific role. Phone or video conference interviews may seem less personal than interviews conducted in person. However, for employers, phone or video call interviews are helpful in screening candidates and building a pool of well qualified individuals for in person interviews. Also, phone and video interviews can save employers money and time. On the other hand, for potential candidates, getting interviewed via phone or video call can either be a great advantage or a great disadvantage.

How can you make a lasting impression through the phone or through video conference? Are you able to distinguish yourself enough amongst the other well qualified candidates? Should you dress up for video interviews? Let us ease your tension with some helpful advice.

There are some ways you may improve your chances. The first suggestion is to prepare for the interview. You may ask yourself, “What is there to prepare? Do I even need to prepare?” Regardless of how confident you are, it is always a lot safer to prepare yourself. Study the company that you are applying for. What are their goals or missions? What makes that specific company unique? Also, make sure that you understand the requirements of the position. Before going in for any type of interview, you should always know why you want to be a part of the company and why you want that specific role within the company.

Why are you a good match for the position? What are your professional goals and how does this position help you achieve your goals? These are only a few simple questions amongst the pool of questions that you may be asked. As a suggestion, it may benefit you to list potential questions that the HR representative may ask you. Search online or ruminate potential interview questions. Then, try to write down the answers to those questions. Last but not least, practice saying your answers. Express your points as organized and as clear as possible. Keep in mind that most companies will not hire individuals who cannot express their thoughts and who know absolutely nothing about their company. If you study and prepare yourself, you will increase your chances of being noticed by the recruiter or HR representative.

Another important way to increase your chances is to make sure that the interview is conducted in a quiet place. Noises can be very distracting. It is important that the place you are in during the interview is in a silent room. Why is a quiet location very crucial to a phone or video call interview? So both the interviewee and the interviewer will be able to clearly hear and understand the questions and the answers. Just as the sense of hearing is important to a phone or video call interview, the sense of sight is just as significant. If you are being interviewed through a video call or conference, make sure that the background is clean and simple. The interviewer should only be able to focus on you. In addition, cleanliness is important. Make sure that the room that is being shown on the camera is clean and ordered. A messy room can indicate a disorganized and even an irresponsible individual. You want to make a good impression so prepare yourself and your surroundings ahead of time. Should you dress up for a video interview? Yes, definitely. It may seem like a hassle, but you should always make yourself look presentable and professional. Treat video interviews like as if you are being interviewed in person. Also, dressing up can help boost your confidence and calm your nerves, which can only benefit you during an interview.

 

Above all, be yourself. Do not try to be anything or anyone else. Most recruiters or HR representatives notice individuals who are comfortable communicating with others and articulating their thoughts. If you are too focused on trying to be someone else, your true strengths may not be able to shine. You can make a great impression just by describing yourself and your achievements as professionally and as eloquently as you can. Remember, your unique qualities and experiences are the key to setting you apart from hundreds or thousands of candidates.

SMC’s HR Department

Written by:

Alexis Ty // SMC Editor

International HR Consultant

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Meet Our CEO Mr. Bryan Wang

As a proven leader and strategic thinker, Mr. Bryan Wang has been leading Shanghai Metal Corporation for roughly fourteen years now. Throughout his journey, Mr. Wang has learned many valuable things about the role of leadership and the evolution it has taken. Passionate about business, more specifically the business of world’s best steel products, Mr. Wang is driven by the belief of a customer-driven culture, as well as the principle of supporting and promoting the professional development of the employees at SMC.

We met Mr. Wang for a brief interview to ask him questions to understand better his role as a decision-maker, leader and a respected role figure for people starting out in their career life. Below you can read the extract of the interview.

How do you know that you are leading well?

It is the company’s profit that tells me if we are doing well or not. If the profits get better it means that we are doing good. Also, I look if people are happy. It is very important to me that everybody is happy because if they happy, they work better. So I am always looking out for the working environment, for example, if they like the afternoon tea that we provide, I am happy. Also, I am always thinking how to make things fair to everyone, as well as productive and effective for us. They should be compensated for the hard work they have done.

How do you know that you have made the right decision?

My brain is little, that is why I need more people to help me, to help SMC. Actually I need people who could help from inside their hearts. I am the kind of person who always support people, and I also expect constructive discussions so we could learn from each other. That is actually the role of a manager, to help other people to reach the goal set for the team. They are supposed to work as a team and support each other. But I also think that a good manager should also help each one to reach his/her own success because it is very important to become successful and I want my employees to be very successful. I am learning every day with everybody working here. Every day. From this learning process I could also see who is good and who needs more support. And finally, when I spot a problem in the company for example SMC getting more competition, it is time to act upon it and try to revert the situation so we acquire a more favorable position in the market.

How have the foreign interns helped your company as a whole?

I see the foreign internship program as a window, a motor, an engine to help SMC build an international image all over the world. The way I see them is a source of good and fresh ideas. And I think this is very important in the company. Ideas. Of course not all ideas are good, but I hear all of them and then evaluate each one of them. What I expect from them is that they understand how SMC works. I mean, they have to grasp how the system works here, especially in the beginning. That is important so that business and daily tasks could run smoothly. I am also concerned if they are happy and if they are doing a good job. On the other hand, I think the local people need to change a little bit to accommodate the foreign interns in to the local habits.

What do you look for in a good candidate to work at SMC?

I look for people who are hard working, who contributes to the company, and have good results. Especially in the beginning, when you have to pay more attention to learn all the new things about the company, it is important to follow the company’s rules. Of course you can think about our process and make recommendations and suggestions in order to change what has not been working well. We have our KPI metrics to see who is doing well and who is not. We need good people, the ones who think about the company in the long-term. I am always following each one’s performance, but I also have an immediate sense of how a person is by just talking to this person for one minute. One minute is all it takes to know how a person is.

What is the secret behind the success at SMC?

Openness and fairness. These are the secret behind the success at SMC. I appreciate everyone’s suggestion. And to me this is the best way to find out what the problems in the company are. I won’t know what the problems are if you don’t tell me. That is why I think it is important to have an open and fair conversation so we could spot any problem or things that are running perfectly in the company, hence act immediately.

Can you give any tips for people starting out?

In the beginning you have to work very hard and follow people’s and company’s instructions. This is relevant in order to understand how the process works as a first step. After that, you have to think and reflect on what you have seen and give a clear reason to what and how things could be better. Smart thinking is important. Also, you have to look after the places you worked at. For example, if you come to leave the company one day, it is not good for this person to talk bad things about the company that he/she just left. Hurting the image or reputation of the company is not seen as a good quality in a person who does that. One good thing is to always look at the bright side, what you learned while you were working there, and appreciate the opportunity and the lessons learned. Say thank you is a way to appreciate things in life. Finally, you have to be honest and trustful. No company wants to hire people who do not have these qualities. So those are the aspects that one must look at once starting out in their career life.

Shanghai Metal Corporation (SMC) serves the world’s businesses as an integrated global manufacturer, exporter, and supplier with offices and subsidiaries located throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. SMC manufactures a wide-array of value-added Metal Products, Building Systems, Shipping Containers, and Machinery. Just as crucial to this leadership is our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, safeguarding our planet for our family and friends across the globe, which embodies our company’s commitment to Building Value Across the Globe.

To find out more, please visit our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. 

You can also read more articles by our team at SMC:

Shanghai Metal Corporation: Building Value Across the Globe

Multiculturalism in the Workplace

Shanghai Metal Corporation Welcomes Our July Interns!

SMC explains why Logistics is Fundamental to Supply Chain Success 

SMC Welcomes International Interns

SMC #BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Camilla G.//SMC Editor 

Shanghai Metal Corporation Welcomes Our July Interns!

Shanghai Metal Corporation (SMC) welcomes our international interns from all over the world to Shanghai!  Our international interns come from different continents and will be contributing to our global company. They will become the new faces of SMC.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is always happy to provide educational internship experience and exposure to each and every one of our interns. All of our interns have an opportunity to communicate with international clientele from around the globe.

Our interns will be trained to be the company’s brand ambassadors. They will be learning from us but also sharing their individual knowledge and talents. Through everyone’s joint effort, SMC will be able to  provide all of our clients with the best customer service available in the industry.

Our interns will be participating in marketing, trade, and sales strategies . They will grow and accumulate massive knowledge  of their specialized products. They will experience international marketing or trade in the glorious city of Shanghai.

Bast of all, all interns that work for Shanghai Metal Corporation will gain personal experience in the working world and will grow through cultural diversity in and out of the work environment.

Meet our International Interns: 

United States of America

  

United Kingdom

 

 

 

Australia

 

 

 

 

Our interns will be trained by talented people and will be partnered up with a highly engaged team. They will bring creativity and innovation to transform the company.

Welcome to Shanghai Metal Corporation!

Do you want to join our winning team? Apply now and send a copy of your CV or Resume to hr@shanghaimetal.com

Written by:

Alexis Ty // SMC Editor

International HR Consultant