电话面试的一点心得

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电话面试的一点心得

电话面试无比需要准备的三类问题：

一、关于美国读书、选校和选专业问题

为什么选择去美国接受教育？为什么选择这个学校？为什么选择这个专业？你以后的职业规划目标是什么？你以后的学习计划是怎么样的？你是否有比较中意的教授？除了这个学校，你是否还申请了其他学校？已经拿到了哪些学校的录取通知？

这些都是面试官经常会问到的问题。面试官要知道你学习的目的性和计划性。

1）为什么考虑去美国接受教育?
在大多数人看来，选择美国的原因就是美国的教育水平领先于世界。但是，这样的回答并没有特色。我们应该这样来分析。美国的教育水平在哪些方面领先于世界？你是从什么渠道获得这个消息的？在美国接受教育会对你的将来规划产生什么影响与改变。总的来说，我们的回答要体现出个性化。

2）为什么选择这个学校？

回答这个问题，要抓住几个要点，即学校历史、荣誉、教学特点、知名校友，结合这几点去准备问题。以下是我准备的内容，仅供参考。

3）为什么选择这个专业？

回答这个问题，首先要明确自己当时选择这个专业的初衷。再者，可以从这个专业在学校的特色、学校培养该专业的目标出发。总的来说，一定要体现出你选择这个专业是经过深思熟虑的。

4）你以后的职业规划目标是什么？你以后的学习计划是怎么样的？

可以从自己的性格和感兴趣的方向出发，大胆展望将来的工作环境是怎么样的。

5）你是否有比较中意的教授？

准备这个问题之前，一定要去学校官网上将该专业每个教授的简历都看一下，了解一下每个教授的研究领域。然后根据自己的研究兴趣，选择适合的教授。此外，在面试前，学校一般会提前告诉面试官是谁。所以，要仔细看一下面试官的材料。

6）除了这个学校，你是否还申请了其他学校？已经拿到了哪些学校的录取通知？

回答这个问题时，可以说出自己申请的部分学校，但是一定要让面试官感觉到你选择每个学校都是有原因的，都是经过认真考虑的。而那些已经给你录取通知的学校，最好就别说出具体名字了，而且最好要表现出对这个学校的喜爱。

以下是我准备的材料，仅供参考。题目都用蓝色标出，是为了在电话面试时，可以迅速地找到所需要的材料。而其中标出来的单词，是平常不太熟悉、发音不太标准的单词，这样在电话面试时，会提醒自己注意正确的发音。

Why USA?

To be honest, I had never thought of studying aboard before until the year of 2008, when my sister, Fan Xin, became a Phd student in UC Riverside. Later on, some of my Alumnus applied for the Master programs in USA,too. From their experience, I have learned a lot about the education and life in USA. The education there is of high quality. In order to get A, you have to work hard all the time rather than preparing the exams when exams are coming. It's kind of difficult for students studying there, but you do learn knowledge. And I began to considering studying abord just like they did. I have ever exchange my ideas with some professors in our department. They do appreciate the Phd education in USA, thinking it's the best education in USA. And they highly support me in pursing a Phd degree in Statistics.

Why SMU?

First, I choose your institution because of its distinguished teaching characteristics. As a nationally ranked private university, it is well known for its teaching in small classes and the interaction between students and teachers, which is important to me. In this way, if I was admitted, I could be able to exchange my ideas with my teachers in the daily teachings or in the research. And I choose your institution because of its reputation in statistics. I have been dreaming of being a statistics teacher in the future. To make my dream come true, I should get a PhD Degree in a distinguished university first, which can equip myself with strong theoretical foundation in mathematics, and statistics. I think, SMU is a good choice. I have learned from the website, the department have a long history of education in statistics. And It's education in statistics ranked about 50th in USA.  I believe, its reputation can provide me a platform for launching careers throughout the world. I also learned that there are many opportunities there for students to participate in research practice and internships. Since SMU is located near the heart of Dallas, which is a center of commerce and culture, it can offer me the experience not only on campus but also beyond.

Why statistics？

You Know, I am a student majored in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Sometimes, I felt confused about my future. I had no idea about what job I can choose in the future. Working as a teacher in a training school, or being a programmer programming everyday? As an undergraduate student majored in Applied Mathematics before, you can understand my feelings. About two years ago, I found our university-Northeastern University began to provide Master programs in Applied Statistics, and tried to balance the number of students in research-oriented majors and in application-oriented majors. The same event happened in other universities. With the internet, I learned more about the potentials of statistics. There is a booming job market because of the explosion of data. And there is a wide variety of career options for a student majored in statistics. I also noticed that,there is few professors with research area in applied statistics in our nation. I begin to realize what I should do in the future. I want to become a statistics professor like you.

Why teaching?

By the way, my aunt is a math teacher. I have been living with her since I was 14. Under the influence of her, I like the feelings of teaching. I have ever got the first prize in a teaching contest which is hold in my class when I was in middle school. Because of my excellent academic record in classes of Professor Zhang, I am given the chance to be a Teaching Assistant, grading assignment. And It is also worth mention, I was working with my graduation thesis now. Every week, I need to give a lecture about the macroscopic models of traffic flow that I studied for our "Traffic model" team, one professor and 6 students. I really enjoy the time standing in front of the blackboard and sharing what I know with others.

Are there any particular professor would you like to work with?

To be honest, I'd like to work with you. If you want to know the reason, that is because we have something in common. We both majored in Applied Mathematics, and learn a lot about Shandong. Moreover, In terms of the principle that I should choose a fit professor according to my research interest and every professors' research areas, I still want to work with you. In fact, I have learned about every professor' research areas in the department. And I am sorry to say it's hard for me to decide which professor and I match each other. Because with limited knowledge in Statistics, I have no idea about the differences of various research areas. But I also noticed that Your research area is wide, including Original data analysis, High-through data analysis, and Bayesian methodologies and application. Under this circumstances, I think it's wise for me to work with you, learn about your wide research areas in my first years of study and make a decision afterwards. Right?

除了他们学校之外，还申请了什么学校？已经拿到了那些学校的录取？

Tell you the truth, besides SMU, I have applied many other schools in USA, such as UC Irvine, University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Missouri, Columbia. During the process of application, I prepared most materials and completed the whole application process all by myself, rather than completing application by paying money to intermediary companies. So in order to increase the opportunities of being admitted, I applied more schools. Until now, I have received two admissions and one offer. But I have not decided yet. I still wait for your decision.

二、关于申请材料

对于多数的本科生来说，我们的研究内容、本专业的知识，是面试官考察的主要问题。一般来说，面试官所掌握的材料就是你提供的申请材料，主要包括个人陈述、简历和成绩单。面试官在提问时，极有可能涉及你材料中所写的研究内容、研究经历、实习经历。所以，申请者首先要熟悉自己的申请资料，将上述内容用列大纲的方式整理一下，并注意其中的一些细节。这一步是基础。下一步就是了解面试官的别经，尤其对于理工科学生很重要，因为往往给你面试的是你申请专业领域的老师，所以你了解他的研究方向之后，就可以喝面试官找到共同的话题，引起面试官的兴趣。所以说，作假的人可要小心了。以下是我准备的材料，供大家参考。

[本科学习

[学习成绩During my undergraduate studies, I got a steady GPA of nearly 90 for the first three years, ranked second among 67 student in our department. At that time, I got the opportunity to be admitted without exams by the Master program. But I gave it up.

[学习奖励And I had been awarded several scholarships, such as National Scholarship, once, National Encouragement Scholarship,one time, and Outstanding Student Scholarships,with the first prize for three times and the second prize for four times.

[毕业论文]

Besides the research experience and activities in my resume, I want to update my information.

You know, I was working with my graduation thesis now, It's about macroscopic models of traffic flow. I've chosen this topic in last semester. About six weeks ago, we formed a team, or something like a seminar, with one professor and 6 students in it, Cause we have the same focus in traffic flow. Currently, I am the only student to give lectures, sharing some classic models that I studied weekly. During the lecture, Professor Shao, my adviser, would put forward some questions and let me to explain them in detail. Questions like where does the mechanical model of H.M.Zhang's model come from? I really like this kind of study. It motivates me to learn about not only the contents of the models but also the professors' thoughts of building up his or her models, helping me study deep in the research. Until now, I have talked about eight models. And I found a point where I can put forward my own macroscopic models of traffic flow. To be specific, In H.M.Zhang's paper, for lack of a better choice, he assumed a linear relationship between the speed of the leading car and the relative speed of a vehicle pairs. So I intend to set up a new relationship, maybe setting a power function. By the way, next week, the other two students will give lectures, too.

[TA 经历] September, 2012

[原因In fact, it's impossible for an undergraduate student to worked as a Teaching Assistant in our university. But in order to gain some teaching experience and increase the probability of being admitted by the American universities, I introduced myself to Professor Zhang. Finally, Professor Zhang gave me the opportunity to act as a TA in the Complex-Variable Function and Integral Transform(复变函数与积分变换 ) course, considering my academic performance. I got 96 in his course "Real Variable Analysis" and got 99 in his course "Functional Analysis".

[职责My main responsibilities were grading. I need to collect the students' homework on time and completed grading and return it back next week. I also got the chance to tutor students during the question and answer sessions, of course, under the supervision of Professor Zhang.

[难题When it comes to the challenging part, I think it's about time management and balance of work and study. But I managed to handle it. In fact, It pushes me to learn how to arrange schedule in an efficient way.

[总结All in all, this was a significant experience. It enhanced my understanding of the theories, and gave me a feeling of fulfillment. I really hope to teach as a statistics professor in the future.

[RA经历]Oct. 2010-Dec. 2011

[原因 In the second year of my undergraduate studies, an opportunity showed up for students to participate in professor's research projects. It aimed to enhance the interaction between students and teachers. And I participate in Professor Shao's  research project:Research and Application on the Methods of Solving Linear Systems.

[过程/难题 In the beginning, things were hard for me to understand. At that time, I only learned Advanced Algebra(高等代数), but the research project is mostly concerned with Numerical Analysis(数值分析), including knowledge like Gauss-Seidel iterative methods. So in the beginning, I had to learn Numerical Analysis by myself before my course began.  I have to say, it improved my ability of  self-learning. During that time, I also learned the skills of literature research and summarization. And it help me a lot in my graduation thesis. Professor Shao have witnessed my growth. This may be the reason why Professor Shao believe in my ability and let me read papers about traffic flow directly when I was working with my graduation thesis. While the other student were asked to study the textbook first.

[暑期实践]Aug. 2011-Sept. 2011

[过程It was in the summer of the year 2011. I went to Heze County with other 5 student in different majors. This summer practice is mainly concerned with the left-behind children, or 留守儿童 in Chinese. We carefully designed the questions, investigated families in 6 villages, and communicated with children to know about their psychological and behavioral characters. What’s more, we analyzed the data and get some results. We proposed a report to reflect the serious problems to the local government and put forward some constructive suggestions to improve their living conditions.

It is worth mention that we organized a summer class in an elementary school. The left behind children lived nearby could come to this class and learn something useful or play games with us. In the end of the summer practice, we got a letter and a bunch of paper flowers made by these lovely boys and girls. It was really moving.

Questions: How often did the children contact with their parents? How long did they stay with their parents in a month? Or Please evaluate the children's ability to communicate with others.

Suggestions: The local government can try to organize a summer or winter entertainment place for the left-behind children. In this place, they could be protected from something like abuse.

[总结I was happy that my work was not just passive learning, but had a real benefit in the lives of others.

[课外活动

In addition to my academic studies, I actively participated in numerous extracurricular activities.

As a class monitor, I took up the responsibility for organizing social and volunteer activities. What is worth of mentioning is our cooperation with the School for Children of Migrant Workers in 2011. We tried to tutor the students who had fallen behind in their academic study, talked with them about their personal problems and helped to build their confidence and hope for future. All of us learned a lot and gained pleasure by helping people in need.

Meanwhile, I undertook a position in Student Union, where I further improved my communication skills, developed my leadership and team skills.

The period of participating different activities is also a process of growth.

三、关于兴趣爱好、社会想象及其他

除了上面两个问题，面试官通常还会问你的兴趣爱好，社会问题，天气，家乡风景等问题。这是面试官在考察你与人的交流能力，你的英语能力。对于这类的问题，大家可以事前做好准备，多多练习。另外，最后的时候，面试官一般会问一下，你有没有想问什么问题想咨询他。你可以准备一两个问题。以下是我准备的材料。

兴趣爱好

Personally speaking, I like swimming.

Though lived in Yantai for almost ten years, I have never swam in sea. It's really a pity. When I came to the university, I found There is an indoor swimming pool in our campus. It's cheap and convenient. For us students, it costs only eight yuan to enter and swim there. Of course,for people from outside, it cost more, twenty yuan. So I began to learn swimming, taught by my roommate, a girl from Dalian. With enough practice, I am good at swimming now. But I am not sure whether I have the ability to swim in sea or not.  

问题

I want to ask, Once I was admitted, Could I get any financial support, like working as a Teaching Assistant?

By the way, I am curious about the date when a decision of admission could be made. Can you tell me?

四、我的电话面试经历

4月16日早上，查看邮箱，看到了套磁教授回复的邮件。教授表示，询问能否在第二天上午10点到11点之间进行电话面试，让我把电话号码发给她。看到这个邮件之后，首先对教授的来信进行感谢，并表示时间上没有问题，附上电话号码。之后便开始上网查资料，了解电话面试可能会问的问题。之后，找到学校官网，了解了一下学校、专业、系里教授和面试官的基本信息，并整理了以上的材料。三类问题，分别写在三个WORD里，便于查找。

先简单介绍一下面试官的情况。我的面试官是一中国女教授，在青岛大学读完了应用数学本科，在厦大读完硕士，之后前往美国在密苏里大学统计专业硕博连读。第二天，教授如约打来了电话。首先用汉语简单问候了一下，之后进入正题，用英语开始面试。

我问，需要我做一下自我介绍么？其实，这样的目的是为了让自己掌握整个面试的局面。教授回答说，可以的，因为她仅仅知道的就是我简历上的内容。我介绍了自己，以及自己在本科的学习成绩。之后，我又向教授表示，除了简历上所示的研究项目和活动之外，我还想更新一些信息，可不可以？教授表示可以。接下来，我便看着电脑讲自己准备的毕业论文的材料慢慢念完，并且时而停顿一下，装作思考的样子。结束后，向教授表示一下。其实，这时候就已经耗费了一段时间了。之后，教授便开始发问了。

问题一，为什么选择这个学校的统计系。我装着想了一下，说，要回答这个问题，首先要说一下我问什么选择这个学校SMU。然后，照着稿子念。接着，再说明了自己为什么想选择统计。其中，当我说到，作为一名专业为数学的本科上，我不清楚将来选择什么样的工作，做一个培训学校老师，或者一个整天编程的程序员时，听到电话那边教授的笑声。此外，当我说到，教授本科也是数学，应该更理解我的时候，她又笑了笑。顿时，我感觉放松了许多。

问题二，面试官让我讲一讲我简历中所说的一个统计研究。实际上，这个统计研究就是北京航天航空大学数理统计专业的一个大作业。我是这样回答的：这是我对统计感兴趣之后自己做的一个项目。我在大学里学习的是数学专业，而接触过的统计课仅有两科。所以，我找来了北京航天航空大学数理统计专业的一个大作业，然后学习着做了这个项目。之后，面试官接着问，你的数据是哪里来的。我说是从《统计年鉴》上找到的。面试官说，哦哦，我知道那个。所以，面试的时候，面试官可能会闻到你简历上写的研究、工作的细节，这些最好在面试前做好准备，而建立的内容最好实事求是，作假很有可能被拆穿的。另外呢，因为我的本科是数学专业，简历里也只有这个大作业是统计的，所以面试官才选择了这个问题。

问题三，面试官问我还有什么可以与她分享的，比如兴趣爱好。我便照着材料讲起游泳来。当我说到，虽然现在挺擅长游泳了，但是仍不知道自己有没有能力在海里游的时候，她又笑了。

最后，面试官询问我，是否有什么想了解的。我便提出了自己准备的问题。她给了我详细的答案，并表示最后的结果可能在之后的两天内决定。因为知道教授是中国人，最后和她用中文聊了一会。我问她，到底是不是山东人，是不是因为是老乡的原因才给我这次面试机会的等等话题。

以上，便是我电话面试的整个过程。

五、几点注意事项

1）语速

大家在和面试官交流的时候，语速不必太快，但是发音吐字要清晰。如果没听懂对方的问题，不要不懂装懂，请求pardon。或者问一句Can you speak loudly ? My phone line is not clear.尽可能表现的有礼貌，有问必答，而不要答非所问。如果平时口语一般，那么事先充分的准备，对对方问题的估计以及如何回答，会起到很好的效果。

2）寻找共同点

我认为这点是非常重要的。共同点才能让对方对你感兴趣。共同点可以是你的研究兴趣正好和他的研究领域一样，或者像我找到的那样。我和面试官都是山东人，本科都是应用数学。

3）实事求是

申请的材料，包括简历、个人陈述等，里面的研究项目、活动最好都是自己亲身经历过的，否则在电话面试的时候，当面试官问及细节时，极可能露出破绽来。

4）掌握面试局面

如果可以的话，尝试引导着面试官向着自己希望的方向问问题。这样的话，整个过程就相对轻松一下。

注：部分内容并非原创，为整理网上材料所得。

sandyxie1990

谢谢整理和分享~

nora1na

谢谢分享！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

gracelove打怪兽

谢谢分享，很受用。