Edison Mao



In the summer of Grade 10, I was honored to receive two interview invitations respectively from Nestlé and NetEase. One of them is the largest food & beverage company and the other is one of the most popular internet technology companies. I could not express how happy I was. They were probably the most valuable opportunities I ever had  to improve myself. Yet, lacking experience, I made little preparation for the first Nestlé interview, which resulted in a very muddleheaded expression when I was asked the question “what do you know about our company?” I could only answer that “I like your Crispy Shark biscuit” rather than other more relevant information about the company. I just sat on the chair and had no idea what to do. Watching the interviewers talking to each other, my heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to jump out of my body.  Consequently, I failed this interview. 

However, I was not totally defeated. It was tough for the first couple days after the interview. It was the biggest failure I had in my life. I could not even face my parents because I was afraid that they would be disappointed at me. However, after resting for a few days, I realized that I need to cheer up, because there was still one more opportunity for me. I took this failure as a valuable learning experience to prepare for the second interview, this time with NetEase. With the lesson I had learned, this time I did detailed research on the information of NetEase’s development history, business scope, and current company situation. In addition, I listed all the potential questions that may be asked by HR and prepared the answers accordingly. Moreover, I performed mock interviews with my mother – who is a business manager – to seek advice for better improvement. The process was really rewarding, and with these adequate preparations, I confidently completed the NetEase interview and successfully won the internship position.

These interview experiences have not only armed me with the courage to face failures but also inspired me to learn from them for better growth. I believe it will keep enabling me to make further breakthroughs in my future career.