Alibaba Group Marketing interview questions

It was a massive interview in scale. They try to arrange all interviews in 3 days and normally you will meet 2-3 interviewers perspectively in one day. The interviewers only ask questions in mandarin so please make sure you can express yourself in mandarin smoothly.

The process consisted of a skype interview with someone in Asia, then an in-person interview with their HR person in their Santa Clara office, followed by a video/phone interview with two people in Asia. Overall the people were pleasant during the process, but there were problems with the video conference equipment and one of the people had to leave the interview due to a double booked meeting. Overall it was a little disorganized and I don't think I was able to really get very deep into role and my qualifications due to the equipment problems and lack of time. They concluded by saying that they wanted to interview me in person during an upcoming visit to the Santa Clara office. That ended up not happening. My background was not a total fit for their business and position, so I was not necessarily surprised, but I did feel like they wasted my time a bit. I have worked for Asian companies before and my overall impression was that it seemed pretty similar in that regard. Working for an Asian company when you are not from that country and don't speak the language is not easy and can be frustrating. Work/life balance is not really a part of Asian culture and often founders and CEOs are treated like demi-gods by the rank and file employees. Not all but many surround themselves with a core inner circle, which can seem very foreign to westerners who are used to more approachable leadership. If you are interested in working for an international company and experiencing another part of the work and culture however, it can be a very interesting and enriching experience depending on the company. Since I didn't go farther into the interview process I can't really comment further about Alibaba.