How to Answer: What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
Candidates will be asked to describe their strengths and weaknesses in most job interviews. Candidates should think about how to respond to this question in advance of an interview so that the information is beneficial to employers while not jeopardizing their chances of being hired.
1. Think carefully about what you should reveal.
1.1 Use the job description to frame your answer.
The role’s needs should be reflected in your talents and weaknesses. Make sure to emphasize your talents that are specified in the job description, as well as how you plan to acquire or enhance any crucial skills you lack.
- Your strengths should, in general, be talents that can be backed up by experience. If you choose communication as a strength, for example, think about a time when you used communication to achieve a goal or solve a problem.
- A challenging skill listed in the job description can be one of your weaknesses if you emphasise your willingness to learn it through a course or programme. Similarly, stating that you lack a soft skill should be accompanied with a strategy to study or enhance that skill.
1.2 Try not to reveal too much.
While it’s vital to be honest about your flaws, there are a few characteristics that aren’t suitable or helpful to bring up during a job interview. Lateness, a lack of attention to detail, and an inability to fulfill deadlines are all examples of this.
Example Answers:
Strengths:
- One of my biggest strengths is my ability to lead others. I successfully merged two teams and planned training sessions for all team members during my time as a department head to ensure that everyone was confident in their new responsibilities. As a result, within our first month as a new team, we were able to improve revenues by 5%.
- I have outstanding communication skills as a result of my expertise as an HR representative. I was in charge of delivering instructional sessions for employees and resolving any workplace conflicts. In addition, I did a UCLA course on effective communication.
- I have 5 years of copywriting experience and feel myself to be a strong writer. After five years in the organisation, I was promoted to an editorial position, and my editing skills have grown as a result of my new job.
- I am a straightforward individual. I always notify my supervisor if I believe my workload is too heavy to accept another duty or if I don’t understand something.
- My biggest asset is my ability to work with people. I have a natural ability to connect with practically everyone, and I am often able to empathise with others in a constructive manner.
Weaknesses:
- I am afraid of public speaking and have struggled with presentations in the past. As a result, I’m currently enrolled in a community college public speaking course to help me gain confidence and learn how to arrange a speech more successfully.
- I frequently have difficulty delegating and prefer to take on a larger responsibility in order to ensure that a task is finished flawlessly. As a result of the increased strain, I’ve begun employing software to assign assignments and track their fulfilment. This has so far helped me trust my coworkers and concentrate more on my own job.
- In large crowds, I have a hard time overcoming my shyness. Because I find asking questions or raising points intimidating, I have often remained silent in the past. To gain confidence, I’ve been attempting to be more vocal in smaller gatherings.
- In my previous work, I mostly utilised Python, so I don’t have much expertise with Java. I took a one-semester Java course at university, but I haven’t utilised it since.
- After receiving notes from a supervisor, I struggle with negative criticism and sometimes become preoccupied with refining my work. While I appreciate the advice, I believe I can improve my self-criticism.
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