Answering the question ‘what are your strengths and weaknesses?’ during an interview can be overwhelming, but it’s also an opportunity to showcase why you’re the perfect candidate for the job. Knowing how to properly answer this question requires self-awareness, and a strategy for how to talk about yourself in a positive yet honest way. When answering a question about your strengths and weaknesses in an interview, you actually need to demonstrate you have the strengths for the job. This means highlighting your your:

  • skills
  • strengths
  • teamwork
  • aptitude
  • ability to grow

In interviews, the strengths and weaknesses question can undoubtedly make you shine. It’s also an interview question that can make many people unravel. You must also deliver authentic and detailed answers that will separate you from other candidates saying very similar things. You need to show how you have adapted to challenging times but it’s also an opportunity for you interviewer to see how you tick.

If you are very modest then thinking of your core strengths and aligning them to the job may be a challenge. By far the most common issue with this question is being able to identify and talk about your weaknesses in a way that does not put the interviewer off. However, simply being able to list your strengths and weaknesses is not enough to secure you the job. So you need to know exactly what response the interviewer is trying to elicit when they ask the “tell me your strengths and weaknesses” question.

Interview Questions About Strengths And Weaknesses

On the surface, you might think that these are simple questions, but in reality, this is one of the ways interviewers will test the depth of your character, self-awareness and desire to develop in a professional capacity. The interview will also try to understand your strengths and weaknesses to see how you would fit into their team. There are some good weaknesses to highlight, but there are also some red flags. Download the 7 that you should use and avoid.

It’s also a starting point to research how you compensate for and self-manage your weaknesses. This is a key aspect of how you need to put the necessary positive spin on your weaknesses. That’s the key with the interview strengths and weaknesses question. Using a weakness as a little window of opportunity to show a strength.

How To Answer The Interview Strengths and Weaknesses Question

Being able to list your strengths is a very similar approach to the “tell me about yourself” interview question both in it’s preparation and delivery. In the sense that you need to tick off the key criteria that the interviewer is looking for. For example:

  • Adaptability
  • Able to prioritise
  • Able to take quick but effective action

#1 Strengths and Weaknesses At The Interview – Do The Research!

The first step, if you have not done this already is to review the job specifications and associate the critical requirements with your strengths. You should have already covered some of this when preparing for the “tell me about yourself question”. As the strengths component of this question overlaps.

This might be your communication or public speaking skills, your problem-solving ability or your enthusiasm for a fast-paced commercial environment. For example, as an analyst, it’s absolutely essential for me to outline that I enjoy working with large datasets. As such I’m very adept in excel and other analysis tools.

Perhaps most importantly, can use the result of this data to inform business decision making and solutions to problems. This shows both technical, commercial and communication-related strengths. Once you do your research you’ll find it much easier to identify the interview strengths and weaknesses that are relevant for the role.

Understand The Brand And Culture

In the interview it can help to align with the company, even when it comes to your strength and weakness. This is because it can help to understand and even empathise with some of the issues they are having. For example, when working in big companies, people often feel disconnected and their requests go into a black hole. You can use issues such as this to show how you can plug the gap or at least that you know how to work with such problems.

Understanding the brand and culture of the business can help with this. For example, if you relish working in a customer-orientated role and you are applying to work in a consumer retail role, then tell them this. Likewise, if you like to see the end-to-end impact of your work and the role and you are applying for a strategically positioned role, then this is a great thing to outline. You can also use the questions you can ask at the end of the interview to demonstrate how your skills are a good match for the business.

Interview Strengths and Weaknesses: Competencies: Guide To strengths and weaknesses in interview.

#2 Learn How To Add A Spin To Your Weaknesses

It’s essential that you show where you want to develop, so perhaps try not to think of it as a weakness but a development opportunity. Some topics include: I’ve provided four ways that you can do this but I think options A and D are my personal favourites. If you need some specific ideas then find out the 7 weaknesses you can use.

You Can Answer The Interview Strengths And Weaknesses Honestly

Select a non-essential and highly relatable weakness that you have. For example, most people do not like presenting in front of people, so this is a great way to become relatable. Everyone has struggled with nerves at some stage of their life. If this is a non-essential part of the role then you can say this, but also tell them that you have been on courses, read books or taking steps to get exposure to more verbal forms of communication.

Influencing and leading people is a skill that the minority have mastered or even attempt to do. If you can show that you are aware of this and aren’t scared to conquer it can put you ahead of the competition. This is especially true if you are combining a skill such as presenting with a niche environment. For example in my industry plenty of people have data analysis skills but someone that can analyse and present is far less common than you might think.

You Can Demonstrate How Your People Skills Are Growing

Likewise, you can also tell them that you get stressed out by not meeting deadlines. Your weakness might be presented at a lack of patience with other people who don’t. Even business processes and organisational structures can be frustrating. The spin of this may be that you’ve had to blunt your high prioritising time-management focused approach to become more supportive, empathetic and patient towards other people’s workloads and procedures.

Outlining that you like to problem-solve and deliver but have had to build up your cross-functional working skills to be effective is a great way of showing that you’ve had to develop different approaches to working within a complex business environment. Your weakness might also be your urge to be overly honest or compromise on your integrity (both desirable traits in reality). Whilst you are talking about a ‘personal’ weakness you are also talking about a struggle that most people have, which is maintaining a sense of personality in the face of a demanding role.

Learning To Leverage The Skills Of People Around You

By contrast, you may have people and communication skills but sometimes you need to use this to your advantage by harnessing the skills or other and essentially outsourcing. This might be something you want to demonstrate if you are applying for a position that requires coordination, leadership or deputising.

You may be able to present but sometimes you use your relationships to build the end-solution. This can show a smart approach to work and the ability to delegate or work cross-functionally. Everybody needs a little help sometimes, so highlighting that you are not afraid to accept this, understand your weaknesses and seek help is not always a negative thing.

Bonus: Talk About A Strength That Causes The Weakness

A natural tendency to focus on things you are good at is very understandable and shows that you have been refining the skills that are a high priority for the job role. You can take this as an opportunity to reinforce that you have the skills they need. However, you need to be subtle by telling them that you have had to raise your awareness of other non-essential business needs or desirable trains. For example, I might get so focused on my data analysis that I don’t seek to build connections around the business and build my profile.

This will subtly indicate that whilst most people get caught up in emails, phone calls and meetings, you have taken a more direct approach to work. However, you feel the need to develop by taking more of a role in meetings and business development. It’s still important to indicate that you take clear actionable steps to avoid your self-made trap and be more accessible and open to interpersonal relationships.

#3 Use Interview Strengths And Weaknesses Question To Make Yourself Relatable

In an interview, the essential component on outlining your strengths and weaknesses is to be honest and relatable. You need to build a connection with your interviewers by being open, accessible and vulnerable. Whilst secretly actually using it as an opportunity to showcase your skills or your proactive approach to personal and professional development.

Think of it like an ice-berg. On the surface, you have your weakness but below the water-line is the strength that underpins this weakness. Whilst the interviewer will mostly see the tip of the ice, they will understand your motivations and core strengths that sit beneath the surface.

If you can understand the role and the hiring manager enough, you can present your strengths and weaknesses in a way that mirrors their personal journey. Building this type of connection will put you miles ahead of other candidates.

#4 Keep It Professional With Your Strengths And Weaknesses

Don’t make it too personal and keep it within the workplace. You don’t want to get emotional either! Don’t get caught up in your actual weakness or want sympathy or praise. Do not give highly personal anecdotes. You are building a professional relationship and promoting your strengths whilst superficially touching on your weaknesses.

So, when the interview requires you to give your strengths and weaknesses, remember to be political and not personal about it. They are not expecting you to delve into your personal weaknesses, but to demonstrate the ability to think critically and professionally about your strengths and areas for development.

This is a tricky question to answer, so remember to download the 7 weaknesses that are red flags. Don’t mess up your interview by not be 100% prepared. Knowing your interview strengths and weaknesses will put you in good stead. The problem, is there are lots of other places you can trip up.

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How To Spin The Interview "Strengths And Weaknesses" Question To Your Advantage
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How To Spin The Interview "Strengths And Weaknesses" Question To Your Advantage
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The interview “strengths and weaknesses” question is one that can undoubtedly make you shine. It’s also an interview question that
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Money Side Up
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