What Are Your Strengths and Weaknessess?
By John Putzier
Last issue, I addressed the 1st question that most savvy interviewers love to ask candidates, "Tell me about yourself!" Now, let's move on to another set of questions that continue to stump the stars, "What are your strengths, and what are your weaknesses?"
I am addressing both of these questions together, not only because they are related, but because you can actually answer them both in terms of strengths, and not fall into the age old trap of "When did you stop beating your spouse?" There are some questions that are a no-win, unless you know how to take control of the tone of your response.
Did you know that most people's weaknesses are actually their strength carried to extreme? Think about this. Let's say you are highly analytical. That's a strength in most situations. But what might be the downside of being highly analytical?
Perhaps you are slow to make decisions because you want all the facts and details beforehand? Perhaps you place more weight on facts than emotion? Can you see how you might answer the "what are your weaknesses" question by wrapping it in your strength? Instead of saying, "I am a slow decision-maker" respond with something like, "I can be a perfectionist, and must remind myself that not everyone may be as quality-conscious as I. Therefore, I must remember that in some situations, it is more important to make a quick decision than a perfect one."
Do you see the difference? Just like the rule of thumb in the "tell me about yourself" question, remember that no matter what the question is, keep your responses both positive and job-related.
Let's try another one. Suppose you are one of those people-persons. In other words, you are ruled more by emotion than facts. You wouldn't want to say that in an interview, especially if you are interviewing for a job in which you had to make tough people decisions.
An alternative might be, "I tend to empathize with people's emotions and feelings, which can be quite valuable when managing a team, but I must also know when to put feelings and emotions aside in order to make the best decision for both the team and the organization." How could anyone interpret that as a weakness?
Answering the corollary question, "What are your strengths?" is the easy one. Just be sure, again, to zero in on the qualities that will get you the job. But when you get that "weakness" question, do NOT think in terms of your weakness. Take one of your strengths and demonstrate how it could become a weakness if you were not aware of it.
Virtually any strength can become a weakness. Someone who fosters stability could be resistant to change. Someone who is verbal could be a weak listener. Someone who is not verbal, could come across as cold. Obviously you would not use these descriptors, but can you see how you can always come back to your strength?
Practice a few of these using your own actual strengths. If you don't know what they are, then you have more homework to do.
There are two common characteristics of all successful people. (Obviously, there are more than two, but these two are always present). Successful people know their strengths and their weaknesses, and they are able to adapt to different people and different situations.
That is what you are demonstrating by answering the "weakness" question with a strength. You are saying, I know myself well, and I know when I must adapt my strength to the situation to prevent it from becoming a weakness. Perfect this technique, and you can handle just about anything that comes your way.
