What Are Your Strengths?
Let’s start with Strengths.
The chances of the interviewee asking you “What are your strengths?” is high. Many candidates are unsure of how to answer this question because they are afraid that whatever answer they provide will sound like they are bragging, which in all honesty is not a good color for anyone. So, you should prepare beforehand and have an answer that carries self-awareness and professionalism.
To answer “What are your strengths?”, seek help from your family members, friends or colleagues. Ask them what they think is your strength, something that you are particularly good at, and make a list of your strengths.
Then, pick strengths that would fit the position you’re applying for. For instance, if the job is for a sales manager, your strength could be your people skills or even strong work ethic.
Explain how your strengths have been beneficial for you. You can even tell a short story about how your strength has helped you professionally in the past. However, always stick to the point and do not derail.
List Of Strengths
1. Dedicated
My greatest strength is that I am a dedicated person. Due to my dedication to my work, I am a motivated, goal-oriented and proactive employee. This quality has given me the need to always produce high-quality results in every project I take.
In other words, you are a hard-working, goal-oriented, passionate and proactive person.
2. Creative
One strength I am most proud of is my creative mind. I like to push the limit and think outside the box to stand to do something that not many people or no one has done. Thanks to this, I have won several graphic design competitions for my work.
In other words, you are a resourceful, smart and innovative person.
3. Flexible
I am a flexible person, and I can adapt to change easily. Even if I have to go from one client to another or one project to another, I continue my work diligently without hampering my workflow and progress. As you have a diverse clientele, I believe that your agency could benefit from a flexible person like me.
In other words, you are a versatile and adaptable person.
4. Resourceful
My strength, I would have to say, is that I am a resourceful person as I have the ability to come up with solutions, when problems arise. I will always work hard to find the solution, and I never give up until I do.
In other words, you are also a problem-solver and a determined person.
5. Problem-solving skills
My greatest strength is my problem-solving skills. Whenever a crisis or any difficult situation arises, I have this need to solve it as soon as possible without any error. I start by analyzing the problem, evaluating the options to pick the right course of action, and then discuss it with my team before putting it into action. I believe that my analytical ability will be a helpful addition to your team.
In other words, you are also an analytical person.
6. Ability to work under pressure
I can work productively and calmly when under pressure. When a crisis arises, I know that I need to keep myself calm because anything else will only worsen the situation, and working while feeling panicky will only delay progress.
In other words, you are adaptable and flexible.
7. Time management skills
My greatest strength is my time-management skills. As a time oriented-person, I like to be punctual and see to it that I always meet my deadlines. For every task, I like to set a specific time period in which they should be done.
In other words, you are a punctual and diligent person.
8. Team player
I am a team player, and I have always preferred to work in groups. I believe that a team functions best there is communication, trust and motivation among each other. I ensured that the team spirit is always uplifted by motivating and inspiring the team members.
In other words, you are a motivational and passionate person.
9. Fast learner
My greatest strength is that I am a fast learner. I am blessed with the ability to catch on with things easily. In my previous organization, I had to go through a training process, which usually took three months for others. I was able to complete it in just a month. Whenever there is a need to learn something new, I turn to YouTube tutorials. I have learned to use some software through tutorial videos.
In other words, you are a knowledgeable and adaptable person.
10. Leadership skills
My biggest strength would be my ability to lead my team to be their best productive selves. I have always had leadership skills and have even been a class representative and house leader during my school days. In my previous organization, I was even promoted to a team leader after a year of working with them, and our team received praises from other departments for our teamwork and work rate.
In other words, you are a team leader and inspirational person.
11. Typing skills
My greatest strength is my typing speed. As I can type 75 words per minute with just a 2 percent error rate, I believe I would be a great addition to your data entry team.
12. Writing skills
My greatest strength would have to be my strong writing skills. I always do my research thoroughly as I am adamant about providing the correct information, and I ensure that no matter the target audience, my writing style meets their needs and expectations. My creative writing skills have helped me in winning many writing competitions online.
In other words, you have good research skills.
13. Determination
I would have to say that my biggest strength is my determination, as it has taken me this far. I don’t believe in giving up, be it my personal or professional life. I am determined to be a successful person and due to this, I have been able to fulfil all my tasks on time.
In other words, you are a hard-working and success-oriented person.
14. Negotiation skills
In my professional (and sometimes personal) life, negotiation skills are definitely my greatest strength. I have enhanced this skill through my five years as a salesperson, and it is also the reason that I was quickly promoted as a sales manager in my previous organization. Thanks to it, I am able to build a stronger relationship with customers and clients.
In other words, this also means that you have strong interpersonal and communication skills.
15. Communication skills
My communication skills have helped me in building strong relationships with my colleagues and clients. To work efficiently, I believe that communication is the key. I listen actively and always try to empathize with the people I am speaking with. This allows them to put their trust in me, which, I think, is not a very easy thing to do in the world of business.
In other words, you are an empathetic person with good listening skills.
What are your Weaknesses?
It’s highly likely that in your upcoming job interview, the interviewer will ask you, “What are your weaknesses?” Now, answering this question is tricky because you cannot just spew out your weaknesses to your potential employer because you could fail the interview because of them. And you cannot say that you don’t have any flaws or weaknesses, you would only sound arrogant. So, you need to be very careful when answering this question.
You need to make a list of “What are your greatest weaknesses?”. Pick a weakness that you can turn into your strength, or something you are working on where there is room for improvement. Frame your answer in such a way that you sound humble and professional, and that you are always willing to learn from your mistakes or flaws.
Again, much like the answers for “What are your strengths?” you need to be able to tell a relevant story or incident where you had to or learned to change your weakness into your strength. Also, you need to mention that you are continuing to learn to improve your flaws.
List Of Weaknesses
1. Disorganized
My biggest weakness is that I am not a very organized person. Though it hasn’t affected my work thus far, now and then, my workstation can be quite messy. This is something that I am currently working on improving. I am developing a habit of tidying and organizing my desk and inbox every working day before I leave the office, and I have to say, it is going rather well.
2. Impatient
I can be rather impatient when working with time. I am someone who is self-sufficient and who is always eager to finish the work, which is why, in the past, I was always looking for job profiles where I would be able to work independently. But as my career progressed, I realized the importance of teamwork. I came to the realization that this is something that I have to work on. So, I have been attending team-building workshops whenever I can, and they have helped me tremendously.
3. Insecure
As an introvert person, I don’t have much self-confidence, so I can be insecure about my work at times. Even after thorough research and paying close attention to details, I often doubt my pieces and second guess myself. I am in the process of overcoming this, thanks to the strong support system I have.
4. Self-criticism
I can be a little hard on myself. I often criticize myself for not doing enough, even though I am told I am. After submitting my final works, I often wonder if I should have done more. In the past, this led me to overwork to the point that I obsess with every little detail even after I’d received praises and appreciation for them. But I am overcoming this by looking at my achievements objectively, and it has made a huge difference in my professional life.
5. Multitasking
While multitasking can be a good thing, it is also a weakness for me. You see, I tend to work on two or multiple projects at a time. Everyone has their way of doing things, and mine happens to be working simultaneously on different projects. There are times when this would affect my workflow or cause a hindrance to my meeting my deadlines, so, I started using project management tools, and they have been helping me in managing my tasks and my time. They have helped me increase my productivity.
6. Blunt
There are times that I can be too blunt with the feedback I give to my team. While honestly is the best way to deliver a message, I realized that they don’t always work for everyone. To improve in this area, I have been taking an online leadership management course, and I am trying to connect with people. I manage to know them better and see to it that I speak their language when I deliver feedback to them.
7. Public speaking
One of my biggest weaknesses, for which I took a public speaking course. Although my job profile doesn’t really need public speaking skills, it is still an area that I knew I needed to improve. I can honestly say that the course helped me because I can now stand up in meetings and raise my voice and thoughts without shivering.
8. Shy
My weakness is that I am a shy person by nature. In the past, there were times when I would have amazing ideas or something to contribute during team meetings. But my shy nature won’t let me peek up. I realized that if I didn’t do something about it, I would never advance in my career. So, I started taking improve and pottery classes to meet new people and come out of my shell. They have definitely helped me in speaking up.
9. Too detail-oriented
I can be too detail-oriented at times, focusing on one specific detail for a long time and ignoring the big picture. It was a very stressful way of working as I often faced problems when the deadline loomed. However, in the past year, after realizing that I had to improve in this particular area, I have learned to prioritize each project as a whole and not spend too much time on one little detail. It has helped me work efficiently and productively.
10. Saying “No”
One of my weaknesses is saying ‘No’ when my colleagues or supervisors request. I always end up taking on more than I can handle, and this often leads me to burnout. But after I started using a project management app, I only said ‘yes’ to requests if I had time on my hands besides my own work.
11. Unhealthy work/life balance
As I am a success-driven person, I tend to overwork to the point that I pay next to no attention to my personal life. After seeing how my work distanced me from my loved ones, I knew something had to be done. I decided to fix specific timings for both my personal and professional life. For instance, after office hours, I focus only on spending time with my family or myself by not checking on my office emails or turning my work cell phone off. This has helped me tremendously, and I am actually happier.
12. Delegating
Because I am a self-motivated and self-sufficient person, I find I often have difficulty in delegating responsibility to my team, wanting to complete the task by myself. But after I got promoted to a managerial position. It became clear that I had to delegate responsibilities, as I couldn’t handle everything by myself. So, gradually, I learned to trust my team and started a project management system. This system helps me oversee the project’s progress and has helped me to work more efficiently as well.
13. Procrastination
One weakness of mine that I am learning to overcome is procrastinating when I feel that I have more time at hand for a project. I would only start working on it at the last minute. I realized that I was unnecessarily stressing out myself. I am now working on prioritizing tasks and making a proper plan so that I don’t pressure myself at the last minute.
14. Hard skills
Articulate Storyline is one software I still need to familiarize myself with. Although it is not necessary at the moment, I think it will be a useful tool that would work to our advantage in the future. I have been teaching myself the basics via YouTube tutorials and at the same time looking for online courses.
15. Micromanaging
I am a goal-oriented person who likes to meet deadlines. Due to this, after being promoted to team leader to ensure that projects were delivered on time and without error, micromanaging became my safety net. After a while, I realized that, although we always met the deadlines, it was killing creativity and limiting the team’s self-worth. So, I started to put more faith in my team’s ability and started a project management system to oversee the project’s progress. It proved to be very helpful for them and me.
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