Nobody likes to confess their faults and shortcomings, however nobody is ideal. And in a job interview, pretending to be good can truly damage your candidacy.
Recruiters and hiring managers prefer to ask job candidates about their strengths and weaknesses to gauge a candidate’s truthfulness, picture of self and, in fact, areas that may very well be improved.
In the event you’re searching for a brand new job utilizing a job search board like ZipRecruiter, right here’s how highlighting your strengths and proudly owning as much as your weaknesses will help you discover a job that’s the fitting match and keep away from disappointment on the finish of the interview course of — or touchdown a job you wrestle to hold out.
Frequent Strengths and Weaknesses
So, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
It’s one of many hardest and most typical interview questions, proper up there with questions on your causes for leaving your job.
The hiring supervisor or recruiter gained’t count on you to itemize each single considered one of your strengths and weaknesses. Relatively, they wish to find out about your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the job description.
The strengths and weaknesses your interviewers will wish to find out about may very well be delicate expertise or technical expertise.
Listed here are some frequent strengths that employers generally search for in job candidates:
- Teamwork: You’re employed nicely with others, particularly in conditions during which it’s quicker or extra environment friendly to collaborate with coworkers.
- Management expertise: You don’t draw back from taking a number one function, together with the duty that comes with it.
- Focus: You aren’t simply sidetracked from the duty at hand.
- Multitasking: You’ll be able to juggle a number of priorities and reorder them when vital.
- Integrity: You at all times make sure the job is finished the fitting manner with no corners minimize or guidelines bent.
- Creativity : You have a tendency to take a look at issues in a different way and provide you with much less standard options.
- Flexibility: You don’t break when it’s a must to bend to accommodate altering priorities.
- Element Oriented: Nothing will get previous you, particularly the vital particulars.
- Group Abilities: You recognize precisely the place your instruments, initiatives and belongings are at any given second.
- Self-starter: Nobody has to let you know when it’s essential do your job. You get to work when one thing must be achieved.
- Writing expertise: You might be clear and environment friendly in your written communications, even in the event you don’t have extraordinarily sturdy writing expertise.
Listed here are some frequent weaknesses folks checklist throughout job interviews:
- Self-doubt: Typically you aren’t positive in the event you’re doing issues the fitting manner.
- Inexperience: You lack expertise with a software, a method or a duty within the job description.
- Lack of Consideration to Element: You aren’t that detail-oriented. Typically, you miss vital particulars both since you’re working too quick or simply fail to acknowledge them.
- Impatience: Typically, you get pissed off when issues don’t transfer as shortly or as easily as you’d like.
- Disorganized: You generally lose sight of instruments, initiatives or belongings.
- Lack of Creativity: You normally don’t provide you with a brand new manner of taking a look at an issue.
- Shyness: You are likely to draw back from the highlight, together with management roles.
- Poor Communication Abilities: You’re not at all times forthcoming with well timed info.
How you can Promote Your Strengths
Nobody desires to look unhealthy of their job interviews. When requested about your strengths and weaknesses, it’s a must to strike a stability between not overselling what you’re good at and never focusing an excessive amount of on belongings you wrestle with.
When requested about your strengths, don’t checklist every thing you suppose you’re nice at. Deal with the issues you understand you do greatest and which are most relevant to the place.
In the event you can’t establish your strengths by yourself, contemplate asking a coworker or a good friend. You possibly can additionally suppose again to any teaching or efficiency opinions you acquired from previous or present bosses.
How you can Body Your Weaknesses
Tie your weaknesses to your skilled progress. In your responses to interview questions, attempt to assist your interviewers perceive how far you’ve are available shoring up your weaknesses in your skilled life.
In the event you really feel your management expertise might enhance, for instance, inform your interviewers about the way you’ve volunteered for management alternatives to enhance. Displaying them that you just’re working to enhance reveals them that you’ve got self-awareness and might be coached up.
Employers normally provide you with a cheat sheet with lots of the solutions they wish to hear — the job description.
Instance Solutions for Interview Questions
Listed here are some instance solutions you need to use as templates to your responses in your subsequent job interview.
What are your biggest strengths?
I really feel that a few of my biggest strengths are my potential to focus, multitask and maintain observe of the entire particulars of my assignments. Through the years, my supervisor has entrusted me with a heavier workload and has remarked on my potential to remain on job and stability my priorities effectively.
Breakdown:
This respondent listed a number of associated expertise, which is extra plausible than itemizing a dozen strengths. In addition they use their supervisor’s belief in them as proof of their potential to handle a number of duties effectively.
What are your biggest weaknesses?
Based mostly on suggestions I’ve heard prior to now, I really feel like my communications expertise might use some enchancment. I’ve taken this suggestions to coronary heart, and I’ve labored to be extra vocal within the office. I particularly attended a sequence of Lunch and Study periods at work with the objective of bettering my management expertise.
Breakdown:
This reply to the interview query acknowledges a weak spot upfront, with out going into an excessive amount of element about how large the problem is.
It additionally reveals that this respondent listened to suggestions and took steps to enhance their communications expertise.
Discover a Job That Performs to Your Strengths
Each job would require a sure set of sentimental expertise and technical expertise. However how are you going to focus your job search on job alternatives that demand your greatest expertise?
Get customized job suggestions from a digital recruiter named “Phil.” ZipRecruiter integrated the facility of synthetic intelligence to permit Phil to make your subsequent job search straightforward and environment friendly.
Simply inform Phil your expertise and your profession targets. Then Phil will get to work scouring job postings, analyzing tens of millions of information factors and sending you a brief checklist of probably the most related jobs.
There are tens of millions of lively jobs on ZipRecruiter, and it’s good to know you’re not alone in your job search. Whereas Phil saves you time on looking jobs, ZipRecruiter’s One-Click on Apply permits you to apply to open jobs immediately — all it takes is one click on to submit your resume and profile to employers.
Prepared for a wiser job search? Getting began with ZipRecruiter is so simple as making a free account and importing your resume.