“What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” You’re virtually guaranteed to hear this at a job interview, but that doesn’t make it an easy win. In fact, being asked about your strengths and weaknesses is one of the most difficult interview questions to get right. The question itself isn’t as straightforward as it might seem: it requires self-awareness, the ability to take and understand constructive criticism, and more than a little soul-searching. But with a bit of preparation, you can turn this tricky question into the one that sets you apart as an excellent candidate in any job interview.
Don’t assume this simple question requires a simple answer. While most of us try to put our best foot forward in a job interview, it’s equally important to give your interviewer a realistic, three-dimensional idea of what you’re like as an employee. This is the key to finding your dream career by discovering a job path that fits your needs and goals. So when your interviewer asks about your greatest strengths in the workplace, it’s important to answer honestly and specifically. Choose a strength that you believe embodies what you truly excel at in the workplace and which you can talk about with detail and pride.
Identifying our own greatest strengths is often easier said than done. The strength you choose to discuss should be something you can do in your sleep, whether it’s a technical skill or a soft skill. If you’re struggling to narrow it down, a good place to start is with the feedback you’ve received in previous positions: have you been praised for your diligence? Your teamwork? Your skill at working with the public? If you’ve received positive feedback on an aspect of your job performance that you also feel confident about, it could be a great strength to expand on in your interview.
Once you’ve identified a strength, it’s time to dig deeper. This question is an excellent opportunity for you to elaborate on some of the reasons you think you’d be a great candidate for this job position: don’t waste it! In your interview prep, you might want to take some notes on your greatest strength, with some examples of how it might also apply to the position you’re applying for. This will help you give a robust and comprehensive answer to a question that allows you to shine.
If it were easy to identify and fix our greatest weaknesses, we’d all be star employees. It can also be intimidating to face a question that forces you to reveal what you don’t excel at when you’re doing your best to showcase your strengths. But rather than forcing you to disclose information that could hurt your chances of scoring a job, this question is actually an opportunity for interviewers to get to know you better. If you play your cards right, your answer can make you seem like a more appealing candidate.
A self-serving answer to this question will be immediately apparent, and won’t win you any points with your interviewers. If you say your greatest weakness is that you’re too diligent or work too hard, you run the risk of coming off as if you’re unwilling to open up about the things you struggle with. The purpose of this question is to show interviewers that you’re aware of your limitations and working to correct or compensate for them. An honest but considered answer allows you to offer an authentic side of yourself without hurting your chances as a candidate.
When deciding on what weakness to discuss in an interview, it’s equally important to think about how you’ve been working to address that shortcoming. Don’t be afraid to pivot from that weakness to your coping mechanisms and plans for improvement in the future. For example, if you have trouble asking for help, mention how you understand that it’s not a sign of weakness. Instead, asking for help is a way of tapping into the group's expertise to increase your knowledge and improve efficiency. In this way, you give an honest answer about your struggles as an employee while showing that you’re self-aware of your flaws and taking steps to address them.
Employers know that no job candidate is perfect. Rather than hiding your flaws, a job interview is a great time to learn to use them to your advantage. Employers would much rather hire a person capable of adapting and improving when they struggle rather than solely fixating on their strengths. By balancing honesty and strategy when discussing your strengths and weaknesses, you can help your interviewer get a better idea of why you’d make a great candidate, both through your strengths and how you overcome your weaknesses. So remember: show up on time, stay aware of your body language, and you’ll have a shot at your dream job in no time!