How to Answer the "strengths and Weaknesses" Question at a Job Interview?

How to answer the "Strengths and Weaknesses" Question at a Job Interview?

During job interviews, there are some questions that all the employers ask, whatever be the position or company. One of the most common interview questions is "What are your greatest Strengths & Weaknesses?"

Needless to say, a well prepared candidate will always be prepared with this question. You may mould the answer according to the job requirement, but you should be prepared with the core of the answer.

So Let’s explore what should be the content of your answer so that you nail the Interview.

• Weakness

Candidates around the globe across ages fear this question. You don’t want to say something that will take you out of the run, but you can’t say you don’t have any weakness because avoidance is the worse strategy in this scenario; not to forget no one is born without a weakness. It’s natural to have some weakness. Everybody is good at some things and bad at others.

Employers usually ask this question to understand how self-aware you are and are you capable of thinking critically and strategically about how to overcome your weaknesses. Therefore, you should have an answer that differentiates you from the crowd and leave the interviewer impressed with your response.

- Avoid being Cliché, thus ignore these age old answers:

 I am a perfectionist

 I am a workaholic

 I want to work on my ability to build relationships

Here are some examples that should help you frame your answer:

o I used to be pretty horrible at public speaking and nervousness governed my presence on the stage. It was in college when I decided to take a step towards improving my public speaking skills. So, I started speaking in really small groups like my coaching class and gradually practice would help me fight the fear. And thankfully, being nervous doesn’t hold me back now though it hasn’t completely vanished. Recently, I spoke in my alumni meet, my hands were shivering the whole time, but I got really good feedback at the end.”

o Being organized wasn't my strength, but I learnt to have a schedule and a time management system that really helped my organization skills and in turn help me become productive.

So you tried turning your negative into positive by showing how you know your skillset and can fight to improve it. Do not forget to tailor your answer around the skillset