Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

Running head: PERSONAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

Tricia M. Lendborg

University of Phoenix

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

You know the feeling you get of sweaty palms and nervous anxiety, when you are applying for a job and the interviewer asks, "What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?" Your mind is wandering all-over and you want to make a good impression, but without sounding like an idiot. Not an easy question to answer on the spot, for most people. That is how I felt when I sat down and began this assignment. It can be very stressful in a situation like that, but if you sit down and think it through; you'll find that you can come up with a whole list of them! No one wants to see their weaknesses put up on a pedestal for people to see and having to evaluate them you, is even harder. Since I began brain-storming for this paper, I have found that for every strength I possess, there is at least one weakness. So, for the next few pages, I will look at what I consider some of my strengths; as well as, being honest about my weaknesses, too!

One of the first noted strengths I feel I possess is patience. It's not always easy, but I understand the value of it. When I was growing up, my mother never had any patience with me (can't imagine why?) and I vowed that when I grew up, that I wouldn't be like that. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I understand the difficulty that my mother had and chose to be patient and always listen to what people have to say. I try to apply this in everything I do, so I can be a consistent and well-rounded person. On the flip-side though, I have procrastination as

a weakness. I know I'm not the only one, but that doesn't necessarily make it any better. Sometimes certain things come up and you have to prioritize, which means having to put off others legitimately; but you cannot always use that as an excuse, though. It is hard to get motivated at times, because I seem to put a mental block on things. Once I get going, it's not too bad; but I guess with any weakness, you have to acknowledge it and then slowly overcome it.

Another positive strength of mine is that I have good people skills. I can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, anywhere and I am very comfortable in many different public settings. Through using this skill, I communicate well with many types of people and while working in law enforcement, you come across vast number of different cultures. I have also gotten through many serious situations by verbally dealing with people, which is an important strength to have in the Criminal Justice field, too. I am a big people-person and I also enjoy helping people, as well; so the two aspects go hand-in-hand for me and will help me immensely in this career of choice. My fun, easy-going attitude, along with treating people fairly, is what I think makes me easy to get along with and talk to. The ironic thing that I have noticed about this particular strength is that it is also a weakness, too. Because I'm so out-going and friendly, people abuse my kindness and sometimes I let people take advantage of this, since I would rather not create any conflict with them. I also happen to be very emotional and I'm always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, when I think they deserve a second chance; but I feel that is what makes me vulnerable, at times. So you can see how this trait can

Be a help and a hinder for me.

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