6 Best Answers to Strengths and Weaknesses Job Interview Question

6 Best Answers to Strengths and Weaknesses Job Interview Question

The best way to increase your chances of landing a job position is to prepare adequately for a job interview. Oftentimes, you will be competing with numerous other candidates.

As such, it is important that you try to have an edge over the competition and create ways to bring more focus and attention on you.

How to Prepare for an Interview

As we explore the 6 best answers to strengths and weaknesses job interview question, let us examine the interview session closely, this will help to get you prepared. Here are a few areas that will effectively improve your overall preparedness.

Examine the Job Posting Carefully

A significant part of getting ready for an interview is to examine the job posting carefully. During this process, try to understand fully what the company is asking for and consider whether you can be the ideal candidate.

If you have not already, prepare a listing of the personal qualities, professional competencies, knowledge and skills, which are being requested.

Cross Reference the Information

Now that you have put together this listing of personal qualities, professional competencies, knowledge and skills, prepare another with your own attributes.

Your list must include about ten attributes that would make you ideally suited for this job. Think about your knowledge bases, computer skills, abilities, professional qualifications, experiences, certifications, qualities and skills.

These assets will readily be in your mind when you get into the interview session. It will give you a great response when the interviewer(s) or hiring manager asks about your strength and weakness.

Now go into your memory storage and revive those times before when you have used those attributes on the job. Once you have the best examples, remember to reference these if asked about them in the interview.

The evening before your interview, go over each list that you have made. This includes:

  • listing of the personal qualities, professional competencies, knowledge and skills requested by the employer
  • Another list with your knowledge bases, computer skills, abilities, professional qualifications, experiences, certifications, qualities and skills
  • Relevant job experiences that match the above lists

By preparing in this way, you will be ready for whatever questions, including those about your strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the examples are your proof of your competence.

Make Ready Your Interview Clothes

Before the week of the interview, get your garbs together. Make sure that it is professional, clean, neat and comfortable. If you do not have any, go out and buy. Try not to wait until the night before your big interview. This is when things can go horribly wrong.

If there are any unforeseen problems, you need enough time to rectify them. Have at least two options to choose from that are in the best condition. However, it is better that once you are in the phase of hunting for jobs, that you have several interview ready garbs at the back of your closet. That way when they do happen, you do not have to waste energy on this phase of the preparation.

interview clothes

Even if the job that you are going after is in a more casual environment, this could be a hotel, restaurant, carnival grounds or retail store. You must present yourself in the best light. So dress well, be well-groomed project an encouraging representation to the employer.

Do not forget about such elements as your hair, makeup and accessories, when putting together your outfit for the big interview. Evaluate some more pointers by reviewing how to accessorize for an interview.

Practice Interview Answering Questions

Spend some time going over the interview questions that will almost certainly be asked for the duration of the job interview. It is advised that you get yourself in the right frame of mind, just before the interview.

answering

If you suffer from nerves and anxiety, it will also settle any anxiety that you may be feeling. And you will not be at a lost for a response when you get in front of the hiring manager. This will help to give you a chance to prepare and practice answers, and it will help calm your nerves. This is good, because you will not be scrambling for an answer while you are in the interview hot seat.

Practice interviewing with a family member or friend before the interview. You will find that the actual interview is smoother after doing so.

Aspire to carry out the mock interview in the same way that a real interview would be conducted. For instance, say that you are going to get a call from a hiring manager. So you do a mock phone interview. Have your friend contact you and volley questions just as a recruiter would.

But if it is a face-to-face session, then ask more than one person to be involved in a panel interview.

Best Answers to Strengths and Weaknesses Question

Now that you have the basics covered, let us look closer at the interview questions themselves, including those having to do with your strengths and weaknesses.

Most Common Job Interview Questions

Based on findings from Inc.com, these are some of the Most Common Job Interview Questions.

  • "What are your biggest weaknesses?”
  • “What are your biggest strengths?”
  • “Out of all the other candidates, why should we hire you?”
  • “Why do you want this job?”
  • “What do you consider to be your biggest professional achievement?”
  • “What kind of work environment do you like best?”
  • “Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months.”
  • “Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. What did you do?”
  • “What was your salary in your last job?”
  • “What questions do you have for me?”
  • “What are the company’s highest-priority goals this year, and how would my role contribute?”
  • Cautiously run through the questions above and practice appropriate answers. As we proceed, our focus will be on number one and two on the list.

    What Are Your Biggest Weaknesses and Biggest Strengths?

    You want to be careful when answering questions this question. Do not give an answer that will rule you out of contention for the job position.

    For instance, if the position needs you to be highly technical, then do not convey that you can hardly manage using a computer. And even though you do give weakness, show your efforts to improve on them. Because you want to be equipped for the position, ensure that you do make every effort to improve upon the skill. Even if it means that you take some extra classes.

    Other Examples of Answers

  • I am not the best when it comes to organization. I sometimes put the most important task that influences the bottom line, at the top. The other stuff like having a well-organized desk or clean email inbox does not seem as important. However, over the years, I think that I have steadily improved in this regard. Because I see that it does maintain my capability of being more efficient.
  • I tend to be a perfectionist. This might make me not entirely attentive to the timelines. Though, as time passed on I developed a system to guarantee that everything is completed correctly.
  • In times past, I tend to wait too close to the due date setup meetings. However, I saw that actually scheduling them ahead of time was a better alternative. It makes me more proactive and I can prepare adequately for any eventualities.
  • Before, it was my preference to do single projects and making sure that was effectively done. Then I move on to another. But, I gradually have been improving my multitasking skills, trying to effectively manage more than one project and be more resourceful and effectual in every one.
  • While in high school, I tend to complete my assignments right before the next session. However, going to college changed all that. I had to properly plan my days and have better time management skills in order to get my assignments in on time. It later made me more time sensitive and a better professional.
  • With adequate preparation, you will certainly have the answers that hiring managers want to hear.

    Show that You are the Right Candidate for the Job

    girl doing approve sign

    It is not a guarantee that if you follow these guidelines that you will go through easily. Nevertheless, you will make a good impression and it will be up to you to do the rest.

    In addition, all hiring managers expect you to come fully prepared for an interview. People, who rise to the top and do well, are not indifferent or ill prepared. Your competition will have prepared as well and you do not want to come out on the losing side, when you could have done better.

    Therefore, heed the advice given. Make your lists. Practice the interview questions. Dresses well and professionally, also right up to the interview scrutinize intimately “what are your strengths and weakness.”

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