Strengths and Weaknesses for Job interviews 2021
While preparing for the interview for any of the designations in any industry, this strengths and weaknesses job interview question makes you stuck for a while. As we all are aware of the fact that it is difficult to identify the strengths and weaknesses of one's own. And the more difficult part is to tell them to the interviewer, especially about the weaknesses. But after reading this blog, you will get an idea of what things you have to focus on while answering for strengths and weaknesses.
The two most commonly asked questions in every interview are:
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
We have created the strengths and weaknesses list that will surely help you in your upcoming interviews and makes you look like a perfect candidate during the interview.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Creativity: Being creative means to the person who loves to bring new ideas or solutions to solve the problem. | Self-Criticism: The person who is focusing more on what they could have done more instead of what they had achieved. |
| Flexibility: It means to the person who is ready to manage the change | Too Detail Oriented: It means to the person who wants to do the micro-managing which sometimes becomes difficult for the team and the manager. |
| Focused: It means to the person who never gives up: | Insecure: This means to the person who is a little shy because of that they always feel insecure while sharing their ideas in the group. |
| Taking Initiatives: The one who is always looking for new or smart ways to implement the work. | Impatience: The person who only focuses on getting their own work completed without taking care of the priorities of the other’s work. |
| Positive Attitude: The person who takes their feedback positively and tries their level best to work on that. | Very Introvert or Extrovert (depends on your personality) |
| Leadership: It clearly means to the person who can handle their work independently and can take the ownership of getting the things done from other people as well. | Too direct: The person who is very straightforward and didn’t want to talk extra except for the work. |
1. First, let’s discuss the Strengths
If you are giving your job interview and facing this question then it’s obvious that the interviewer or the recruiter finds some potential in you and according to that shortlisted you for the interview. This is the best question that gives you the chance to prove to them that they took the right decision of interviewing you.
It is recommended not to tell too much of your strength, it will look unreal and make your impression bad in the terms of your personality. The interviewer will think that you are obsessed with “you” and “yourself”. Instead of telling multiple things as your strength, you can tell the interviewer two or three things with a proper explanation. This will look more real and valuable when you use some live examples while explaining them.
Doing this will also help you in showcasing that you understand and fully aware of the use of exercising your strengths. It is important for you to be very specific on the things you are discussing and it would be great if you can prepare a draft answer in your mind before telling this to the interviewer.
Let’s discuss with an example.
Suppose you have said “Creativity” as your strength. In other words, it also meant that you are an innovative and clever person or a problem solver. So, the answer should be like-
I love to work on the things that look out-of-the-box to other people because this is where I can show my creativity in developing and implementing the solutions. In my last project, I got the chance to work on a technical project that was a total of creativity and innovation. We had successfully delivered that project and ended up receiving four awards from the company and client.
2. Secondly, let’s discuss the Weaknesses
Do not get afraid of telling your weaknesses to the interviewer. Nobody is perfect, every individual in the world has some weaknesses. The only thing you have to work is the way of telling weaknesses during the interview. For this, you have to first figure out what weaknesses to say in an interview. Then you need to work on the way of telling them that will not be going to impact on your chances of being hired in the company.
Please do not think of saying that you don’t have any weakness, it will make you look like an arrogant person. Listed above are considered as the good weaknesses for interview, it just you should know how to answer them
Let’s cover this with an example.
Suppose you have said “Too direct” as your weakness. In other words, it also meant that you are a straightforward and blunt personality.
In the past, I have been told by my colleagues that sometimes I became too blunt. I consider this actually when it comes from the person who does not have any enmity with me and I realized that everyone will not understand this straightforward attitude. Then I decided to take some communication courses and now I am in a better position of conveying my feedback.
Last-minute Tips
Now, you are prepared with your answers for the strengths and weaknesses job interview. It is high time for some self-reflection and figures out which one applies to you. We highly recommend practicing it again and again. Because if you are not well versed with your answers and the stories that you are going to tell in the interview, then there is a possibility that you may forget your answer and it looks unreal. If you practice it hard, you will definitely nail the interview and will leave a good impression on the interviewer.