WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? (The BEST STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES for INTERVIEWS!)

To help you pass your job interview at the first attempt, I will cover the following 3 things in this blog.

#1. I will tell you the reason why the hiring manager will ask you the interview question, “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”. There are 2 reasons why, and you need to know what they are to pass!

#2. I will give you a list of 7 strengths and 7 weaknesses that are perfect for job interviews.

#3. I will give you 2 brilliant example answers to the question, “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”, and all you have to do is choose the one answer option you think is the strongest.

To begin with, let me explain the two reasons why the hiring manager will ask you the question, “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” 

Reason #1 why they will ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are because they want to assess if your strengths are going to add value to the company. The company will pay you a salary each month and they want to make sure they will get a good return from that salary. That is why your strengths must stand out from the other candidates.

Reason #2 why the hiring manager will ask you the question, what are your strengths and weaknesses, is because they want to hire someone who is self-aware and prepared to continually improve. If you don’t know what your weaknesses are, or you say you don’t have any weaknesses, the hiring manager will see you as someone who isn’t prepared to grow professionally or accept feedback.

OK, now that we know the reasons WHY you will have to answer the question, what are your strengths and weaknesses, let me give you a list of the 7 best strengths that will impress the hiring manager. Once we have worked through each strength, and what it means, I will give you a list of 7 good weaknesses.

The BEST employees are the ones who can turn their hand to most things. They will volunteer to take on tasks outside of their job description or stay behind late after work to help the company in times of need. If you can demonstrate in your interview that you will be flexible and adaptable with your job description, your chances of getting hired will increase significantly.

A goal setter is someone who always has goals they are working toward achieving. Their goals might be finding ways to help the business grow, save money, or improve customer service standards. A goal setter will also often be working toward a self-development goal by studying training courses. Goal setters are vital if a company is to be successful and this is one of the best strengths to include when answering the question, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

A company or organisation will only be successful if it tries new initiatives to meet the needs of its customers, service users, or clients. A company that refuses to change will eventually fail. That is why, those candidates who use the strength of embracing change when answering the question, what are your strengths and weaknesses, are more likely to get a job offer!

I remember employing someone in my company who, whenever I gave them feedback, guidance or advice, was very positive about it. Each time I criticised their work, they listened. Each time I gave them feedback on how to improve, they took action. That person went on to be very successful in their career. One of the best strengths for job interviews is accepting feedback and criticism as opposed to being defensive about it.

A collaborator is someone who will fit quickly into a team, works closely with people, values people’s opinions and puts the teams needs above their own. If you say that one of your strengths is being a strong collaborator, the hiring manager will definitely sit up and listen.

Most people will not take the lead when things go wrong at work. They leave the problem to their manager or someone else to deal with. However, if you are the type of person who steps up and seeks ways to overcome challenges during team tasks or projects, use this as one of your strengths in your interview!

Trustworthy employees are hard to come by. A trustworthy employee will do a job on time and they won’t have to be reminded of the tasks they must complete. A trustworthy employee will never be disrespectful about their co-workers or talk negatively about their employer to other people. If you are a trustworthy and loyal, use this as one of your strengths.

Impatient people are great to have in a team because they want to get things done quickly. Impatient people tend to get twice as much work done than the average employee. My biggest weakness is impatience but the amount of work I get done is impressive. If you are an impatient person, consider using it as one of your weaknesses in the interview.

The majority of jobs do not require the skill of public speaking. That is why it is one of the best weaknesses to give in a job interview. If you do use public speaking as one of your weaknesses, make sure you say you want to improve on this skill and if there are any opportunities in the job role for you to give talks to your team, you would like to give it a try.

If you are the type of person who takes pride in their work and when things go wrong, you don’t like to ask others for help, consider using it as one of your weaknesses. However, make sure you say in your answer that you are aware that you need to start accessing the skills and knowledge of co-workers when you encounter a problem to speed up task completion.

This is a brilliant weakness for job interviews. If you are the type of person that can’t say ‘no’ to people when they ask you for help or to take on extra work, use this as one of your weaknesses. Although saying YES to people all the time is a weakness, the hiring manager will actually see this as a positive thing.

This is another great weakness for job interviews! Some people prefer to do things themselves because they want the task to be done to a high standard. If you use this as one of your weaknesses, be sure to say you are taking action to improve by forcing yourself to delegate tasks to team members to speed up task completion.

This is another great weakness for job interviews! Some people prefer to do things themselves because they want the task to be done to a high standard. If you use this as one of your weaknesses, be sure to say you are taking action to improve by forcing yourself to delegate tasks to team members to speed up task completion.

The most successful companies are risk takers. They take calculated risks to ensure they beat their competitors. Saying you are not very comfortable at taking big risks is a great weakness because it is not a requirement in 99% of job roles.

OK, to wrap up, I will give you two  answers to the interview question, “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”.

Please tell me in the comments section below which answer option you think is the strongest and why.

WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? (Answer Option #1)

“My strengths are a great match for the job description. I am a good collaborator who fits into a team quickly and acts selflessly to achieve the team task. I take the lead during challenges and problems and am adaptable in my job description to help the company in times of need.

Perhaps my greatest strength is being responsive to change. I understand change is important for your business to succeed, and I will support you in implementing new initiatives. My biggest weakness is my presentation skills. I have no experience in public speaking, but I would like to develop this skill. If there are any opportunities in this role for me to give talks to my team, I would like to try it.”

 WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? (Answer Option #2)

“My biggest weakness is I have difficulty asking for help. I take pride in my work and want to do a great job. This sometimes means I spend too long trying to find a solution to a problem on my own when I should access the skills and expertise of co-workers to speed up the process. My strengths are perfect for this company and will ensure you see a great return on my salary. I am also a cost-conscious employee who will be frugal with supplies and resources and seek ways to improve processes and systems to increase efficiency. Other strengths include trustworthiness, loyalty, and my desire to continually improve. I will always take onboard feedback and criticism to improve, so I am always a great asset to my team.”