We all know that finding out our strengths and weaknesses is crucial during job interviews, right? But actually, it is much farther from the truth. The point is that self-awareness is crucial to a full life.
Most of us like to go all mentioning all our strengths; however, in reality, more attention needs to be directed toward our weaknesses. We do not sweep them under the rug but work to develop them by new habits, actions, and courses.
It’s important to find out our strengths, for they can help you in developing yourself to the fullest with potential and also make some choices easier, like careers and jobs.
Examples of strengths and weaknesses
Although these skills vary greatly from person to person, there are some that are more common. Here are some of them:
Strong points:
- Creativity;
- Proactivity;
- Entrepreneurship;
- Innovation;
- Empathy;
- Attention to the details;
- Good communication;
- Collaboration;
- Goal-oriented;
- Flexibility;
- Innovative;
- Leadership;
- Analytical;
- Good time management;
- Problem solving.
Weaknesses:
- Disorganization;
- Not liking to take risks;
- Being very self-critical;
- Lack of focus;
- Not speaking well in public;
- Insecurity;
- Procrastination;
- Discomfort in taking risks;
- Difficulty in delegating tasks;
- Difficulty asking for help;
- Lots of focus on details;
- Impatience;
- Difficulty working in a group;
- Excessive competitiveness.
How to Discover Your Strengths and Weaknesses
1 – Do a self-assessment
It may seem obvious, but this is the best way to start. To do this, you will need to ask yourself a few questions, such as the following:
- What do I know I’m good at?
- What are my hobbies/what do I like to do?
- What characteristics have I been praised for?
- For what reasons have I been hired or promoted in the past?
- What activities can I do without getting bored?
- Why have I been criticized or received negative feedback?
- For what reasons have I been fired?
- What activities seem to leave me drained of energy?
2 – Talk to people you trust
This step involves talking to close friends and family members whom you really trust and whom you know will give you the most honest answers. When we approach the task of evaluating ourselves, it is important to remember that we can be very critical or careless. Therefore, this will seek other opinions.
Although this may be a bit hard to hear criticism or people we love talking about our defects, this moment is very important for you to realize what it is going well and what isn’t. Try to listen to people that relate with you through different contexts—like at work, during your studies, or with someone with whom you live. This will enrich your process.
3 – Try to do new things
You can also know your strengths and weaknesses by doing different things. Actually, especially when you have little experience, it is hard to tell whether you have that skill or not, right?
Therefore, it is important that you engage in new activities or situations to explore and discover things that you excel at or need to improve. For example, to find out how creative you are, try your hand at artistic activities. Write, draw, record videos, etc.
In short, put yourself in situations that you are not used to and that require certain skills.
4 – Seek professional help
The final tip in this journey is to seek professional help. Although there is still a great deal of misinformation about psychotherapy floating around, it really is important that as many people as possible realize it’s not for those with mental disorders or emotional problems.
Psychotherapy can also be useful for the realization of oneself and one’s potential. Therefore, you can seek out a psychologist with whom you will feel comfortable and try to begin your therapy.
How to explain positive aspects during the interview?
Before answering questions about your strengths in an interview, you should understand what different recruiters want and expect from your reply.
First and foremost, prior to any selection process, remember that an interview aims at knowing a candidate better. When speaking about strengths and weaknesses, what they really want to understand about a candidate is whether he or she :
- You are being honest;
- Has self-knowledge;
- Has professional maturity;
- Seeks professional development and growth;
- Absorbs feedback.
In addition to keeping this in mind every time you go to an interview, there are 3 tips you need to take into account when answering these questions. Check them out:
1 – Be truthful, relevant and demonstrate self-knowledge
Choose strengths that you actually have and avoid being generic.
Take time to go over the job description and outline the most important skills for that position.
Then, pick the one you have and you consider to be the most relevant. This way, you will have an easier time talking about during the interview and you will increase your chances of being considered a good fit for the position.
2 – Don’t be shy to talk about yourself
It’s common for many professionals not to feel comfortable speaking well of themselves, especially those that are more introverted or shy. This, however, is the right time for you to “sell” yourself as the ideal candidate.
So don’t be afraid to say what you value most in yourself, provided it is true.
This is where practice comes in really handy. Practice answering the questions so that you get comfortable talking about your strengths and weaknesses, and this will help you in the interview.
3 – Prepare some examples
Once you’ve figured out what recruiters really want to know about you and identified your strengths, it’s time to gather that information and write at least a sample response.
Example of how to talk about your strong point
Here is a suggestion on how to address a strength of yours during the interview:
Strong point: Problem solving
“I believe my greatest strength is problem-solving. I can usually look at a situation from different perspectives and this helps me do my job even when faced with challenging situations.
I also believe that the ability to communicate well helps me to mediate conflicts more practically and effectively and to ask for help from others more easily.
This used to happen a lot when I worked as a senior analyst and dealt with different teams and profiles of people.”
This is a good answer because it highlights the strongest point, which is problem/conflict resolution, and provides a rationale (seeing things from different perspectives).
Furthermore, it adds a second strong point (communication) by setting an example and presenting a context.
Therefore, your example of a strength needs to be true, have a good justification and provide a practical example.
What are the weaknesses to talk about in an interview?
What should I say when people ask me what things I need to improve?
This may seem like a difficult question to answer, but the fact is that you just need to be careful when sharing some examples.
Therefore, there are two basic tips you can follow to do well:
- Respond with a weakness that is true and not generic, but at the same time, not essential for that position.
- Highlight what you have done to improve.
Here are some examples of weaknesses to talk about in the interview considering these two points:
Time management
“My greatest weakness is time management. Since I am really detail-oriented, sometimes things take a little more time than I would like or would predict. For this very reason, recently, I started using an app that could help me in keeping a record of my time and tasks. It has enabled me to develop a better sense of activities, and thus far, never have I missed a deadline.
Fear of speaking in public
“I consider myself a shy person, and I feel a bit nervous when I have to present or talk to a group of people. A few years ago, I had to lead a large project that required me to make frequent presentations. Though the idea of it was quite nerve-racking, I realized then that I needed to overcome my fear.”. I had taken a course in public speaking that really helped that day and boosted my confidence greatly.
Problem delegating tasks
“I consider myself a perfectionist, and this makes it difficult for me to delegate tasks, which ends up overwhelming me. When I realized this, I tried to identify the strengths of each member of my team and assign them the tasks that are best suited for each one. It was difficult at first, but I realized that everything can work out if I communicate my expectations and trust my team.”
Impatience
“I have been considered impatient and I know that when I am involved in a project I can become anxious to finish it. I am working on this by trying to learn to prioritize my tasks and respect other people’s priorities and time.”
By knowing which weakness to address, giving an example of how it affects you, and focusing on improvement, you have a good chance of continuing in the selection process.
What can I do to improve the weak points?
Identifying your weaknesses without doing anything to improve them is a waste of time, don’t you agree?
So, instead of just mentioning them during the interview, you can consider them as points of professional development and look for those skills that are missing.
Here are some suggestions on how to improve your weaknesses:
- Discover applications and tools that help you manage your time, tasks and organization;
- Seek mentorship;
- Take free courses, do a postgraduate degree and, in general, study;
- Participate in professional groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and messaging apps;
- Ask for feedback more often;
- Do volunteer work;
- Practice these skills outside of work;
- Ask for guidance from someone whose strengths are what you still need to develop.
Ultimately, the path to discovering your strengths and weaknesses may seem challenging, but it will help you a lot to get to know yourself and speak about yourself with much more confidence.