An interview’s purpose is to evaluate an individuals ability to fulfill the role advertised. In most job interviews, a candidate may be asked to discuss their strengths and weaknesses as part of the process. Whilst this offers the opportunity to talk about positive qualities and identify areas where you may have grown, it can be difficult to determine what answers may be the most appropriate.

Why do interviewers ask about strengths and weaknesses?

Asking about an individuals strengths and weaknesses gives the interviewer insight into the personality traits, characteristics, working style of the interviewee. It gives them the opportunity to see how they assess their own skills and talk about their attributes. But how should strengths and weaknesses be addressed with professionalism and confidence?

The first thing to consider when answering this question is how can you keep responses relevant to the role you are applying for. To exercise this, make a list of strengths and weaknesses that can be cross referenced with the job specification to ensure the answers are aiding your application. These strengths and weaknesses should be a mixture of technical skills, transferable skills and personality traits to give the answer depth and variety, ensuring you are exposing your strongest assets and expressing negatives that are not detrimental for the role. Make sure to be honest and factual about your skillset.

Another thing to consider when this question arises is whether to talk about your strengths or weaknesses first. In an ideal scenario, talking about weaknesses first gives the opportunity to leave the interviewer thinking about the positives rather than negatives within your answer.

Weaknesses

The formula for creating this answer is simple to follow; state your weakness, add additional context and further explain how this point has appeared in your professional life. Adding an explanation to the point will show the interviewer self awareness and how you have dealt with any adversities, showing how you have grown from the weakness.

Example Answer (based on a personality trait)

“I find that I can be quite self-critical. Despite trying my best with tasks, I sometimes feel as though I could have done more or approached the task in different way even though I was successful in meeting the aims and completing the project. Previously this had led me to feel quite negative about my abilities and allowed me to often feel burnt out. I have recently done a lot of work to combat this, firstly by allowing myself to look back and reflect on the positives of each task, and recognise my strengths in each one. This has allowed me to slow down and see the value of my work.“

Strengths

Following a similar format to the previous answer, talking about strengths offers the opportunity to express how you would be a good fit for the advertised role. It can be just as difficult to talk about strengths as it is weaknesses, but by selecting similar experiences (related to technical skills, transferable skills and personality traits) you can easily show how your strengths could benefit the company you are applying for.

Example Answer (based on transferable skills)

“I believe that one of my key strengths is my ability to problem solve and think on the spot. I am able to take complex problems and break them down into feasible steps to get the project completed efficiently. Being able to see the problem from different perspectives and adapt quickly can often help me lead and support the team, and allow me to better communicate with my team members throughout the process. I think this would be beneficial in your team as it would ensure that deadlines were hit on time.“

Key Points To Remember

• Be honest
• Be specific in your responses
• Make sure your strengths are supporting your application
• Make sure you explain how your strengths/weaknesses have emerged in your professional life
• Be confident

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