How to Answer “What Are Your Greatest Strengths and Weaknesses?”

The tackiest and unpredictable part of getting a job is the interview. Irrespective of all the preparations made by us, we all are afraid of blunders that can happen in interviews. For the cautionary measures, there are few guidelines available at multiple places which are applied by us to create a good impression in an interview. However, the thing about interview answers is that the more natural the reply will look, the more impressed will be the interviewer. So instead of just copying and pasting answers to some famous interview questions, we all should work on creating the original answers for our questions. A few famous interview questions are being asked at almost all places irrespective of the field and position. Answers to those types of questions need to be altered depending upon the company you want to work for and at the position, you are aiming for. One such famous question is what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses ? The answer to this question needs to involve the points limited to the working field and required qualities only. More details about the answer and things to include are discussed below.

Reasons Behind Asking Vivid Questions In An Interview:

There can be many types of questions being asked in an interview. Some can be simple yes or no type questions. Some questions might require logical reasoning in their answers. There can be questions based on situations or some can be just opinion-based questions. Asking vivid questions can test and determine the quality of the person. The position they are aiming to hire for the selected candidate is thoroughly known by them. The responsibilities they might need to cover up, the type of work assigned to them, and the personality trait required by the candidate to truly accomplish the work. All these are known by the interviewer in advance. And their questions are based on a way to determine these qualities only. Some questions might seem out of way or you might feel they are asked to test your confidence. At the times like that, keep your hopes high and answer with the thing they want is confidence. Half of the mistakes get covered by the proper amount of confidence. Hence giving the answers with a good sense added with some confidence will let you pass out through any type of questions asked.

Things One Should Have In Their Answers:

There are many types of questions asked in an interview. However, there are a few qualities that need to be included in every answer irrespective of questions. Some of them are:

• Willingness.

Willingness is extremely useful in situation-based questions. However, it can be utilized in other questions. Your answer should indicate that you are willing to make an effort for the betterment of the company you are giving an interview at. It should also indicate that you are willing to confront hardships if found any. It will reveal to your interviewer the strong personality that you carry.

• Learning.

Even though we all know that to simply get a good job, there are lots of things required to be comprehended. However, employers are keen on hiring those kinds of people who like to keep on learning.  Learning employees can be proved as a boon for the firm. If you face any type of question where a particular skill is required for you to acquire this type of attitude can let you pass the issue. Given a situation where you might be needed to learn something else apart from the normally required skills. You can answer your interviewer with the acceptance to learn new skills with minimum time to make an impression in their eyes.

• Honesty.

Answer all the questions with proper honesty. Being honest can make you stammer a little while answering unfavorable questions, but it can leave a good impression of your personality. Having a good quality is better considered than having a good degree only. Varied firms lookout for trustworthy people rather than only qualified applicants. Precisely adding up honesty in your answer can not necessarily always make a good impression. But the one who can not handle honest people. There is no good point in working for them. Always remember, honesty is the best policy.

• Confidence.

Adding up, the confidence in any of your answers is just like adding salt to the food. It might not look colorful but will certainly possess its impression presented in its way. While striking answers make sure to have a confident face rather than a shaking body due to nervousness. Confidence is a key to success. The right amount of confidence is what is required to only look through the intentions of the interviewer. However, some people get confused between being confident and becoming overconfident. Get the difference learned while making sure to be confident only rather than overconfident. Being confident can make your work good, and becoming overconfident can get your work spoiled.

• Information.

The questions asked by the interviewer are not just random things to say. Instead, irrespective of the type of questions asked, make sure to provide the answer in the most informative way ever possible. The information included in the answers should be crisp and short. Don’t go into minute details, nor avoid essential data. Keep your answer format in a good and engaging way. The questions asked by the interviewer might have plain answers as their option. Still, if you can add up a few logical points in it and that is required, there is no harm in trying so. However, the condition is that the information provided should be legible as well as should be facts, rather than just some imaginary statements and illogical sentences used to prolong the answer.

How to frame the answer to the most famous interview question, what are your strengths and weakness:

Answering questions related to own capability might be the most tricky one. But they are an essential part of the interview and are asked by almost everyone to their respective interview. It does make you feel like the interviewer is just testing you. While answering this question, is the dilemma faced by everyone is to tell a lie or go with the truth. Whose they can lose the job just because of being true. Or what if they are being understood as an overconfident candidate creating a wrong impression. That is not just the limit to worry or need to make the interviewer believe in our sentences to let them have a glance at our personality. 

Each human being is honored with a few strengths and weaknesses. However, when the question has been put forward in an interview. You do not need to give away your weaknesses, in front of the interviewer. Not you should lie with the things you can not do. 

For the strengths, start your answer by naming the ability you possess. For example, we can begin with the word leadership. The answer can be framed as “I feel my biggest strength is good leadership. I can prove to be a good leader for a team.”

Next to the sentence, you should add up some of the experiences gained by you which made you realize your strengths. Or the achievements concerning that strength. You can say something as, “in my previous job, I was given charge of the so and so team and was responsible for the increment in sales. Under my leadership and proper teamwork, we all got our sales increased by 20% in three months only.” Adding up the example will let the interviewer know of your abilities and you are not just bluffing up.

The same pattern can be followed, for the weaknesses also. However, seeking about weaknesses should be done with much consideration. The structure will be the same. Even some strengths can also be altered as weaknesses, or the explanation attached with the ability can make it considered as a strength or weakness. For example, one can consider the sentence ” One of my weaknesses is that I give much attention to even the smallest detail.” This sentence can be counted as an example of weakness. But an explanation part is also required attached to it. The explanation part must carry the reason as to why you consider that part as your weakness. For the above-said sentence, the explanation can be given as “due to noticing every minute detail, I give away my whole attention to one thing only at a time for the detailed work to be produced”. You can also include sentences such as,” I don’t like to multitask as it can deteriorate the quality of the work I am, supposed to do.”

Some of the examples of strengths and weaknesses:

Giving out strengths and weaknesses all depend on each individual. Sometimes, the strength can be the weakness for another individual. And the more important thing to remember while answering in an interview is to provide information only related to that particular job. Hence, giving out the opposite of the quality they are looking for will not be an appropriate thing to do. Below are some of the examples given separately for strengths and weaknesses.

Examples of the strength one might include in their answer are:

• Creative.
• Ambitious.
• Farsighted.
• Dedicated.
• Trustworthy.
• Enthusiastic.
• Being versatile.
• Multilingual.
• Competitive.
• Strong work ethic.
• Always respectful.
• Past gained experience.
• Any achieved remarks from known names.
• Solving complex issues.

And many other examples. Anything that can put your personality in a good place and has a strong base attached to you can be considered a strength. It doesn’t matter if it is a small thing or a great thing. Having any positive aspect can also be pointed out if it is in harmony with your job.

Examples of weakness one might confess to the interviewer are:

• Unable to say no.
• Unable to withstand bad things.
• Can not accept negligence in work under any condition.
• Possess shy nature.
• Lack of confidence.
• Lack of experience.
• Impatient behavior.
• Not possessing any particular skill.
• Like to achieve things in groups.
• Gets disappointed by himself, if unable to fulfill the requirements of the hour.

There can be many other weaknesses also. It is not a bad thing to have a few weaknesses. The thing that matters is the way they are kept in front of the interviewer. Being honest is very much important. Having a way of saying aspects can ease the hesitation while working about weaknesses.

Examples of Strengths and weaknesses separately:

Strengths:

• My biggest strength is that I am, blessed with a creative mind. I do not believe in having the same pattern every time.  I look forward to doing things most creatively and interestingly to make them adventurous. At my previous job, I was given an achievement certificate for my creative ideas. The given certificate has been attached with my resume for you to have a look at.
• One of my strengths is to be dedicated to the work I am assigned. I speculate when you dedicate your time and efforts to something particular work. The result achieved will be great. Or else, there is no point in completing work if there is no dedication attached to it. My previous job was one of the contract jobs, in which I was asked to submit a particular amount of work in two weeks. Just with the dedication I carry, the work was completed way before the deadline and the related reviews provided by the firm are attached to my resume for you to have a look at.
• I believe being competitive is a great strength for me. Working in a healthy competitive environment can be a cause behind improved work quality in less optimal time. What can be better motivation than working in a competitive environment? I have a competitive personality which allows me as well as my colleagues to be more attentive to the work. Still, I can assure you that I carry a positive attitude towards being competitive. 
• I’m believed to carry great energy with myself while going to work. Irrespective of the weekdays, you can always find me in the most energetic form. Unlike others, I don’t get tired of the responsibilities shared with me. Instead, they are more like a challenge for me. Responsibilities allow me to test my levels and this only makes it more experiencing and exciting. I like to do the work assigned to me because that is what I always desired to do from my childhood. This allows me to count my energetic nature as one of my strengths as it not only makes me more focused on the work but can also work as a motivation for others to work. You can make my energy to work for your firm in a good way for the benefit of both of us and the goodness of the firm also. 
• From a young age itself, I was always interested in learning multiple languages. And hence now it has become a great strength for me to be multilingual. Hiring me can be of added benefit to the firm as I am not constrained by single language proficiency. I can speak a minimum of seven languages fluently and can write also. With our firm, we get to interact with many people of different origins. At a time like this, I can try to be one of the all-time translators helping out with language barriers if it is in my knowledge. I will also make sure to teach my colleague about the basics of a new language if they are interested to learn from me.

Weaknesses:

• I have a shy nature. Causing me to be more introverted and unable to meet the eyes of anyone directly. It also proves to be one of the biggest hindrances in myself suggesting my ideas in front of a group of people. I have been planning to get it reduced and a few steps have already been initiated by me to get control over my shyness. Recently I started going out to different places and started with the things that were out of my comfort zone to get some real-life experiences and have an upper hand on my shyness.
• This will be my first job ever if I can crack this interview. Hence we can consider my weakness to be a lack of experience. However, I want to assure you that, even though I’m inexperienced, there are many things that I have already learned concerning the job and the required skills. I have been giving out two hours each day for the last month to get the things required for the job. I’m fully ready to take up the responsibility being assigned to me. With the interview being taken up here, I can say here only that if given a chance I won’t let any unfavorable situation arise during my stay in the firm. And about my weakness, I’ll work much harder to get it fixed and won’t let it be the hurdle for my success anymore.
• I have been commented on with impatient behavior quite a few times before. So I guess my weakness can be having impatient behavior. However, the reason behind having impatient behavior is that I can’t look at anything being just taken up carelessly by anyone around me to respect the work and responsibility they are assigned with. Not all are blessed to have such a well-settled life. Hence, I can’t stand the thought of someone taking up their blessings in a carefree manner and looking down at others. Even though my intentions are not bad, I know losing control over my emotions is not acceptable in the workplace. To handle it, I have started with physiotherapy treatment and have already been able to cure about 80% of the issue within some days only. I am assertive in sorting out my weakness and never letting them come in between my success.
• One of the weaknesses that were discovered while working on my previous job is that I tend to get disappointed whenever I fail to meet up any deadline. There was a scenario faced by me at my last job. I was expected to submit the project summary within an hour. However, the desktop on which I was assigned to work got broken. The same was reported to the higher authorities also. They did allow me an extension for the project. But the disappointment felt to me was not an easy thing to deal with. It took me a long time to get out of it. But the best part was, to get rid of dissatisfaction, I started submitting my assignments earlier than the deadline and dreaded to delay them by just imagining the feeling. Even though it can be counted as my weakness, I assure you to use it as my strength for the work I’ll be assigned.

Wrap-up:

Interviews are the trickiest part of buying a job. There are many different scenarios explained by different people undergoing various interviews. A few particular questions are being repeatedly asked in interviews. One of such questions is being discussed above. How to answer as well as some representations are conveyed in the above texts.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is the STAR method in an interview?

• The STAR method is a type of strategy invented to answer behavioral questions in an interview. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. There is a predefined way to answer the behavioral questions in any type of interview to get passed through it without much fuss.

2. Break down the STAR method for easy understanding.

• STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. Breaking down of this technique can be fully understood through its initials only. To answer any behavioral question in an interview, you should start with the situation you have faced recently. Add up the task you needed to do in that situation and describe it to your interviewer. Next, add up the actions you followed to complete the assignment, at last, let the interviewer know the result of your hard work.
• Example: At my first job, I faced a situation where I was assigned the responsibility of completing a half-pending project due to sudden leave taken by a colleague. It was my first time working on such a project. I took the initiative even after facing some uncertainties.  II was also able to complete the project before the deadline. The project turned out to be incredible and earned me much praise from the team.