Let us know how to answer the question ‘What Areas Do You Believe You Have The Most Potential To Grow Professionally?’ with sample answers.
The hiring manager wants nothing but the most suitable employee for the company. You should distinctly know your strengths and weaknesses. You must have enough confidence that you are a perfect fit for the job then you will be able to convince the hiring manager of the same. So, the question here arises should you only talk about your strengths or mention your weaknesses too? How would you convince them that you are precisely the candidate they are searching for? We will try to find a solution for the same below.
What Areas Do You Believe You Have The Most Potential To Grow Professionally?- Sample Answers
Here are 7 sample answers to the question to give you an idea of how to answer this question. You may choose the answer you like the best and which resonates with you.
Sample answers to the interview question – “What areas do you believe you have the most potential to grow professionally?”
- I am an extremist. I usually feel motivated and energetic to do my job. But, sometimes, when I feel demotivated or low, I don’t know how to get going on those days. Those days become the hardest for me. I need a lot of external motivation to complete my tasks. That is something I don’t like at all about myself. I prefer to be self-motivated and feel you should never ask other people to motivate you because you cannot rely on someone for long. I need improvement in this area by focusing on one task at a time and making a to-do list to help me finish my work independently.
- My verbal communication skills. I surely know how to write without making grammatical errors. However, when it comes to real-life interactions with people, I get nervous and struggle to maintain eye contact and stammer a little. Having said all this, I believe if I can give my interview to you right now and can explain myself so this is something I’ll get better at once I interact with more people in the workplace. I have not interacted with many people professionally because of this reason have less confidence. However, this will change once I start interacting with more and more people to gain confidence in the process.
- I believe the area I have the most potential to grow professionally is accepting feedback from my subordinates. Most of the time, I think whatever I do is correct and become stubborn about my ideas. I know this is not healthy for the company and even for me because by being stubborn and not listening to the opinions of others, I won’t be able to provide the best results. I am well aware of this weakness and have already started working on it in my previous workplace by calmly listening and introspecting whether what the person suggested is beneficial or not. I will keep trying to change my stubborn attitude.
- I would choose stress management and conflict resolution. I like to do things in the perfect way possible. If they do not happen precisely as I imagined, I get stressed and lose my calm. Being a “perfectionist” does more harm than good to me. In the pursuit of perfection, I lose my mental peace and create a stressful environment. Because of this, I do not deal with conflicts as I should. These things are interrelated. I need to learn that I can’t expect so much from myself and the people around me and should not lose my sanity. I should strive for progress and not perfection all the time. I need to work on it and will improve myself.
- I believe I have the most potential to improve my time management skills. I have suffered a lot because of my poor time management skills. I need to learn how to organise my day effectively and utilise the number of working hours in a day to the maximum I can. I also believe that this is not a skill you are born with but a skill you can learn in the process of growth doing your job. I can make a to-do list, prioritise projects by the due date and plan enough time to finish each task. I am always keen to learn from the people around me and work on the areas which need improvement. I hope to learn this skill from my new colleagues and grow with them.
- As a fresher, I believe that I can improve on everything. I am highly motivated to learn and grow in my field. However, I have a realistic idea of the areas in which I can excel and which need more improvement than the others. I need to improve my leadership qualities to deal with all kinds of situations an employee has to go through in the workplace. It is not something I am good at and need to learn this skill from my colleagues. I look forward to getting a proper experience in a real workplace. I will keep working on it until I need to.
- I think I need to be more proactive. Taking action before being told is not where I excel at. I have ideas and know they are necessary to work on but do not have the confidence to implement them. The knowledge needed to be proactive is there, but the confidence required for that is not there. The area that needs improvement is being confident and trusting in oneself. I will work towards achieving this skill, and hopefully, with time and experience will be able to.
As mentioned above, confidence is the key to getting your dream job and is sometimes even more important than the knowledge you possess or the experience you may have. You can win the interviewer with your confident replies and attitude. You need to convince the interviewer, despite your weaknesses, you will prove beneficial for the company and will work on the areas in which you need improvement. Employers expect the employees to work at their highest potential and that the weaknesses of the employees do not prove harmful to them and the company.
They want their employees to:
- be self-motivated
- have a positive outlook with a problem-solving attitude
- be dependable
- have leadership qualities
- communicate effectively
- have a growth mindset
- have good verbal and written communication skills
- maintain a cheerful work environment
- collaborate with other employees when needed
- meet deadlines
- own up to their mistakes and correct them
You need to prove that you are most of it and are willing to improve the areas which need improvement. Most importantly, you should shed light on your strengths.
Make them believe that you will improve yourself and grow professionally
The hiring manager knows that every candidate who will come to give an interview will have some strengths and some weaknesses. They are not looking to find someone who is perfect but who is well aware of his/her weaknesses and is willing to work on them. They are looking for someone confident who will assure them that he/she will constantly keep working on self-improvement. They check the knowledge you have for your job profile and how effectively you communicate with them. They evaluate your strengths and accordingly think about how you will prove to be beneficial for the company. It is the attitude that will help you get the job. You should make sure that the interviewer knows that you see this job as an opportunity to grow professionally and learn from your colleagues.
Explain to them the measures you will take to grow professionally
Telling the interviewer that you will make improvements in yourself is not enough. You need to explain to them how you will make improvements and need to make them believe that you will follow the measures. Think of an action plan and make them understand how it is achievable. You should work on self-improvement because that is how you will achieve your career goals.
You should use the role for which you are giving the interview and make a hypothetical scenario and tell them how you will handle the situation. Doing this makes it more real and believable for the hiring manager.
For example, if you have time management issues then you can create to-do lists, use task-tracking software or applications, set digital reminders, keep track of how to spend your time, etc. If you have an issue with verbal communication then you will talk to co-workers face to face whenever possible, listen to people communicate and observe closely, ask questions from people and so on.
To conclude:
You need to be confident while speaking and maintain good posture and body language. You should know your strengths and weaknesses quite well so that you exactly know what to say and make them believe you can improve your weaker areas. Make sure they know more about your strengths than about your weaknesses. Tell them your ‘plan of action’ that how you plan to improve your weaker areas and grow professionally. Lastly, make sure they know why you are perfect for the role and for that you need to believe in yourself.
