Jun
16
Strengths vs Weaknesses
June 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment
I have been on both sides of the interviewing process many times and one of the most horrible questions I hear is “What are your major strengths?”. Why is this such a bad question? Because I know what follows… “and your weaknesses?”.
How do you possible answer this question satisfactorily? I don’t ask these questions myself but my interviewing partners have in the past and some of the answers are quite amusing. From the arrogant “I don’t have any weaknesses” to the clever answers that try to make their weaknesses sounds like strengths, “I am a perfectionist” or “I focus a lot on the detail”. But really I don’t think this can easily be answered without sounding foolish.
I have been asked this myself and my standard answer is now “I’m not really sure how to answer that honestly.” and I try and read the interviewers reaction. If it feels like I need to add more I generally revert back to the clever strength as a weakness type answer but this is an awkward part of the process.
What do others use in response to this question and has it worked for you?
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