One of the most difficult aspects of a job interview are those times when you are sitting across from a person you’d like to work for, and she asks you about your strengths. You are prepared for this, you know it’s coming and you’ve been touching up your CV lately, so you fire back and provide her with a few key bullet points. But, then it suddenly hits you. Logic says that the interviewer is now going to come back with a question about your weaknesses, and you are so unprepared for that one! Oops, here it comes:

Human Resources Manager: “Tell me Susan, you’ve laid out your strengths very nicely, and I see them on your resume as well. But I wonder what you would consider to be your greatest weakness?”

Susan: “Well, let me think a moment. I guess that one of my weaknesses is that I work too hard. I spend too much time in the lab, and I really need to get some balance going with other important parts of my life.”

Human Resources Manager: [Smiles, makes notes.] “Yes, many of us have that problem.”

HR Manager’s thought process, unspoken. “A lightning bolt should come down from above and nail this applicant for being the ten-billionth person to use that line. Does Susan think I was born yesterday?”

They’ve Heard It All Before

The BS gets deep in those interview rooms. There are many people who literally memorize their responses to questions—who end up focusing on things that they think the interviewer wants to hear. But is this the best style of interviewing? No way! The best interview is the one where the HR head walks away thinking, “I saw the real person today.”

Have you seen those books that have titles like, “Snappy Answers to Tough Interview Questions”? If so, then you know that there are lots of ways that you can prepare for just about every type of question that someone could throw at you during an interview. Even certain columns from my previous “Managing Your Career” columns could potentially be misunderstood and used as fodder for interview responses.

A better approach is to use interview preparation books and columns like mine as a map to what the interviewing process might be like. As you gear up a job search and begin to experience current interviewing methods, you can adapt your responses to how the process works. But please, always keep in mind that point I made about being yourself: Interviewers need to see the real you. They don’t want to see a walking, talking interviewing machine.

Your Strengths and Weaknesses

If you have entered the job market, you’ve certainly written a resume or CV that shows your strengths. And who wants to even think about weaknesses! But analyzing strengths and weaknesses is something that most people skimp on.

Large corporations do an annual SWOT analysis, and this is a highly recommended practice for individual employees as well. To do a good SWOT analysis requires at least an hour or two of time and a quiet place to think. It is best to do this freeform with paper and pencil so that you can avoid the restrictions of your computer.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Here are some questions that will assist you in writing up a SWOT Analysis:

Strengths: Your strengths are more than a list of lab techniques, or a roster of all the great sales you made over the last couple of years. Because your chart isn’t going to be for publication, you can go in any direction you want—anything that you think is makes you unique. What made you go into your career choice in the first place? Do these areas still represent some of your inherent strengths? To what do you attribute your success? Don’t forget about your important personal characteristics; for example, your persistence, creative abilities, and more.

Weaknesses: This is the area that needs the most digging. Start with your technical or job abilities (as you most likely did with your strengths) and list those areas that could be perceived as a shortcoming. For example, what skills are you missing? Think about the goal for your next career move—are there bits and pieces missing from your professional “toolbox”? On the personal side, what weak areas do you see in your life that might have an impact on your career? Do you allow your emotions to take over while on the job? Is there a “hot button” issue that stands in the way of your career progress? Be honest—go ahead and write down that elephant in the room.

These are two sides to the same issue—your future. On one side, you have huge opportunities being developed by trends in science and business. What new formulas have been developed that could revolutionize your industry? What do these mean to you? Make a list of every opportunity that you might have, and don’t restrict yourself to the “normal” careers for your field. Are there opportunities being created for you because of the current revolution in biology and computers? On the other side of the coin, are there possible threats to your future career choice because of some potential development? Are there too many people available in the job market within your area of interest?

Using What You Learn

The single most important thing to remember about discussing your strengths is to be succinct and to frame your strengths along with some appropriate accomplishment.

When describing that success, use only these three critical elements and not a lot of embellishment. Those three are the Challenge, the Approach, and the Results. In other words, describe the problem that you worked on, your approach to the problem, and the results that occurred. I cannot tell you how important it is to be brief in this discussion. You can always go back and elaborate when requested.

But getting back to my first paragraphs today, presenting your weaknesses is a whole different game. Judging from the comments and questions that I get in my seminars on job interviewing skills, this is one of the scariest moments in the interview for most people.

Going back to my opening example, what do you think the interviewer was looking for with that question? Do interviewers really expect to get an accurate portrayal of weaknesses when they ask this? My experience shows that not only can you make a positive impression by showing some of the “real you,” but you can make great strides towards landing that job by taking control in this area. Here are my recommendations:

1. First off, know your real weaknesses by doing some self-analysis like the SWOT. But also have a game plan that you relate along with each weakness that shows you are aware of that weakness and that you have a positive plan to move past it.

2. Always think about what your weaknesses might be in relation to the job you are interviewing for. Never volunteer a “deal killer” weakness. I wouldn’t say, “I tend to be somewhat lazy.” But, I might say “Sometimes I lose my motivation and find myself doing my job by the numbers. When that happens, I have learned to recognize it and reach out to find some inspiration to make the work more interesting.” Stating that you’re moving past it can be an opportunity to make the problem weakness a “non-issue.”

3. Technical or “background experience” weaknesses are usually deemed repairable. The lack of a job skill, for example, they can train you on that. A tendency to be lazy, not so much!

4. Never get into any protracted discussion about a weakness, period.

Every one of us has our own unique mix of strengths and weaknesses. Although you will indeed be asked to discuss your weak points in the interview, all successful applicants seem to be able to turn these moments around and move into more positive conversation. Learn what it is that you do well, what it is that you need to improve upon, and build your career plan on your knowledge of both. 

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Dave Jensen is CEO and Founder of CTI Executive Search. He can be reached at (928) 274-2266 or via davejensen@careertrax.com;
www.careertrax.com.