What are your strengths and weaknesses?
In asking this question, the interviewer is trying to assess your self awareness. People who are successful in their careers know themselves well (Strengths and weaknesses). They leverage their strengths and continuously improve on their weaknesses.
The difficult part about this question is addressing the weaknesses. You should never present a weakness that gives an interviewer a very strong reason to reject you. You should try and avoid character weaknesses. An example of such a weakness is “I get angry very soon”. This throws an immediate red flag in the minds of the interviewer as he or she thinks that you cannot work with others well. A good example of a response is as follows: “While organizing the tech festival in our college, I realized that I can improve on my work delegation skills”.
Use the following framework to answer this question:
- Pick a couple of strengths for which you have specific examples to demonstrate
- Pick a weakness that is not a character issue. Ideally it should be a skill
- Pick a weakness that does not immediately disqualify you from the job. Ask yourself, “if I say this, will my interviewer think that I might not be able to perform the job”
- Always mention how you are improving on the weakness
Checkout a sample interview recording for this question.
Category: HR interview questions, tips
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