What to say about the strengths and weaknesses of the interview?

In search of a new job, the applicant draws up a resume, this helps to prepare for the second stage of employment - the interview. Recruiters often like to ask a question about an applicant's strengths and weaknesses. How to choose the right answers, what you can and cannot talk about with interviewers - this will be our conversation today.

If such a question is initially regarded by you as provocative, then you urgently need to reconsider this point of view, because for the employer this is a completely natural question. After all, at an interview, the main task is to find an applicant for a position that meets the specified requirements. And the easiest way to do this is by receiving information about the positive and negative qualities of the candidate. During the conversation, the recruiter will be able to assess how honest the respondent is, open to dialogue, adequate in self-esteem, able to analyze his own behavior, self-confident, understands what personal qualities are important for the proposed job and will influence it, can quickly navigate the situation.

But most of all he is interested in the professional skills of the applicant, his experience, achievements and awards.... If this is the first job, then it is all the more important to convince the employer of his own motivation, the desire to gain this experience in such a strong company.

To correctly and honestly answer the questions, you need to properly prepare for the interview.Preparation consists of introspection. Very often, the questions of the employment questionnaires are a detailed questionnaire that helps to assess their own opportunities for working in this company. If acquaintance with the employer occurs at the time of the interview, then it is worth determining in advance whether your type of character is suitable for the proposed job. There are 5 types of professions:

• person - person (for example, teacher, doctor, guide);
• man - nature (agronomist, florist, veterinarian);
• person - a technician (engineer, car mechanic, designer);
• person - a sign (programmer, financier, translator);
• a person is an artistic image (restorer, performer, singer).

Set aside time for introspection when no one is in the way. Arm yourself with paper and a pen. Write out your positive qualities on one half of the sheet and negative ones on the other. Remember that you are doing this work for yourself, so be sincere with yourself. If you understand how you can fix the disadvantages, mark it here - this will help in the interview. Every 2-3 months, adjust the list by analyzing how it changes.

For such an analysis, it is better to have a separate electronic or paper document. This can be a powerful incentive for self-improvement. But an important point in this work is not only introspection, but also the understanding that the vacancy for which you are applying may not at all correspond to your capabilities and desires. Perhaps you should look for other options, and not spoil your life with an unloved job.

To talk about your strengths, you need to consider, that they are assessed in three ways.

• Professional knowledge and general outlook (not just knowledge of accounting entries, but the ability to work in Excel, 1C; desire to learn about changes in legislation; knowledge of foreign languages, and so on).
• Experience with colleagues and clients, analytical skills in predicting the situation and solving problems, the ability to plan their own work and the work of subordinates.
• Personal qualities that are interesting specifically for the chosen profession: punctuality for a flight attendant, creativity for an artist, teamwork for a football player. In general, enthusiasm, honesty, discipline, a creative approach to business, determination, reliability, dedication, patience, and respect for others are considered positive personal qualities.

Every person has weaknesses, this is normal. The more thoroughly the work is done to identify the shortcomings before the interview, the easier it will be to get around the pitfalls at the meeting with the interviewer. Indeed, among the shortcomings there are those that can negatively affect work (poor eyesight for a watchmaker), or those that will only help (nightlife for a nightclub bartender).

The most common request from a potential employer is name three negative qualities. Professional agents who conduct such interviews often enough warn: don't lie saying that you have no flaws. This indicates overestimated self-esteem and lack of self-criticism. They part with such candidates without regret.

The conversation will be more productive if you turn your disadvantages into advantages. To do this, when applying for a job, it is worth voicing a list that is related to future work, but not fundamental for the chosen position. For example, poor knowledge of mathematics will not hurt to choose a voucher for a client and report its price in 10 days, because there is a calculator at hand.

It is not worth talking about the clearly positive qualities as negative: "I sit for a long time at work, because I want to do everything on time." Moreover, the mention of one's own workaholism is not well received by hiring managers.

It is quite possible to turn your weaknesses into advantages if you offer an alternative: "I am afraid to fly by air, but I am ready to go on business trips by car or train" or "I do not know how to work in this program, but I am ready to learn."

But there are bad examples that should never be mentioned during the interview.

• “I changed jobs several times because all men fall in love with me all the time.”
• “I had to change jobs because my bosses didn’t appreciate me and my colleagues were constantly picking on me.”
• "My sick mom needs expensive drugs, so I'm looking for a well-paid job."
• “In the morning I take my children to kindergarten, school, university, and my wife to work in the other end of the city, so I might be late for my office.”

Even if this is so, then it is simply not necessary to mention it from this angle. The conversation will be much more productive if you talk about how you manage to deal with disadvantages. For example: "I am quick-tempered, but I am learning to control my emotions, I attend trainings on this topic." It is absolutely not worth mentioning those qualities that have nothing to do with a potential job: love of knitting or cooking, if you are applying for the position of a nurse.

First-time job seekers lack of experience is called the main disadvantage... It is very important here to indicate your own willingness to learn, attend courses, participate in webinars in order to be a worthy employee.

Thus, we can list the following own disadvantages:

• pedantry;
• increased emotionality;
• lack of work experience in general or in a similar company;
• reliability;
• weak resistance to stress (when device is in the library, for example);
• self-digging;
• lack of experience with office equipment (if the device is not in the profile);
• excessive straightforwardness.

You shouldn't call:

• laziness;
• non-punctuality;
• fear of new people (when choosing a profession of the "person-to-person" type);
• fear of responsibility;
• desire to receive a large salary;
• love of reading romantic literature and so on.

When preparing for the interview, select from the list of positive qualities that are most significant for the prospective job (at least seven). Rank them and select the 3-5 most important ones. Be sure to prepare examples that prove your worth. For example, your proposed innovation has saved the company a lot of money. If the example is documented (letter, newspaper, order), then this will be a clear plus in your portfolio.

It's hard to talk about yourself without idealizing, but the story must be believable... The one who sits in front of you communicates with the applicants not for the first time and is able to distinguish the decoration from the real picture.

Name not just good qualities (hard work, perseverance), but confirm them with the facts of your biography: “I took part in the“ Teacher of the Year ”competition twice, because the first time I took a low place, but thanks to my own perseverance, I became the winner of the competition for the second time.” It is here that it is appropriate to talk about our own awards, titles, academic degrees and grants won. If possible you can demonstrate your own work - layouts, embroidery, drawings, models.

Experienced human resources managers are very easy to spot a lie, so any answer to a question must be true. And it is not worth pointing out all the positive qualities, because at every interview the recruiter sees in front of him a stress-resistant, proactive workaholic who can work in multitasking mode. Are you sure this is exactly what you need to work on a conveyor line?

You will learn how to properly talk about your weaknesses in an interview in the video below.