Interviews aren’t supposed to be easy. They exist to give potential employers a broader picture of your strengths and weaknesses beyond those listed on your CV, and it’s always difficult to anticipate which way the conversation will turn. But there are some common themes that frequently crop up in interviews, no matter the industry or job role.
Speaking about your strengths and weaknesses is one topic that interviewers love to discuss. Not only will it highlight your level of self-awareness, but it will also reveal whether your skill set could be transferable to your new workplace. Answering questions about your strengths and weaknesses well could really help to set you apart from other candidates. And considering that on average companies interview six candidates for every advertised vacancy, it’s crucial that you do all you can to stand out.
Many of us struggle to talk up our strengths, but it’s important not to view this as an exercise in humble-bragging, but instead, as an opportunity to demonstrate what makes you the right person for the job. When it comes to addressing both your strengths and weaknesses, there are ways to go about it, and certainly some traps to avoid.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to fully prepare for these tricky interview questions, how to tackle them on the day and highlight some dos and don’ts to help give you the best possible chance of success.
How to prepare for interview questions about strengths and weaknesses
Proper preparation for an interview involves lots of different aspects, from researching the company to second-guessing which questions might come up. Considering common interview themes and how they might relate to the specific job role is also a useful exercise. Here are some tips to help you field any questions on your strengths and weaknesses.
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Speak to your friends and family
It can be an awkward conversation to have but speaking to those closest to you will give you a good insight into how others perceive your strengths and weaknesses. Particularly outside of work, they’ll know how you deal with stress, how you interact in social situations, and highlight any past experiences that could be useful in an interview.
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Think carefully about past experiences
Having a few relevant anecdotes about past experiences to call on can help you present your authentic self and will make your conversation unique. Often, the same experience can be used to answer several different questions, so they’re an invaluable tool to have in your toolbox. Don’t limit these to your professional life, either. There might be a story from your personal life which will reveal a lot more about you, so don’t neglect them – providing it’s appropriate.
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Anticipate the interviewer’s reservations
If you put yourself in the interviewer’s chair, and someone is sitting there reeling off weakness after weakness, soon enough you’re going to start wondering why you should still be talking to them. In an interview, it’s important to reinforce your answers with a positive outcome, or at least have one in mind. This way, if the interviewer challenges how your weaknesses would translate into their workplace, you’ll be able to turn the conversation back in your favour.
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Consider how your answers will be relevant to the job role
If you have past experience as a chef but are going for an advertising role, they won’t be interested in how you could never master a poached egg. Prepare answers that are specific to the job description. This might mean that you bring up different strengths and weaknesses in different interviews since they might not be relevant to every job you apply for.
How to talk about your weaknesses in an interview
It can sometimes feel like questions about your biggest weaknesses are there to trip you up, but you shouldn’t see it this way. Turn them into an opportunity to get the interviewer onside by explaining how you deal with adversity and what steps you have taken to work on your weaknesses.
Keep your answers professional, but don’t hesitate to give a little insight into your personal life – especially if you think this could help you to sell yourself. Interview questions about weaknesses may include:
Name an area you’d like to improve upon
To answer this question, you will have to point out an area you’re perhaps not as strong. But the key thing to include in your answer is the steps you have already taken to improve, as well as how you’ll continue to develop in this area. This demonstrates initiative and great personal awareness, since you were able to highlight an area of weakness and knew how to overcome it.
Particularly if home working is a feature of the role, you can call on your experiences from the pandemic to use real-life examples of how your skillset is evolving.
Example
“Having worked exclusively from home over the past two years, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my time management. I’ve found that by prioritising the bigger tasks earlier in the day, I was able to stay more focused and productive throughout the day. But I feel there is always room for improvement with time management, and I’m always looking for new ways to become even more efficient.”
When have you made a mistake at work?
Again, keep it professional. They don’t want to hear about the time you turned up hungover for your shift, or when you dropped a glass behind a bar. Think about an instance when you received feedback on your work when it wasn’t quite right and delve into the approach you took to fix it. You want to spend far more time describing how you resolved the mistake and any lessons you’ve learnt.
Example
“When I started in my last role, I was guilty of taking on too much work, which at times made me feel overwhelmed. After speaking with my team, I learned to delegate my workload to other colleagues who were willing to help. I was keen to make a good first impression but learning how to say no helped me get into a more positive frame of mind at work, and I saw an overall improvement in client feedback.”
How to talk about your strengths in an interview
Whilst it’s good to give context around your best personality traits, it’s even better to focus on the professional skills relevant and transferable to the position you’re applying for. On top of being able to show off your best qualities, now is a great time to demonstrate you’ve taken the initiative to study the job description. The best answers will always match these two things together. Interview questions about strengths may include:
What skills would you bring to the role?
This question is teeing you up to tie in your relevant professional skills with the specific job description. Before the interview, it can be useful to make a few links between aspects of your prospective role with past experiences, which can then be called upon to answer questions like this. For instance, if the job description requires you to have experience using Excel, give examples of how you’ve used it in previous roles.
Example
“In my previous job, I developed a good understanding of Excel processes and was able to optimise spreadsheets for both efficiency and readability. I was also asked to regularly present to the wider team any updates or changes that had been made to the processes. This was useful in not only reinforcing and enhancing my understanding but also gave me the chance to further develop my presentation and communication skills.”
When have you had to deal with a challenging situation at work?
This is a great opportunity to demonstrate a range of your professional skills, whilst also giving an insight into your personality. Difficult situations are unavoidable at times, so the interviewer will want to know how you behave when put under pressure, and what specific skills you called upon to deal with the issue.
Example
“When I worked in a gastropub, we had one customer complain that his favourite drink was no longer available on tap – a decision made by management. He was a regular customer but was becoming rude and abrupt, which did upset me. I remained empathetic and explained the situation, offering the customer a similar alternative that he was satisfied with. I also informed my manager about the customer’s manner to try and prevent a similar situation in the future.”
Having the ability to master any question about your strengths and weaknesses can be an invaluable tool throughout your career. In any job role you take, you’ll pick up various skills, and potentially have some weaknesses exposed, and being able to articulate these at an interview could go a long way to set you apart from the competition.