Answer Job Interview
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Job Interview Question What Is Your Greatest Weakness
One question that gets asked often is how to answer the strengths and weaknesses question in an interview. Last month, a jobseeker from Richmond Hill, Ontario, wrote:
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"I have recently been to over 5 interviews in the past few weeks. During the duration of each interview the interviewer asks me what my biggest weakness is. I find it extremely difficult to answer this question knowing that it will somehow work to my disadvantage no matter what I say. Is there a way to turn this into a positive?"
This question is regularly asked at interviews, as the jobseeker above found out. One reason is that employers want to gain insights into the character of the candidate and make sure they are hiring someone who will be an asset to the company, not a liability. The candidate, on the other hand, needs to be prepared to discuss one or two weaknesses, as long as they are flaws that won't affect his ability to do the job. The candidate should not give "canned" answers such as "I am a perfectionist" or "I am a workaholic", neither should he say he doesn't have any weaknesses as interviewers scoff at these types of answers.
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So, one way to answer this question is to identify a work-related weakness that you are working on or a weakness that would not interfere with your ability to do your job. For example, suppose you are afraid to speak in public, and would like to improve in this area. You could say something like, "I used to be one of those people who would avoid all opportunities to speak in front of a crowd, but six months ago I took my mentor's advice and enrolled in a Toastmasters' program. Not only am I a more confident speaker, but I also volunteer for different roles in meetings and have improved my leadership skills." An answer like this shows you are authentic and that you were able to turn a weakness into a strength.
Some employers use behavioural interview techniques to select candidates, and these questions sometimes prove more difficult for the candidate to answer because they are not as direct as "Tell me about your weaknesses".
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Job Interview Question What Is Your Greatest Weakness
How do you answer this job interview question for a labor position with the City?
What are your weaknesses?
This is one of those panel interviews. All the research I've done comes up with answers for "white collar" jobs.
Hmm.. try these:
"Some say I am a perfectionist and that I worry too much about details."
"I love to work...I need to balance work and home a bit more"
"I don't really have a "WEAKNESS" but I suppose I could always be a bit more organized in my paperwork at home"
"I can get impatient when I work with someone who doesn't work as hard as I do...I do care about the work I do and expect everyone else to also!"
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Answers to 5 toughest job interview questions
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Before students graduate college they need to have an extraordinary resume. Interview Secrets Click here Most colleges offer some type of resume writing seminar and students should be able to write a good resume most of the time. With that being said, the first step of getting a job interview includes having a great cover letter and an extraordinary resume.
Preparation is the key for answering hard interview questions once a job interview has been scheduled. A good amount of people do keep this in mind and prepare for answering hard interview questions. A lot of people prepare by practicing responding to interview questions so that they can sound confidence while answering them. Because the job market is very competitive with the current economic climate, employers have developed a way to separate applicants to find the brightest stars. Companies will ask interview questions that are tricky, which will make job applicants nervous and be hard to answer.
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Hard Interview Questions You Can Expect
We will take a closer look at some hard interview questions you could be asked and what your response should be:
• What is your biggest weakness? - Of course nobody wants to answer this question. Why answer a question that reflects negatively on you? Be clear and confident in communicating to the potential employer what you feel your biggest weakness is. Use this simple strategy: Turn a negative into a positive. Explain how you made your biggest weakness into a goal to overcome and how you did it.
• Have you ever had time that you didn't agree with a supervisor or college professor? - How did you resolve the conflict? When you answer this question, make sure you don't reveal to the interviewer that you hold a grudge against your former supervisor or professor. You want to keep everything positive as can be with an interview. Never say anything bad about your former employer or teachers. To answer this question accurately, you need to display that you are able to see the other person's view in the disagreement, consider all options and then act logically. That is what the potential employer is looking for. The potential employer really wants to know how you handled yourself and the situation.
• How would friends, employers, and professors describe you? - This is a good time to incorporate some of your key strengths and skills into your answer. i.e. Passionate, Driven. Inform the job interviewer that you have references for their review to support your comments. By the way, LinkedIn.com is a great tool for references.
• What motivates you to be successful? This question is normally asked to see how driven you are to be successful for the position that you are interviewing for. There no correct or incorrect answers. Obviously, in order to answer this question, you need to first write down what motivates you professionally and think of some examples that display these attributes.
About the Author
Job Interview Questions Executive Assistant
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