Discussion thread Rise

Career Growth

"What are your strengths and weaknesses?" How have you learned to handle this question in interviews?

16 answers

Jonathan Billing

Rising Star

I have always had a hard time answering this question, how is the best way to answer it without disqualifying yourself as a candidate?

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André Pires

Technical Product Manager

Strengths: emphatic leader, highly leverage cross functional teams, strategic, information broadcaster, team player, keen on leveraging all companies roles, customer-centric Weaknesses: data analytics, sales animal

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Gabriella Frisby

Rising Star

I like this question at times because it gives me a chance to know that any weakness can turn into a strength. My weakness is that I am very detail-oriented so it takes away a lot of time. My strength is that I have mastered my time management skills by learning to work smarter. I can be given a time on how long to do a project while being able to add enough important detail so that it is done on time.

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Mary Hole

Assistant Manager

Strengths: Leader, Delegator, Communication, Customer Service Weakness: Hate being used, abused and taken advantage of. Working through those weaknesses to create a tolerable environment to continue my pursuit of a career.

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Mark Mana

Community Manager

This is a tricky question and you have to be smart one answering this! I would say, handle it like you’re writing a story of your own character redemption! 🤣 I would answer that question like, “I used to be so shy and timid when meeting a lot of people. I get so anxious and that’s my weakness. So I joined many communities and attended a lot of events and I become more comfortable connecting with people. Now, I’m a community associate and I love what I do. The thing is, your weakness can turn into your strength. Acknowledge it and work for it.” 🌻

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Mike La Rosa

Assistant

Strengths probably - I'm a bit flexible and logical in handling things. Weakness - my health most probably.

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Kelechukwu Igwe

Rising Star

I still try to understand this question. And I think this should be rephrased if possible. As a lead of a customer facing team, I have experienced, identified weakness yield the desired results while the strengths turn out to be obstacles and vice versa. I guess what I am trying to understand is the need of this line of question during interviews? Self awareness maybe?

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Jacqueline Mutsvunguma

Rising Star

My strengths are not giving up and willing to be corrected. My weakness is getting nervous sometimes. I try very hard to be confident during an interview.

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Tumelo Lillian Sekopo

Rising Star

My biggest weakness is that I can be quite critical of myself, which can lead to negative self-talk and eventually burnout. I have found that I can avoid this by recording my goals, objectives, key results and setting aside time to celebrate my achievements, whether big or small. This helps me focus on I am benefiting the team as well as prioritizing my most impactful tasks.

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1 replies

Olufemi Oredein

Technical Recruiter | ✨⭐️🎯

My weakness is that I am my own worst critic! I also do not know how to take a break especially a work break, At my previous employment, my direct line manager had to practically force me to take breaks (work leaves). Determination and dedication are some of my greatest strengths! I can be flexible but I believe that "what is worth doing at all is worth doing very well"

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Francess Ojei

HR Assistant

I try to break the ice by saying...My weakness is Chocolate or Flowers, if we both laugh, then I proceed to listening my strength and weaknesses as it relates to the job!

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Jib Kiattinant

Rising Star

My strength is definitely my ability to communicate and empathize with others. My weakness is thinking too much about some things, and having anxiety about the possible outcomes of what could happen. I've learned how to manage my anxiety by talking with my healthcare providers and therapists, and also learned some techniques about how to handle the stresses on my own, like meditation and grounding exercises.

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Lauren Murray

Rising Star

I had an interviewer ask me for 3 weaknesses once - so stressful! I answer this question with specific examples of things I am currently struggling with and recent wins I had at work. I like to give more context and examples of what I am doing to bridge these gaps.

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Amy Kukta

Rising Star

This is always a difficult question, because I never *really* know how to answer. Tempering my response with the pluses and minuses of every personal quality is my usual approach. For example, I have a hard time saying “no” to requests that are truly beyond my job scope or would otherwise impact my performance (such as joining a casual committee.) When addressing this, I would add that to always try to offer the requester alternatives or point them in a more appropriate direction. As someone said below, there are two sides to every coin.

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