Have you ever struggled to answer the ‘What are your strengths & weaknesses?’ question at an interview? I’ve had many examples in the past where my candidates have attended interviews for technical Cyber Security roles and everything seems to be going well; they answer all the technical questions confidently and then suddenly get asked the ‘What are your strengths & weaknesses?’ question and everything changes! It’s almost as if being asked that question is like someone speaking to you in a different language! It can be unnerving if you are not prepared which can cause you to become ‘tongue-tied’.
I’m going to share with you a few ideas on how to overcome the fear of being asked the question ‘What are your strengths & weaknesses?’ so that you can answer with confidence in your next interview.
Preparing For Your Interview
The best way to deal with these ‘personality type’ questions is to prepare your answers to them in advance so that you can reply with measured and confident answers, helping you to maintain your composure and increase your success rate. Your preparation of possible responses to the ‘What are your strengths & weaknesses? question is dependent on the role that you are applying for but here are a few examples.
Strengths
- You’re a hard worker, committed to meeting deadlines and delivering projects on time. You’re always willing to go that extra mile.
- You enjoy working as part of a team, and a team player. You’re always willing to assist and support your work colleagues but equally, you’re very comfortable working independently and not afraid to ask for help and assistance if necessary.
- You are committed to learning and development. Whilst you are experienced in your field you’re open to new ideas, always keen to develop yourself, to upskill yourself, to increase your knowledge and to just become better at what you do.
Weaknesses
- As you are a perfectionist, you can be a little bit hard on yourself. You sometimes put pressure on yourself and occasionally find it difficult to relax.
- You can sometimes get frustrated with work colleagues who don’t pull their weight when a team effort is required to meet a deadline, and this can be visibly seen from your facial expression.
- I would always use humour at this stage, so you can say that you have a weakness for chocolate, or you have a weakness for shopping or in my case, a weakness for playing too much golf!
In summary, dealing with the awkward personality interview questions such as ‘What are your strengths & weaknesses?’ is all about preparation and putting together a number of responses you can use that are relevant to the position you are applying for and practising them so that you sound natural, relaxed and maintain your composure.
If you’re looking for your next IT or Cyber Security role reach out to us for an informal chat.