How to Answer The #2 Toughest Interview Question

Question #2 What are your greatest strengths ?

Imagine that you have a terrific resume and your image is awesome and you had a wonderful firm handshake with your interviewer and so far you have answered to all the questions at precision near to precision and you are now dreaming about the success treat, the dream car, the dream vacation, and now comes the blooper... what is your greatest strength or weakness... you wonder why do interviewers ask such question?... now you seem to have all your dream getting disappear into mist. These are time tested questions that have assisted the hiring managers to select the candidate who has the ability to think on one's foot and keep the conversation going and end up a winner. So this could either be an ice breaker or a dream breaker...

There is a remote possibility for you to be asked this question together, however the worst comes only to us. I was planning to group both together, since the response was elaborative, I decided to  have it seperate. If you've been asked as a single question start with your weakness(es) first, as once you complete speaking you would want to leave a positive thought about you on the hiring manager's mind so it's always better to end with a positive note and in this case your strengths. When sharing about strengths you should focus in influencing the interviewer to reserve the job for you, in other words your strengths should eventually get you the job. So list out and practise this question and win hands down.

Always understand these are two sides of a same coin, your weakness should not be contradictory to your strengths. For Eg. if you say your weakness is a bad handwriting, and when you talk about your achievements you say you won prize at a handwriting competition, then you are getting yourself into trouble.

In other words, your weakness should be looked down slightly that with less or little focus that would eventually fall into the strength bucket. So now we understand that it requires a through planning. Come, now let's do the planning.

Read between lines: 

Share your skills that can support you in this job. 

What do you think as your strengths that you can contribute to this company and to the team?

What have done in the past that do you think can help you in this job?
What are the factors that motivate you?
Things that let you focus more on your tasks?

TRAPS: This question seems like a softball lob, but be prepared. You don't want to come across as egotistical or arrogant. Neither is this a time to be humble.

BEST ANSWER: Our key strategy is to first uncover the interviewer's greatest wants and needs before responding to his questions and from Question #1, we know how to do this.

Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements.

You should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.

Then, once you uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that best match up. 

As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:

AN-ATTITUDE to make it easy we will learn it through an acronym.

1. A-Attitude, Behaviour skills, Interpersonal relations, a positive attitude
2. N-Negotiator, Communication skills, ability to interpret verbal and non-verbal communication.
3. A-Achiever, Past achievements
4. T-Team Player & Leader, ability to mingle and contribute as a member and lead the team whenever required.
5. T-Trustworthy, able to uphold the team and the task.
6. I-Intelligence, presence of mind and able to make the best use of the available resources
7. T-Target Driven - Strategic planner and effective monitor of progress plan.
8. U-Unbiased - Ethics & Moral values, resolving any conflict of interest
9. D-Dedicated, meeting deadlines and stays focussed.
10. E-Enthusiastic - Motivating, self and other. keep the spirit up and going always.

Prepare well to tackle any question. It's important to view the introduction to this interview preparation-Intro

Click here to go to the #3 question on how to handle your weaknesses.