Interview Q What Are Your Professional Strengths

Interview Q What Are Your Professional Strengths A few weeks ago we discussed confronting an  interview question about  your weaknesses. Now, its time to talk about the inverse:  your professional strengths. Whereas a question about weakness could act as a trap, strengths are a different story. This question is more akin to a gentle volleyball set up for you to spike home for a point. Read on to you can make sure your answer lands  in bounds. Speaking to Your Strengths To begin, well start with the obvious: be honest and truthful. You wouldnt be the first to try and dupe the hiring manager with a lie. Also, if any strength seems too good to be true, they will generally ask for a work example to back it up with, so be honest! A good way to start the thought process for this question is to form a list of strengths you have. Look at job descriptions for where youve worked, and recommendations from coworkers. Knowing your own strengths and having them on paper is incredibly helpful. However, youre not going to be discussing all of these in the interview. Make sure you only bring up relevant strengths to the position youre interviewing for. 5 Star Chef usually isnt in the job description for Accountants. Once you have a long list, try and pick out the few that are your strongest, and the  most relevant to the position. Although you may be a 5 star chef, that wont do you much good as an Accountant.  Bring up only the relevant strengths, no matter how badly  you want to boast about your homemade soufflé. Standing Out You are ultimately being asked, Why are you the best candidate?, and should bring up your strengths to  answer that question. This is your chance to steer the conversation, so highlight your most standout and relevant qualities. You should  discuss your unique qualities that set you apart. This is not a time to be modest, but its also not a time to act cocky. Instead, you want to speak to your strengths with practiced confidence. With all of this said, dont go into the interview with a list and flowchart of strengths ready. If during the interview you pick up on things that seem extremely important to the company that werent in the job description, think of relevant skills and bring them up. Also, its okay to pause and think for a brief moment. However, dont  hesitate too long, you dont want the hiring manager thinking youre struggling to recall your strengths. The Importance of Context Make sure every strength has a work story to go with it! Throughout this entire blog, weve been discussing talking about your strengths. However, thats not all you should be doing. Every positive quality  you bring up should have a work story attached to it. I this story demonstrate your abilities to put it into practice. This reassures the hiring manager that your strength is actionable in the workplace. Follow the above steps, and youre sure to hit it out of the park. Also make sure you stay consistent, unlike our sports analogies. We hope this blog helps you speak to your strengths in an interview, and well be back tomorrow with more job advice from our favorite  movies!