Strengths and weaknesses: make the most of them

Are you interview ready? Planning and practice makes perfect, so ramp up your preparations by thinking about your strengths and weaknesses. Interviewers often ask about them, so having some strong answers up your sleeve means that you can walk into the interview feeling confident and ready to handle whatever they throw at you. 

Why do interviewers ask “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”

Interviewers love this question because it enables them to assess whether you have the right mix of skills for the job. Basically, they want to know if you are equipped to succeed. It also gives them some insight into your personality and your self-awareness and helps them to assess how well you’d fit into the team. 

Tips on answering questions about strengths and weaknesses

Before we look at strength and weakness examples, these are our top tips for performing well when asked this common interview question: 

• Keep your answers relevant to the job you’re applying for

• Give examples of when you’ve used each strength

• Keep your answers on track - don’t waffle

• Be honest and don’t exaggerate

• Explain how you’re working on your weaknesses

How to answer questions about strengths

When you’re asked “what are your strengths?”, you may be tempted to veer towards modesty and downplay your excellence. But this is your time to shine! Your answer need not sound boastful if you can back it up with real-life examples. 

The best answer to “what are your strengths?” will show how your expertise meets the company’s requirements. That means you need to go in with a good idea of what the company is looking for. The best place to find this out is in the job advert. 

Spend some time going through the job advert to identify the skills they’re looking for, and pick three skills that you can speak confidently about. Then, think about times you’ve used those skills to achieve a great result for the business and frame a story using the STAR method that proves you have the skill they’re looking for. 

Examples of strengths to use in an interview

The best examples are usually those in the must-have section of the job advert. The skills required will depend very much on the job in question, so there’s no right or wrong here, but common skills will include: 

• Organisation 

• Customer service

• Problem solving 

• Use of specific IT applications

• Leadership

Example answer

Let’s imagine you’ve identified customer service as a key skill required for the job. Your answer could run along the lines of: 

I’d say my customer service skills are one of my main strengths. For example, I recently had an elderly gentleman that had never used the self-scan checkouts before. We didn’t have any resources available to open a till for him, so I stood with him explaining every step of the process and helping him to scan his items, whilst also keeping an eye on other customers to make sure they were OK. I also talked him through the payment process and ensured he scanned his loyalty card. He certainly appreciated the time I took to reassure him, because next time he came in he not only used the self-scan checkout independently, he also brought me a lottery ticket to say thank you! The company is on a drive to process more customers through the self-scans, so I’m glad I was able to take out some of the fear for the customer while also helping the company to achieve its objective. 

How to answer questions about weaknesses

It can feel like the interviewer is trying to catch you out when they ask about your weaknesses, but it’s possible to answer without throwing away all chances of landing the role. Having the honesty to answer this question confidently says a lot about you as a person and how you’ll perform in the role. 

A great way to answer is to find a weakness that won’t really impact your ability to do the job. Choosing something that isn’t role-critical and that can easily be improved will make answering this question less stressful. 

Again, aim to tell a story and put the emphasis on how you’re trying to overcome your weakness. 

Examples of weaknesses to use in an interview

When you’re considering which weaknesses to say in an interview, you’ll want to choose something that isn’t mentioned in the job advert. These common weaknesses might relate to you: 

• Not reacting well to feedback

• Not being able to say no

• Not asking for help when it’s needed

• Being over-competitive

• Freezing at the thought of public speaking

Example answer

Let’s say you’ve applied for a role as a Database Administrator. While you’ll certainly need to interact with people sometimes, public speaking isn’t an important part of the role. Your answer could look like this: 

In my last job, a new system was implemented and I was the first on the team to undertake formal training. My line manager asked me to deliver a quick presentation to our team of 20 to give a quick overview. I was absolutely terrified, so I stumbled over my words. As a result, I asked my manager to put me on the next public speaking course the business ran, which is coming up next week. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to speak up more in team meetings and in front of smaller audiences. I don’t think it will have an impact on my ability to do this job, but it’s something I’m working on for the future as I don’t want it to hold me back. 

Cliché answers to avoid

Whatever answers you come up with, make sure you avoid these faux pas: 

• “I don’t have any weaknesses”: Yes, you do. You’re human just like everyone else and we’re all fallible. This answer smacks of ego and lacks self-awareness. 

• “I’m a perfectionist”: Don’t be silly, that’s not a weakness. Every interviewer will see straight through this and you won’t get any marks for originality either. 

• “I’m a workaholic”: They’re looking for a human, not a robot. It’s OK to have a life outside the office and you’ll be a much more interesting colleague if you do. 

Final thoughts

Explaining your strengths and weaknesses in an interview comes down to showing how well you meet the requirements of the role and proving that you have the skills and experience to succeed. 

If you’re not landing the interviews you deserve, why not send your resume to the experts at TopResume for a free resume review? They’ll give you the advice you need to get those interviews rolling in!

Recommended reading: 

• Top 5 questions to ask at the end of an interview

• What is smart casual dress code and how can I dress for it?

• How to answer “tell me about yourself” during an interview