Strengths and WeaknessesInterviewers normally ask, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Sometimes they will break it up into two questions, one asking you for your strengths and then asking you for your weaknesses. Either way they do it, it's a game they like to play. In order to be prepared for it, you will need a sheet listing both of them. Strengths are easy to list. Everyone is "hard-working", "dedicated", "diligent", "timely", and "meticulous", but when it comes to listing our weaknesses we mess it up. Now we all know you should never tell the interviewer your REAL weaknesses. If you do, the interview is over. Imagine telling the interviewer that one of your weaknesses is that you tend to leave work early and come in late. Bad move! The "rule of thumb" on a weakness is that you treat it like a "weak strength". Interviewers aren't looking for you to confess all your short comings to them, so you need to say something like "I am too focused on my work and I need to find more time to relax." Or you could say, "My desire to put the company first sometimes overwhelms others." Don't be fooled, this is a very important part of the interview process. You need to put some serious thought into what you list as a strength or a weakness. You will also need to practice how you answer the interviewer's question. You want to be firm and straight-forward, but above all you want to be honest. I've listed some standard "Strengths & Weaknesses" below. It will be up to you to decide what your strengths and weaknesses are and then form a statement around them. Just remember to keep it short and honest. Normally having two of each to answer the interviewer will suffice.
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