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How to talk about your strengths and weaknesses in an interview

“Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses” - this is perhaps one of the most common questions at the interview. Someone is asked to name three of their bad qualities and three good ones, others are asked to describe personality traits that interfere or help them build a career - there are many options for how recruiters formulate this question.

How to communicate your strengths and weaknesses in order to win over the employer? Learn how to turn the pros into the pros will help you recommendations Superjob.ru.

There are no perfect people
First, let's see why this question is consistently among the most frequently asked during the interview. What do recruiters want to hear from job seekers? A frank confession about laziness and disorganization or pathos in the spirit of “I have practically no shortcomings”?

Neither one nor the other. When asking the applicant about his strengths and weaknesses, the hiring specialist wants to find out how mature a person is sitting in front of him, what his self-esteem is, whether he can work constructively, including on himself. As you know, people without flaws do not exist: we are all woven from bad and good qualities. It is in their awareness that psychologists are inclined to see a sign of a stable and mature personality.

However, to show the recruiter that you are in full compliance with the vacancy you are applying for, you do not need to invent anything. Lying in an interview will not help you make a career. Be honest, however, consider your answer based on these recommendations.

“I'm working on it ...”
First of all, show that whatever your weaknesses are, you are working to correct them and are able to compensate for them. Here are some examples.

“I always strive to keep everything under control. In life and in work, this gives me a lot of inconvenience: people don’t like that I constantly monitor their actions. Therefore, I am learning to delegate authority, trying not to ask my subordinates too many questions about the progress of work, even if I can’t wait to find out how things are going ”; “When I was in college, I was often late for classes and meetings. Now I have learned to value my and other people's time: I set an alarm in the early morning, and if there are serious traffic jams in the city, I’ll go to work by metro. Now I always come to the office about 10 minutes before the start of the working day, ”such answers will completely satisfy the recruiter. You show that you have an adequate self-esteem, that you are able to be aware of your mistakes, and most importantly, to work constructively on them.

Cons to pros
Psychologists believe that it is best to indirectly indicate their merits when answering the question about the shortcomings in the interview. “Friends consider me meticulous. I am really scrupulous, I like to check everything to the smallest detail, and it annoys people. But I try to learn to look at things from a wider perspective, ”is an excellent answer for a candidate applying for a position of design engineer. “Perhaps I’m too talkative, perhaps this is a consequence of my profession,” is a good option for a candidate for the position of PR manager or marketing specialist.

Not too personal
When answering a question about your shortcomings, remember that no one expects confession from you. It’s better to keep silent about some things, especially if they are not directly related to professional activities. Are you addicted to computer games? Survived two divorces due to inability to build long-term relationships? Think about whether it is necessary for the HR manager to know about the nuances of your personal life.

“I don’t particularly understand this ...”
Another option to answer the question about shortcomings is to mention a lack of professional knowledge not directly related to the desired position. Thus, you will demonstrate to the recruiter your frankness and readiness for development. Say, if you are applying for a job as a newsreel reporter, you can safely admit that you have not mastered the essay genre yet: in this work, you most likely will not need this skill in the near future. True, you should still be careful not to harm yourself - carefully think over the answer.

"All so awkward ..."
Think about how the qualities that you are going to tell the recruiter will create you a competitive advantage over other candidates. For example, do not point out your leadership qualities where they are not needed. “I'm pretty ambitious,” says the candidate for an accountant position in a well-established company and ... is left without a job offer. But in a young company, vigorously capturing the market, such quality may well come in handy.

“I’m all so sudden, so contradictory all ...” - said the heroine of the film “Intercession Gate” about herself. And if a candidate for a creative position (for example, a copywriter) can still afford to say something similar at the interview (“Like many creative people, I don’t always strictly follow my plans”), then, for example, a sales manager should focus on what something else. For example, sociability or punctuality.

Calm, and only calm!
The question of advantages and disadvantages cannot be called easy. Not surprisingly, job seekers are nervous when answering him. This is just in the hands of a recruiter who, observing your reaction, will evaluate both your resistance to stress, and your mind, and the ability to quickly answer difficult questions.

Forewarned is forearmed. If you are reading this article, then you are already considering the answers to possible questions from the recruiter. And this inspires confidence that at the right time you will not be confused and present your qualities in a light favorable for a career.

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