Strengths and Weaknesses Interview Questions

Strengths and weakness based questions are an extremely common part of interviews. Why does the evaluator ask you this question?

To find out how well you understand yourself.
To find out how your strengths are related to your past experiences and to future expectations
Every person has some weak points. The evaluators would like to know whether you understand what your weaknesses are and how you plan to remove these weaknesses.

Now that we have covered why is this question type asked, let’s explore the most stated strengths and weaknesses.

"Most stated" Strengths:

Attribute	Operational Definition
Hard work	Long hours, emotional attachment, physical energy, self discipline
Analytical Strength	Clarity of thought, ability to see relationships among diverse concepts.
Initiative	Ability to be a 'self starter'
Attention to Detail	Thoroughness, orderliness, self-starter
Leadership	Vision, communication by example, consistency between action, thoughts and deeds.
Persuasiveness	Logical, oral and written communication skills, negotiation skills
Entrepreneurship	Ability to seek opportunities and enlist support of low-cost resources, creativity and business acumen
Value for 'Values'	Desire for qualitative upgradations, missionary zeal
Influencing without Positional Power	Political acumen, social sensitivity
Perseverance	Self-confidence(not dogmatism), managing disappointments, innovation
Team skills	Ability to manage and work in group and with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Sensitivity to the needs of group members.
Good Communication Skills	Ability to put points across in a manner that others understand, fluency is important

From the table above, you can use the operational definitions for your mentioned strengths.

"Most stated" Weaknesses:
The weaknesses that you state should have a positive connotation and a remedial plan.

Attribute	Negative Connotation	Positive Connotation
Over-Confident	Do not understand limits of my capability	Believe in what I do
Set Very High goals	Do not understand limits of my capability	Ambitious
Stubborn in implementation of rules, regulation, values etc	Do not consider ground realities, difficulty in dealing with bureaucracy and real-life problems	Have good value system
Procrastination - put off things to a later period	Fall behind time schedules etc.	Take time to analyze problems, consult with others before taking decisions
Slow Starter	Take too much time to decide on ideas and plans	Take time to analyze problems, consult with others before taking decisions - so that in the long run better implementation

Weaknesses (additional points):
State those weaknesses that do not really affect your capability. 'Bad handwriting' is something you can consciously work on, but it is not a fatal error if you fail to correct it. On the contrary, you do not want to state 'poor memory' or 'no awareness of computers' as weaknesses in an interview session.

Simply stating those weaknesses that are necessarily strengths can be a problem at times. The interviewer may turn around and say 'I asked you for your weakness, and you are telling me about your strengths'. In this case, it is critical to have examples or instances where your weakness has let you down, or held you back in some way.

How do you decide on your strengths and weaknesses?
Consider the following points when you decide on what strengths and weaknesses you have:
- Past Experience: You should be able to justify your strengths and weaknesses by stating past experiences usually ask you instance and examples. Examiners usually ask you instance where you demonstrated a particular strength or where a weakness landed you in problem.
- Future Expectation: You should be able to justify how your strengths and weaknesses are going to help in achieving your future expectations.

How convincing you are in what you say:
You may be asked questions on your areas of strengths - for example, if you say that good analytical skills is a strength, expect some puzzles to be asked. In case you say that 'good communication skills' is your strength, then you should demonstrate it through the way in which you speak.

What other questions could be asked related to your Strengths and Weaknesses?
- How will your strengths and weaknesses help you in your course/job?
- Could you tell us some instances to demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses?
- What have you planned to overcome your weaknesses?
Some questions where you could state your strengths and weaknesses:
- Tell us about yourself.
- What are your ambitions in life?
- Why do you want to join our company?
- What are your hobbies? How have your hobbies helped you?