Welcome back to our interview series. Last week we started with one common interview question: “Why did you apply for this role?” This week we delve into another frequently asked question – and the topic of the most read article on Coursera – “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
Strengths and weaknesses is a classic behavioral interview question, and like all behavioral interview questions, interviewers ask it to learn more about who you are and how you work. In general, these questions can touch on the way you organize, communicate, make decisions, take initiative and work with others. They are usually worded in a way that requires or allows you to recall a specific example to illustrate your past behavior. For example:
- How do you manage competing demands?
- What difficult decision have you had to make in the last year? What made it difficult?
- Tell me about a moment when you identified a problem and came up with a solution.
Behavioral questions are usually related to your skills in the workplace – less about the technical aspects of what you do and more about how you go about your tasks. So to prepare, think about how your work skills have made you a better, more effective colleague. (For inspiration, revisit our Top Skills 2023 issue.)
Now let’s explore how you can answer behavioral interview questions with what’s often on your mind:
“Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.”
Interviewers ask this to learn more about how you feel about yourself. Think of it as an opportunity to share what you’re most proud of and the ways you hope to continue to grow.
For forces, review the job description and see if you can identify one or two responsibilities that align with the things you do really well. Then give a real-life example and try to back it up with a measurable result. In your answer, touch on two points:
- How are you good at this power?
- How does this strength help you at work?
Here’s an example of someone who excels in collaboration:
“I’ve always enjoyed multi-tasking—in fact, I consider it one of my strongest traits. In my current role as a marketing research analyst, I have held several focus groups and synthesized the results of that user feedback to stakeholders in my company’s product, design, and marketing departments. My ability to communicate clearly with other teams and collaborate to ensure accurate results ensured that we launched an effective product that better suited the needs of users.”
For weaknesses, discuss an area in which you would like to grow. The key here is to pair self-awareness with action and results. Be sure to touch on these two points:
- What did you do to improve?
- How has this improvement had a positive impact on your work?
Here’s an example of someone working on their public speaking skills:
“I’m a naturally shy person, so presenting in front of others was a challenge. A few years ago I was leading a large project and was asked to present my findings to the company’s leadership team. I was so nervous. But I wanted to overcome that fear, so I signed up for Toastmasters as a way to practice public speaking. Not only did this help me get through the first presentation, but it also helped me feel more confident as a leader.”
Sharpening skills in the workplace
After thinking about how you appear in the workplace, a helpful next step can be to proactively seek opportunities for self-improvement. You can always revisit all of our Top Skills 2023 course recommendations or consider these picks:
To explore a range of in-demand skills in the workplace, try IBM’s specialization in people and soft skills for professional and personal success. Here you will take a closer look at techniques to improve skills such as collaboration, presentation and problem solving.
To practice answering interview questions, try advanced interviewing techniques from the University of Maryland. In this course, you’ll get tips for answering behavioral interview questions—including discussing your weaknesses.
To find courses that address a specific weakness, type your desired growth area into the search bar on Coursera. Use the filters on the left sidebar to narrow down your results and view course ratings and reviews to see what other attendees think of the course.
If you need help finding a course or just want our recommendation, let us know what you’re working on in the comments and we’ll see what we can find!
Next week we will continue this conversation with a question about situational interviews. I’ll see you then!