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What Are Your Strengths?
"What are your strengths?" is one of the most common job interview questions and can be difficult to answer. Prepare before the interview by using these simple guidelines to clearly identify your strengths.
With our strengths-finder you can self-evaluate and understand what your own specific strengths are.
What is a strength?
A strength can be defined as a combination of talent, behavior, skills and knowledge that you apply consistently to produce a successful result.
To identify your own strengths you need to look at four criteria. Ask yourself the questions for each of these criteria.
1. What activities make me feel engaged?
- When I am busy with this activity do I think about other things and when it will be over or am I totally concentrated on the task at hand?
- Do I look forward to doing this activity again?
2. What are my spontaneous reactions to the activity?
- When do I feel a sense of "rightness" and enjoyment?
- What activities give me a sense of satisfaction?
3. What activities consistently produce results?
- When do I perform at a high level?
- What provides a consistent pattern of successful results?
4. Where and when do I experience rapid learning?
- What activities and tasks have I been able to learn quickly?
- In what activities have I experienced quick understanding?
Use the strengths finder list below to identify possible activities that can be translated into strengths by answering the questions above.
What Are Your Strengths?
Choose the example of strengths that applies to you.
|
A |
activating, adapting, administering, analyzing information, arranging, advising |
|
B |
budgeting, building teams, briefing, balancing, bilingual, branding, business analysis |
|
C |
communicating, controlling, co-ordinating, creating, checking, counseling, compiling, coaching |
|
D |
deciding, detailing, developing people, directing, devising, discovering, data management |
|
E |
empathizing, evaluating , examining, explaining, editing, empowering |
|
F |
finding, fixing, formulating, finalizing, forecasting, flexible |
|
G |
guiding a group or individual, gathering information, generating ideas, giving feedback |
|
H |
helping, handling, hosting, hospitable, honorable, honest |
|
I |
Imagining, implementing, influencing, initiating, innovating, interviewing, instructing. |
|
J, K |
judgment, just, kindly, keen, knowledgeable, judicious, jovial |
|
L |
learning, listening, locating, launching, leading, lively, level-headed |
|
M |
managing, mentoring,monitoring, motivating, meeting people, marketing |
|
N,O |
negotiating, navigating, observing, organizing, overhauling, overseeing |
|
P |
persuading, planning, preparing, presenting, problem-solving, proof reading, prioritizing |
|
Q,R |
questioning, qualifying, researching, resolving, reporting, recording, repairing, reviewing |
|
S |
scheduling, selling, setting -up, supervising, simplifying, speaking, strategizing |
|
T |
teaching, team-work, trouble-shooting, training, tracking details, thinking creatively |
|
U,V,W |
understanding, uniting, upgrading, verifying, verbalizing, volunteering, writing, well-informed |
If it feels satisfying when you are performing an activity the
chances are that you are using a strength. Your strengths are things
that come naturally and relatively easily to you.
Once you have identified your strengths it is important to understand what they mean on a practical, work-related level in order to answer the question What are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
List of Workplace Strengths and Weaknesses
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View these sample job descriptions to find out the competency and skill requirements for different jobs. Match your strengths to these in your job interview answers.