The dreaded question: what are your strengths?

Former Member

Ever been asked in an interview or a progress meeting to speak about your strengths? If you are anything like me, this question feels utterly impossible!!

So what I'm asking is, does anyone have an advise on how to approach a question like this? I really lack confidence in myself and often pick out the negatives more. This question always throws me off track and j really struggle!


Thank you in advance 💕

Past User

I read about this online and this seems to be something that a lot of people have struggles with. I found a website which suggested taking a "strength and weakness" test, I found one and I had to answer a whole bunch of questions and then it gave me 5 strengths and one weakness. I'll pop my results below. it's quite interesting

Picking out the negatives isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's good to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Knowing our weaknesses will help us to work on them but try not to be too hard on yourself.

You could also ask a few friends and/or family members to list 3 of your strengths.

This is something that i struggle with too but i really enjoyed looking at some of the guides online

Top five strengths :

Your top 5 strengths are : 

Salesmanship 

* Make it a point to meet new people every day - strangers energize you.
* Continually work on your system for remembering names and faces.
* You prefer to meet, win over, and move on - stick to broad relationships in work. Quantity not quality.
* Consistently be a builder of goodwill for your groups, community, or organization

Optimism 

* Look for positions where you can be as close to customers as possible.
* Actively help plan events - like new product launches and user groups.
* Do use your humor and good attitude to excite people.
* Being positive does not mean you'll be in good mood - be aware of this.
* Cynics quickly sap your energy and you dislike cheering negative people - minimize these instances.
* You enjoy celebrating and should actively find ways to recognize achievements.

Innovation 

* Actively seek out positions where your ideas will be valued and encouraged.
* Search out and request ideas from others to stimulate your thinking.
* Constantly think of ideas that can improve businesses and the lives of others.
* You enjoy the power of words; punchy ideas stimulate your thinking - focus and play with this fact.

Self Motivation 

* You don't need your hand-held; help others understand you need space to make meaningful decisions.
* Continually take on roles that demand an aura of certainty and stability.
* You have a strong self-concept that you are an agent of action - nurture it.
* You are most effective when you feel you are in control of your world - be aware and help others understand this.
* You need clear feedback to develop your instincts - review your failures and successes for lessons learned.

Communication

* Try to attend events where prospects or customers are to be entertained.
* Plan and take time to hear about the life and experiences of others.
* Plan to participate, organize, and encourage company social events.
* Volunteer to help others make more engaging presentations.
* Take advanced public speaking training; the novice classes will upset you

My biggest weakness (truuu) :

Focus (25%):

* Actively set goals with specific timelines and figure out concrete ways to achieve them.
* You work best when you can control your work events - be aware and keep others informed.
* You thrive on regular check-ins and discussing goals progress - help others to understand this.
* Make efforts to avoid trampling on others' feelings as goals often take priority for you.
* Change is tough for you - ensure you talk and plan for change in terms of 'new goals to champion'.
* Schedule to attend a time management seminar and to incorporate the learnings in your daily routines.
* Stay away from unstructured meetings - they will be painful wastes of your time.

Maisy

It definitely seems easier for to pick out my weaknesses too!

 

For me, I try and think about strengths in different ways- for example, experience, knowledge and other skills. I try to think about situations or experiences that have gone well for me before, and think about why it went well.

 

An example of this is my Masters that I recently completed- I was strong in my knowledge from all the reading that I undertook, but I also have some relevant experience due to my volunteering. Other skills include IT skills as I spent a lot of time writing assignments but my volunteering also takes place online as well and time management as I was working individually.

 

It can help to try and break things down like this as it also offers evidence/proof of your strengths  

Former Member

Forgot I even posted this thread. Thank you for the response! 

Going through strengths has always been a struggle! It's something I want to be more aware of this year and work towards recognising. I plan to start applying for jobs again soon so definitely need to work in feeling confident about my strengths