How to answer that “what are your key strengths” question

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is something that is crucial in your career. Each of us has particular strengths: talents in thinking, habitual ways we approach problems that give us the energy to solve them. These skills are what make you unique and will ultimately benefit your career. But for many being asked the questions “What are your key strengths?” “What skills can you bring to our business?” in an interview gets treated with rehearsed answers of what you think a potential employee might want to hear.

However, if you answer this question well, it’s one of the best ways you can show off your skills and show that you stand out among other candidates. This is not the time to be humble. While you do not want to exaggerate your strengths, you should be comfortable articulating what makes you an ideal candidate.

Here are a few strategies to approach this question during the interview process:

Assessing your strengths
This is an exercise worth doing before any interview. The easiest way to determine these are to break it down into the following three categories:

• Experience — Experience with certain software or type of task, expertise in a particular industry, a track record of working with similar products or clients, etc.
• Talents — Abilities such as programming in a desired language, writing proposals, selling widgets, litigating cases, organizing events, etc.
• Soft skills — Personal attributes that enable you to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people, for example; influencing, team building, negotiation, managing up, problem-solving etc.

Once you have a clear understanding of your strengths you should also look for examples of how your strength is evident in your past work performance.

Choosing the right strengths
Before going to an interview look at the job requirements to guide you in what strengths you should select. Choose one to three attributes you want to mention and stop there. You’ll want to think strategically about what skills will position you as qualified for the specific job you are interviewing for and position yourself as a good fit for the company.

Steer away from general statements
This is one of the biggest mistakes candidates make when trying to answer this question. Don’t answer this question in any generic way. If your strength is something 90% of your peers claim as strength, then pick another one. Avoid all the overused clichés and meaningless phrases such as team player, hard-working, patient, positive, reliable, good timekeeper unless you can quantify your answer with tangible results or scenarios.

Good Examples
Still not sure where to start in answering this question? Here are some good examples:

Being motivated
“One of my strengths is that I am motivated to achieve and exceed set targets. In my last role, I achieved all my sales targets and increased these by 5% on the previous year.”

Management
 “One of my strengths is my strong relationship with my team. For instance, due to my constant ‘informal get-togethers’ with the team members, I was able to realize their work pressure and thus, modify the deadline of a project. As a result of this, the team worked enthusiastically and we excelled in overall expectations of the client.”

Flexible/Adaptable
“I’m an adaptable person. I work for three different managers, they have very different management styles and expectations of me. I am able to adjust my approach to meet each of their needs”

If you are in the market for a new job, we can assist. Communicate Recruitment is a candidate-focused recruitment agency: our primary intention is to create a lifelong connection with our great candidates.

Whether you are a candidate urgently looking for a new job or somebody looking to form a long-term career-building partnership, talk to us. We have a team of dedicated consultants specializing in the Finance, IT, Engineering, Freight, and Supply Chain industries. They can connect you with Top Employers in South Africa while assisting you to map both long and short-term career objectives and advise you on what steps to take to reach your ultimate career goal. Apply today.