David G. Jensen, Founder and Managing Director of CTI Executive Search01.19.23
One of the most difficult aspects of a job interview are those times when you are sitting across from a potential employer, and she asks you about your strengths. You are prepared for this…you know it’s coming and you’ve been touching up your CV lately, so you fire back and provide her with a few key bullet points. But, then it suddenly hits you. Logic says that the interviewer is now going to come back with a question about your weaknesses, and you are so unprepared for that one! Oops, here it comes…
Human Resources Manager: “Tell me Susan, you’ve laid out your strengths very nicely, and I see them on your resume as well. But I wonder what you would consider to be your greatest weakness?”
Susan: “Let me think a moment…I guess that one of my weaknesses is that I work too hard. I spend too much time in the lab, and I really need to get some balance going with other important parts of my life.”
Human Resources Manager: [Smiles, makes notes.] “Yes, many of us have that problem.”
HR Manager’s thought process: “A lightning bolt should come down from above and nail this applicant for being the ten-billionth person to use that line. Does Susan think I was born yesterday?”
Recall those books with titles like “Snappy Answers to Tough Interview Questions.” They teach lots of ways to prepare for just about every type of question that someone could throw at you during an interview. Even certain of my columns may be misunderstood and used as fodder for interview responses. It is important to be prepared for an interview, but obvious over-preparation is too easy to see through. Don’t get caught in that trap! The people you meet on interview day are professionals. They interview a dozen people a week or more, and they’ve seen it all.
A better approach? Use interview preparation books and columns like mine as a map to what the interviewing process might be like. As you gear up a job search and begin to experience current interviewing methods, adapt your responses to how the process works. But please, always keep in mind that point I made about being yourself: Interviewers need to see the real you. They don’t want to see a walking, talking interviewing machine.
Large corporations do an annual SWOT analysis. It is highly recommended for individual employees too. A good SWOT analysis requires at least an hour or two of time and a quiet place to think. It is best to do this freeform with paper and pencil to avoid the restrictions of your computer. Looking at words on a screen doesn’t get the creative juices flowing as well as doodling on a notepad. Keep both sides of your brain stimulated!
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Here are some questions that will assist you in writing up a SWOT Analysis:
Strengths: Your strengths are more than a list of lab techniques, or a roster of all the great sales you made during the past couple of years. Your chart isn’t for publication, you can go in any direction you want—anything that makes you unique. What made you choose your career? What were motivating factors and influences? Do these areas still represent some of your inherent strengths? To what do you attribute your success? Don’t forget about important personal characteristics; i.e., persistence, creative ability and so on.
Weaknesses: This area needs the most digging. Start with your technical or job abilities (as you most likely did with your strengths) and list those areas that could be perceived as a shortcoming. For example, what skills are you missing? Think about the goal for your next career move; are there bits and pieces missing from your professional “toolbox?” On the personal side, what weak areas do you see in your life that might have an impact on your career? Do you allow your emotions to take over while on the job? Is there a “hot button” issue that stands in the way of your career progress? Be honest—go ahead and write down that elephant in the room.
Opportunities & Threats: These are two sides to the same issue—your future. On one side, you have huge opportunities being developed by trends in science and business. What new formulas could revolutionize your industry? What do these mean to you? Make a list of every opportunity that you might have; don’t restrict yourself to the “normal” careers for your field. Are there opportunities being created for you because of the current revolution in biology and computers? On the flipside, are there possible threats to your future career choice because of some potential development? Are there too many people available in the job market within your area of interest?
But getting back to my first paragraphs, presenting your weaknesses is a whole different game. Judging from the comments and questions that I get in my seminars on job interviewing skills, this is one of the scariest moments in the interview for most people.
Going back to my opening example, what do you think the interviewer was looking for with that question? Do interviewers really expect to get an accurate portrayal of weaknesses when they ask this? My experience shows that not only can you make a positive impression by showing some of the “real you,” but you can make great strides toward landing that job by taking control in this area.
Here are my recommendations on how to answer questions about your weaknesses:
David G. Jensen
Founder and Managing Director of CTI Executive Search
davejensen@careertrax.com
928-274-2266
www.careertrax.com
David Jensen is the founder and managing director of CTI Executive Search, a unit of CareerTrax Inc, a leading search firm working in the life sciences. Previously, he had been a managing director at Kincannon & Reed, a 30-year retained executive search firm where his company, CareerTrax, had been a contractor. In 1985, Jensen founded and was CEO at Search Masters International (SMI), a top executive search practice working with biotechnology companies, which was sold in 2001 to a $4.4B human resources service firm. Prior to 1985, Jensen had established a life sciences practice for Govig and Associates (Phoenix, AZ).
Human Resources Manager: “Tell me Susan, you’ve laid out your strengths very nicely, and I see them on your resume as well. But I wonder what you would consider to be your greatest weakness?”
Susan: “Let me think a moment…I guess that one of my weaknesses is that I work too hard. I spend too much time in the lab, and I really need to get some balance going with other important parts of my life.”
Human Resources Manager: [Smiles, makes notes.] “Yes, many of us have that problem.”
HR Manager’s thought process: “A lightning bolt should come down from above and nail this applicant for being the ten-billionth person to use that line. Does Susan think I was born yesterday?”
They’ve Heard It Before
BS gets deep in interview rooms. Many people literally memorize their responses to questions and end up focused on things they think the interviewer wants to hear. Is this the best style of interviewing? No way! The best interview is the one where the HR head walks away thinking “I saw the real person today.”Recall those books with titles like “Snappy Answers to Tough Interview Questions.” They teach lots of ways to prepare for just about every type of question that someone could throw at you during an interview. Even certain of my columns may be misunderstood and used as fodder for interview responses. It is important to be prepared for an interview, but obvious over-preparation is too easy to see through. Don’t get caught in that trap! The people you meet on interview day are professionals. They interview a dozen people a week or more, and they’ve seen it all.
A better approach? Use interview preparation books and columns like mine as a map to what the interviewing process might be like. As you gear up a job search and begin to experience current interviewing methods, adapt your responses to how the process works. But please, always keep in mind that point I made about being yourself: Interviewers need to see the real you. They don’t want to see a walking, talking interviewing machine.
Strengths and Weaknesses
If you have entered the job market, you’ve certainly written a resume or CV that shows your strengths. Who wants to even think about weaknesses? But it isn’t that simple. Analyzing strengths and weaknesses is something that most people skimp on.Large corporations do an annual SWOT analysis. It is highly recommended for individual employees too. A good SWOT analysis requires at least an hour or two of time and a quiet place to think. It is best to do this freeform with paper and pencil to avoid the restrictions of your computer. Looking at words on a screen doesn’t get the creative juices flowing as well as doodling on a notepad. Keep both sides of your brain stimulated!
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Here are some questions that will assist you in writing up a SWOT Analysis:
Strengths: Your strengths are more than a list of lab techniques, or a roster of all the great sales you made during the past couple of years. Your chart isn’t for publication, you can go in any direction you want—anything that makes you unique. What made you choose your career? What were motivating factors and influences? Do these areas still represent some of your inherent strengths? To what do you attribute your success? Don’t forget about important personal characteristics; i.e., persistence, creative ability and so on.
Weaknesses: This area needs the most digging. Start with your technical or job abilities (as you most likely did with your strengths) and list those areas that could be perceived as a shortcoming. For example, what skills are you missing? Think about the goal for your next career move; are there bits and pieces missing from your professional “toolbox?” On the personal side, what weak areas do you see in your life that might have an impact on your career? Do you allow your emotions to take over while on the job? Is there a “hot button” issue that stands in the way of your career progress? Be honest—go ahead and write down that elephant in the room.
Opportunities & Threats: These are two sides to the same issue—your future. On one side, you have huge opportunities being developed by trends in science and business. What new formulas could revolutionize your industry? What do these mean to you? Make a list of every opportunity that you might have; don’t restrict yourself to the “normal” careers for your field. Are there opportunities being created for you because of the current revolution in biology and computers? On the flipside, are there possible threats to your future career choice because of some potential development? Are there too many people available in the job market within your area of interest?
Use What You Learn in the Interview
The single most important thing to remember about discussing your strengths is to be succinct and frame your strengths along with some appropriate accomplishment. When describing that success, don’t embellish; use only three critical elements: the Challenge, the Approach and the Results. In other words, describe the problem that you worked on, your approach to the problem and the results that occurred. I cannot tell you how important it is to be brief in this discussion. You can always go back and elaborate when requested.But getting back to my first paragraphs, presenting your weaknesses is a whole different game. Judging from the comments and questions that I get in my seminars on job interviewing skills, this is one of the scariest moments in the interview for most people.
Going back to my opening example, what do you think the interviewer was looking for with that question? Do interviewers really expect to get an accurate portrayal of weaknesses when they ask this? My experience shows that not only can you make a positive impression by showing some of the “real you,” but you can make great strides toward landing that job by taking control in this area.
Here are my recommendations on how to answer questions about your weaknesses:
- Know your real weaknesses by doing some self-analysis like the SWOT. But, have a game plan that you relate along with each weakness that shows you are aware of that weakness and that you have a positive plan to move past it.
- Always think about what your weaknesses might be in relation to the job you are interviewing for. Never volunteer a “deal killer” weakness. I wouldn’t say “I tend to be somewhat lazy” (an extreme example). But, I might say “Sometimes I lose my motivation and find myself doing my job by the numbers. When that happens, I have learned to recognize it and reach out to find some inspiration to make the work more interesting.” Stating that you’re moving past it can be an opportunity to make the weakness a “non-issue.”
- Technical or “background experience” weaknesses are usually deemed repairable. Be more careful when describing weaknesses of a personal sort, as the interviewer may see these as issues that the company cannot help you with. A lack of a job skill, for example; they can train you... a tendency to be lazy? Not so much.
- Never get into protracted discussion about a weakness, period. Interviewers appreciate open communication, and they are just as uncomfortable as you are when asking these questions. Well, maybe not that uncomfortable. The “Tip of the Iceberg” is all you need when relating a weakness.
David G. Jensen
Founder and Managing Director of CTI Executive Search
davejensen@careertrax.com
928-274-2266
www.careertrax.com
David Jensen is the founder and managing director of CTI Executive Search, a unit of CareerTrax Inc, a leading search firm working in the life sciences. Previously, he had been a managing director at Kincannon & Reed, a 30-year retained executive search firm where his company, CareerTrax, had been a contractor. In 1985, Jensen founded and was CEO at Search Masters International (SMI), a top executive search practice working with biotechnology companies, which was sold in 2001 to a $4.4B human resources service firm. Prior to 1985, Jensen had established a life sciences practice for Govig and Associates (Phoenix, AZ).