Page 63 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 29

How do you take advantage of your strengths?

Asking about your strengths is just as common as asking about your weaknesses. Essentially, this is
“why should we hire you?” This is a great opening to highlight your best-fit qualities for the job.

The job search is, at its core, a sales process. The employer is like a buyer, or customer, looking
for the perfect product to buy thatwill solve a problem or provide a solution. You are the product
that’s up for ‘sale.’ But there’s no salesman waiting to sing your praises to this hiring manager—
that’s your task.

Think about what quality, characteristic or skill you have that will help you do this job especially
well. Where will you shine? Don’t be afraid to brag…that’s essentially the point of this question. And
don’t be too generic: “I’m driven to succeed, so I work harder than everyone else.”
They want to know what YOU can do for the organization, so they can decide whether or not to

hire you.
Come up with a few strengths that you can quantify in some way, because the question is ‘how do
you take advantage of your strengths’, and the point of every job is to make money or save money
or time (which is money) for the company.
You take advantage of your strengths when you use them to accomplish those money-making or
money-saving things for the company.
Have some kind of story or example that illustrates or demonstrates how you’ve used this strength.
For instance:

**********
“I am a great listener, and that has helped me build especially strong relationships with my
customers. My accounts stay with me X times longer than average because of this.”
(Or, your listener skill could help you get projects done faster/more accurately because you pay
attention to the nuances/details/whatever. Say what benefits come from this, and quantify them.)

**********