[Xericx]

[Perfection]

Originally Posted by It's_GO_Time

Good luck in the interview . . . and a first job with potential and salary is exciting.

Sky is the limit . . . I miss that feeling coming out of school. You can go a lot of different directions and you got plenty of time to figure it all out. If you don't like your first career path, you can change careers and you are still under 30.

OK, I'm getting depressed . . . let us know if you get the job. At that salary, drinks are on you.

If I do, then my next OT thread might be about housing and where I'll decide to live.

I'm not nervous about the job, but I can't sleep (kind of a night owl). Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine.

[Perfection]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to answer the greatest strengths/weaknesses question? I have a few ideas, but would love to hear others.

[It's_GO_Time]

Originally Posted by Perfection

Anyone have any suggestions on how to answer the greatest strengths/weaknesses question? I have a few ideas, but would love to hear others.

I'll give this a shot . . . I think I would interview better now taht I do some interviews, but not so long ago (in my mind) I was asking the same questions so I'm just giving this my stab in the dark:

-I was taught that the traditional response to this question is to turn your strength into a weakness. Like sometimes I can be too organzied and not see the big picture right away. Or I put so much effort into the job that I could lose sight of time management, so I need to learn to prioritize and become more efficient with the effort that give. I can be too demanding of myself and I would hope that I don't project this thought on others to the point it creates pressure on others.

-I appreiate the honest answer. I am new to the field and suspect their will be a learning curve. I probably can't come in right away and give you what someone with experience can do (they already know this). But I am a quick learner, a hard worker and would do what it takes to get caught up to speed. This a my first job in the feild and part of what I would want to prove is that I can in fact learn the area and contribute in a short amount of time.


Ther you go . . . my .02 advise (hope others respond . . . otherwise it is the blind leading the blind)

[blazerboy30]

Originally Posted by It's_GO_Time

I'll give this a shot . . . I think I would interview better now taht I do some interviews, but not so long ago (in my mind) I was asking the same questions so I'm just giving this my stab in the dark:

-I was taught that the traditional response to this question is to turn your strength into a weakness. Like sometimes I can be too organzied and not see the big picture right away. Or I put so much effort into the job that I could lose sight of time management, so I need to learn to prioritize and become more efficient with the effort that give. I can be too demanding of myself and I would hope that I don't project this thought on others to the point it creates pressure on others.


Ther you go . . . my .02 advise (hope others respond . . . otherwise it is the blind leading the blind)

No offense KMD, but I HATE this typical answer. I actually never ask these types of questions when I interview candidates because they constantly lead to an answer like the above, and it really annoys me. I don't get anything out of the answer.

If I were interviewing you, and I happened to ask this question (I wouldn't), then I would want you to be honest. But, try to rephrase the question as more of an "area for developement" instead of a "weakness". But you can use "areas for developement" such as experience, lack of hands-on training, learning the real-world application instead of the academic theory, etc. Things that the employer would already expect from a new grad.

[Perfection]

eh, as I was tying my tie, ready to leave, I got a call postponing the interview until tomorrow. Good thing he called me right then, as it was a landline and I would have driven 1 1/2 hours for nothing. But now I have to focus on it again tomorrow...ah!

[It's_GO_Time]

Originally Posted by blazerboy30

No offense KMD, but I HATE this typical answer. I actually never ask these types of questions when I interview candidates because they constantly lead to an answer like the above, and it really annoys me. I don't get anything out of the answer.

If I were interviewing you, and I happened to ask this question (I wouldn't), then I would want you to be honest. But, try to rephrase the question as more of an "area for developement" instead of a "weakness". But you can use "areas for developement" such as experience, lack of hands-on training, learning the real-world application instead of the academic theory, etc. Things that the employer would already expect from a new grad.

No offense taken . . . did you read my post, I was suggesting taking the honest approach.

[Perfection]

One I read for weakness was "I get impatient when red tape/regulations slow me down" or something to that affect. It it comes up in my interview, I'll honestly say that I'm not that used to the finance world/jargon, etc., as my degree was not in that. But I can learn :-)

Interview was pushed to tomorrow. Have to iron the shirt again. Time to kill it.

[Xericx]

Originally Posted by Perfection

One I read for weakness was "I get impatient when red tape/regulations slow me down" or something to that affect. It it comes up in my interview, I'll honestly say that I'm not that used to the finance world/jargon, etc., as my degree was not in that. But I can learn :-)

Interview was pushed to tomorrow. Have to iron the shirt again. Time to kill it.

for my current job, my answer was: "I'm too impatient with people when they move too slow or don't think right". sounds crappy, but i guess it worked.

[mook]

Originally Posted by blazerboy30

No offense KMD, but I HATE this typical answer. I actually never ask these types of questions when I interview candidates because they constantly lead to an answer like the above, and it really annoys me. I don't get anything out of the answer.

If I were interviewing you, and I happened to ask this question (I wouldn't), then I would want you to be honest. But, try to rephrase the question as more of an "area for developement" instead of a "weakness". But you can use "areas for developement" such as experience, lack of hands-on training, learning the real-world application instead of the academic theory, etc. Things that the employer would already expect from a new grad.

Yeah, it's a useless question. I really liked GO Time's second response, as the first one is such a cliche.

For a more experienced employee how about, "I tend to be overly blunt. That was a stupid question."

[MARIS61]

Any actual job experience or volunteer experience you have should provide an avenue to demonstrate your assets such as leadership, courage, ability to work without supervision, creativeness, learning from real-life experience...

Everyone they interview probably has similar college background. Find a way to stand out from the crowd.

[Hector]

To all difficult questions, just answer that the difficulty is different for you because of your superiority to all others. To fake humility, pretend you would have special problems caused by your supposed genius. For example, if asked "What do you do when you have mastered the job because you're so good at it?" Answer "I would be miserable with all the problems. I'd worry that I'm not quite perfect enough, that others are so impressed with me that they don't dare tell me of any problems they have with my outstanding results. It's lonely at the top and you must constantly open lines of communication to the bewildered masses."

You might want to reword that, but that's the gist of it.

[maxiep]

Originally Posted by Perfection

Anyone have any suggestions on how to answer the greatest strengths/weaknesses question? I have a few ideas, but would love to hear others.

Never give a "I'm too much of a (insert positive quality here)" line. What they're really asking is how self-aware you are.

I've been asked that question more times than I can count, and my answer is always the same. I happen to be a massive procrastinator. So when asked what my greatest weakness is, I tell them. I then follow up and say that by understanding that tendency, I actively counteract it by creating an action list every day that is completed before I leave.

No one expects you to be perfect, and if you have a flaw that many others have, you may find the interviewer sympathises with you. In fact, I had one guy tell me "I have the same issue. How does that action list work for you?" Be yourself, but watch for the clues every interviewer gives you. The worst thing is to act one way to get a job and then find that you hate the company because it's not a good fit for you.

Best of luck.