Dealing With Weakness and Strength Questions in your Interview
Posted by
patrick
When you attend your interview, you can find yourself in a situation where there are questions flying at you - left, right and centre. It can appear unbelievably bewildering. Try to stay focussed as your next few responses may be life changing. I once had an amazing interview that led to one of my most enjoyable jobs...
I had applied to be a teacher at a local preschool, and now sat across a table, being questioned by my prospective boss - the director of the school. "What would you consider your greatest weakness?" she asked, once the intros were made. "I am a very shy person when I initially meet other people," I answered, smiling a little. "It becomes a little detrimental, because it gets misinterpreted as conceited, or a better-than-thou attitude." She agreed and laughed softly. "I have had just the very problem!" She answered. "I have had countless people tell me that they thought I was a witch when they initially met me!" Of course, the "witch" word she was talking about had actually started with a "B".
Never be frightened of your weaknesses. Never lie and don't just re-use the ones that you have heard before. There are some really tired responses to this question, such as the "I just can't say no". If you use one of these "standard" answers - you may come across as being a liar and untrustworthy.
What eventually got me the job was a response that I wouldn't have planned in a hundred years! The headteacher stopped suddenly and just stared at me for a few moments and then asked - "If I had a class of children that you didn't know on the other side of the school in a room that I haven't yet shown you and I needed you to go in there and deal with the situation quickly - what would your initial response be?" At this point, I thought that the interview had already been lost, so I was paradoxically super-relaxed. I just laughed and told her that I would go into the centre of the room and start laughing loudly until they all went quiet and get them playing the hockey cokey or something mad like that.
Funnily enough, I was chatting to her a little while later (after I had been in post for a bit) and she told me that it was that precise answer that secured me the post. She knew that I was honest and had the ability to rapidly establish rapport with the children. So - go with the truth...
Don't forget to practice your answers with your friends and family. It can be a little embarassing going through your strengths and weaknesses with them, but it is better to get teased by those that care about you than risk looking silly at your interview.
I had applied to be a teacher at a local preschool, and now sat across a table, being questioned by my prospective boss - the director of the school. "What would you consider your greatest weakness?" she asked, once the intros were made. "I am a very shy person when I initially meet other people," I answered, smiling a little. "It becomes a little detrimental, because it gets misinterpreted as conceited, or a better-than-thou attitude." She agreed and laughed softly. "I have had just the very problem!" She answered. "I have had countless people tell me that they thought I was a witch when they initially met me!" Of course, the "witch" word she was talking about had actually started with a "B".
Never be frightened of your weaknesses. Never lie and don't just re-use the ones that you have heard before. There are some really tired responses to this question, such as the "I just can't say no". If you use one of these "standard" answers - you may come across as being a liar and untrustworthy.
What eventually got me the job was a response that I wouldn't have planned in a hundred years! The headteacher stopped suddenly and just stared at me for a few moments and then asked - "If I had a class of children that you didn't know on the other side of the school in a room that I haven't yet shown you and I needed you to go in there and deal with the situation quickly - what would your initial response be?" At this point, I thought that the interview had already been lost, so I was paradoxically super-relaxed. I just laughed and told her that I would go into the centre of the room and start laughing loudly until they all went quiet and get them playing the hockey cokey or something mad like that.
Funnily enough, I was chatting to her a little while later (after I had been in post for a bit) and she told me that it was that precise answer that secured me the post. She knew that I was honest and had the ability to rapidly establish rapport with the children. So - go with the truth...
Don't forget to practice your answers with your friends and family. It can be a little embarassing going through your strengths and weaknesses with them, but it is better to get teased by those that care about you than risk looking silly at your interview.
About the Author:
When I was preparing for my interview, I found this really useful website with some great interview advice on it. It was especially useful for doctors and medical students - but really anyone could use it for their interviews - ST interviews
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