Interviews: what is your greatest strength and weakness. #phd #postdoc #interview #jobinterview

Summary

This video script delves into the common interview question of identifying one's greatest strength and weakness. It advises against generic answers and encourages self-reflection to stand out. The speaker suggests considering a lack of specific skills as a weakness, aligning strengths with the job, and backing up claims with evidence. The goal is to impress interviewers with honesty and ambition, while avoiding revealing genuine flaws.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Interviewers commonly ask about candidates' greatest strengths and weaknesses.
• 📝 Candidates often have memorized answers or are completely surprised by the question.
• 🎨 Being creative and self-reflective in your answer can help you stand out from the crowd.
• 🤔 It's important to think about these questions ahead of time to avoid being caught off-guard.
• 💡 Honest and self-critical answers can leave a strong impression and influence hiring decisions.
• 🚀 Acknowledging a lack of certain skills or techniques can show a willingness to grow and improve.
• 📊 Avoid stating weaknesses that directly conflict with the job requirements.
• 🏆 Sharing professional achievements can demonstrate ambition and a clear career direction.
• 🌟 Personal traits like shyness can be framed as a strength when they contribute positively to a team.
• 🔒 Align your strengths with the job position to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
• 📈 Back up your strengths with concrete examples or achievements to avoid empty claims.
• 💼 Prepare to discuss both strengths and weaknesses thoughtfully to excel in job interviews.

Q & A

What is the common question in interviews that the speaker discusses?

The common interview question discussed is 'What is your greatest strength and what is your greatest weakness?'

What are the two categories of answers that people typically give to the interview question about strengths and weaknesses?

The two categories are those who have memorized a boilerplate answer and those who are completely stumped and surprised by the question.

Why might a boilerplate answer be acceptable according to the speaker?

A boilerplate answer is acceptable because it is fine to have a prepared response, but the speaker suggests being more creative to stand out.

What does the speaker suggest as an alternative to a boilerplate answer?

The speaker suggests being more self-reflective and honest in the answer, which can leave a good impression and potentially influence the hiring decision.

What is the importance of thinking about the question of strengths and weaknesses before an interview?

It's important to avoid being completely exposed or caught off guard during the interview, and to be prepared with a thoughtful and impressive answer.

What kind of weakness should one avoid mentioning in an interview?

One should avoid mentioning a weakness that is a critical requirement for the position they are applying for.

Why is it beneficial to mention a lack of a specific skill or technique as a weakness?

It shows that the candidate is critically evaluating their abilities and skills, and is willing to grow and become a more valuable addition to the team.

What is a potential way to discuss one's professional ambition in relation to their weaknesses?

Discussing a professional achievement or goal can demonstrate ambition and show that the candidate is working towards a specific objective.

How should a personality trait be approached as a weakness in an interview?

It should be presented in a way that shows self-awareness and how it can be managed or turned into a positive contribution once integrated into a team.

Why is it crucial to align the strengths mentioned with the job position during an interview?

Aligning strengths with the job position ensures that the strengths are relevant and can contribute to the role, rather than being counterproductive.

What should one do to back up a claim of strength during an interview?

One should provide evidence or examples, such as specific projects, publications, or contributions that demonstrate the strength in action.

How can mentioning being a good team player be substantiated in an interview?

By providing examples of team contributions, such as organizing workshops or improving team dynamics, which show tangible evidence of being a good team player.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Navigating Interview Questions on Strengths and Weaknesses

This paragraph discusses the common interview question about one's greatest strength and weakness. It categorizes responses into two types: those who have a memorized answer and those who are genuinely surprised by the question. The speaker encourages interviewees to be self-reflective and honest, as this can leave a strong impression. It also suggests that having a thoughtful response to this question can play a significant role in the hiring decision. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of preparation and the value of self-awareness in crafting one's answer.

05:01

📊 Aligning Strengths with Job Requirements in Interviews

The second paragraph focuses on how to effectively communicate one's strengths during an interview, especially in alignment with the job position. It warns against stating strengths that are irrelevant to the job, as this could be counterproductive. The speaker advises interviewees to be prepared to back up their claims of strength with evidence or examples, such as specific skills used in previous work or contributions made to a team. The paragraph concludes with general advice on how to answer the question about strengths and weaknesses, highlighting the importance of preparation and the potential impact of a well-crafted answer on interview success.

Keywords

💡Strength

Strength in the context of the video refers to personal attributes or skills that contribute positively to one's professional capabilities. It is a key aspect of self-assessment in job interviews and is essential for showcasing one's value to potential employers. For example, the script mentions aligning strengths with the position's requirements and backing up claims with evidence, such as publications or developed codes.

💡Weakness

Weakness, as discussed in the video, is a personal attribute or skill that may hinder performance in certain areas. It is a delicate topic in interviews, where candidates must balance honesty with the potential impact on their candidacy. The script advises on how to turn a weakness into a growth opportunity, such as expressing a need for additional skills or techniques.

💡Interview

An interview is a formal meeting where a candidate is assessed for a job position. The video script emphasizes the importance of preparing for common interview questions, such as discussing one's strengths and weaknesses, to make a positive impression on the interviewer. It suggests that being well-prepared can lead to successful outcomes.

💡Self-reflection

Self-reflection is the process of introspection and self-analysis. In the video, it is highlighted as a valuable skill for interviewees to demonstrate, as it shows an ability to critically evaluate one's own abilities and areas for improvement. The script provides examples of impressive self-reflective answers that have contributed to hiring decisions.

💡Boilerplate Answer

A boilerplate answer is a standard, pre-prepared response to common interview questions. The video script mentions that while it's acceptable to have a memorized answer, it might be beneficial to provide a more creative and personalized response to stand out from other candidates.

💡Professional Achievement

Professional achievement refers to accomplishments in one's career that demonstrate expertise or success. The video suggests mentioning such achievements to convey ambition and a clear direction in one's career path, as it can be a positive factor in an interview setting.

💡Personality

Personality, in the context of the video, pertains to an individual's character traits that influence their behavior and interactions. The script advises caution when discussing personality-related weaknesses, as they need to be presented in a way that shows self-awareness and potential for positive contribution to a team.

💡Team Player

Being a team player signifies the ability to work cooperatively within a group to achieve common goals. The video emphasizes the importance of substantiating claims of being a good team player with concrete examples of collaborative efforts or contributions to team success.

💡Statistical Skills

Statistical skills are a set of competencies related to the analysis and interpretation of data. The script uses this as an example of a specific skill that might be a strength or an area for improvement, depending on the job requirements and the candidate's expertise.

💡Preparation

Preparation is the act of getting ready for a specific task or event. In the video, it is stressed that candidates should think about and prepare answers to common interview questions in advance to avoid being caught off guard and to make a strong impression.

💡Impression

Impression refers to the effect or feeling produced by someone or something. The video highlights the importance of making a good impression in an interview through thoughtful and honest answers about one's strengths and weaknesses.

Highlights

The common interview question about strengths and weaknesses often elicits either memorized or stunned responses.

Memorized boilerplate answers are acceptable, but creativity can help candidates stand out.

Reflective and honest answers about weaknesses can leave a strong impression on interviewers.

Preparation for the weakness question is advised to avoid overexposure and to make a good impression.

Self-reflective answers can contribute to a candidate's hiring decision.

Suggested weakness answers include a lack of a specific analytical skill or technique.

A weakness should not be the main requirement for the position applied for.

Discussing a professional achievement can signal ambition and goal orientation.

Personality traits as weaknesses should be approached with caution and self-awareness.

Strengths should be aligned with the job position to avoid counterproductive claims.

Backing up strength claims with evidence or examples is crucial for credibility.

Being a good team player should be supported by specific instances of teamwork contributions.

The importance of thoughtful preparation for the strength and weakness question in interviews.

The potential impact of well-answered strength and weakness questions on interview outcomes.

Encouragement for viewers to consider their own answers to the strength and weakness question.

Invitation for viewers to share their answers in the comments section.

Transcripts

one of the single most commonly asked

questions in interviews is what is your

greatest strength and what is your

greatest weakness i find that the

answers to that question fall into two

categories people have memorized a

certain

kind of an answer to that like i work

too hard or something like this for the

weakness but i have also observed

the opposite namely that people are just

completely stumped by that question and

utterly surprised like they've never

heard this question before or they

didn't expect that question to come up

and that's been quite interesting so

basically if you have a boilerplate

answer memorized answer that you want to

give this is fine no harm done but maybe

you want to be a bit more creative in

your answer and of course this is an

opportunity to stick out from the crowd

in the past i've had some of the most

amazing

open

self-critical

self-reflective yeah just completely

disarmingly honest

answers to this question of what is your

greatest

weakness especially

and

you know this this is a bit risky

i think it's important to think about

this question ahead of time before you

go to an interview because you don't

want to completely

expose yourself but it can also be

leaving a really good impression

basically if you have this ability to be

very self-reflective and some of these

answers were

so impressive that in the end i think

they played a not so minor role in the

decision to hire that person some of

these decisions have definitely been

some of the best i've ever made i think

it's just interesting to think about

what is your greatest

weakness and strength just in general

terms so

maybe you're not totally stumped in an

interview when that question comes up

and you can really stick out with your

answer rather than giving the

boilerplate answer well my greatest

strength is that i work really hard and

my greatest weakness is i don't know

when to stop working things like that so

but you know this requires some thinking

and preparation though i think and a

very few people will be able to do that

on the spot during the interview well

first of all here are some suggestions

for what to think about in terms of

talking about your greatest

weakness

well the first one is maybe

you are

realizing that you need another method

or another analytical skill or a

technique a lab method or statistical

technique that you don't know yet this

answer can work in your favor because it

shows that you are

critically thinking about what your

portfolio of methods that you already

have is and how it really could be

substantially enhanced right so it shows

that you are critically evaluating

your abilities and your skills and it

shows that you are willing to grow

and to become better

and a more valuable addition to the team

basically now of course make absolutely

sure

that when a position is for example

advertised for somebody to bring

statistical skills to the lab that you

don't say well i wish i knew how to open

r and do anything in r right that's not

going to help you so it can't be for the

the main purpose of that particular

position that you're applying for so you

got to be careful about that but it can

be something more general about your

skill set and i think that would be very

valuable and i think interviewers would

really appreciate it i would it can also

be about a professional achievement

being invited to an important conference

or having a paper in a certain journal

or like what whatever your achievement

is that you think is important for you

and thereby you can basically

let people know that interviewed you

that you are ambitious and that you have

thought about that and it's not just

some vain hope but you are working

towards that particular goal and then it

can also work in your favor it can also

be something a bit more about your

personality but that's tricky right

so i mean it could be something if it's

true obviously if if you are shy you

could say well i think i'm i'm shy so it

takes me a bit to warm up to people but

when i am integrated in a team i'm i'm a

really valuable team member and i

contribute to the success of the team so

then it is also

basically it shows that you have

critically self-reflected on who you are

and how you would fit into a team now

some suggestions about strengths usually

these are much less risky right then the

weaknesses because you don't want the

weaknesses to be unnecessarily revealing

of some real drawbacks on on your cv you

want those weaknesses to be sort of you

know you want to transport some

strengths within the weaknesses

obviously so it's much easier to answer

a question about the strengths now when

you talk about strengths i think it's

important that your strength is aligned

with the position so if the position is

to

let's stick with the example of

statistics to do statistics and data

analysis then your strengths shouldn't

be well i'm a great experimentalist and

i can do fantastic greenhouse

experiments or set up field experiments

right i mean this is

then the strengths can be

counterproductive because

it's not what that position is about so

make sure that when you talk about your

strengths they're aligned with the goals

of the position well the second general

remark about the strength strengths is i

think you should be prepared to back it

up like for example if you say i'm

really good with statistics and r

you could say well i've used these in

these packages and you can see this in

my publications and that in that journal

where i did such and such or developed

the code for this and that

it's very good if you if you don't just

say well i'm really strong with

statistics because you know this is

going to be

useful for this position

but then you need to have the data

basically to back it up otherwise just

an empty claim is not going to help you

at all another example is like if you're

you say you're a good team player well

everybody will say they're a good team

player right because nobody will say

well i'm terrible in teams i just work

on my own

but you know if you say you're a good

team player then it's really

nice and useful and helpful if you can

back that up with some claim like for

example i've in my previous team i've

organized

workshops or co-working sessions or i've

done this and that for the team to make

the team work better that will be

impressive and then it's not just an

empty claim like i'm a good team player

well i think those are my general

suggestions

for how to answer the

ever-present question what is your

greatest strength and your greatest

weakness and i hope that in your next

interview you're prepared for that

question and give an awesome answer and

with that thanks so much for watching

and

see you in the next video don't forget

to leave in the comments what your

answer would be