Many people get very self-conscious when asked in an interview about their greatest strengths. But if you were an interviewer, and were trying to decide between a host of qualified, good people, wouldn’t you love it if just one of those people could clearly and succinctly tell you what they were good at? What would they bring to your company if you hired them?
So YOU want to be that person.
Before you walk into that interview, when you’re psychin’ yourself up, think about why you are the perfect person for this job.
And that does NOT mean you’re the perfect person because you’ve always wanted to work there!
Your strengths are the benefits that you bring to the company. What do you specifically do, what experiences have you had, that prove to an employer that you’re the right person.
Don’t be shy.
They need to know this stuff.
If you were an interviewer, you would need to hire someone whom you knew would do a good job. They would make good decisions; they would see problems coming down the road and help to prevent a catastrophe. They were always on time and trustworthy. They would make an effort to learn the job.
These are qualities that every interviewer wants to see in a candidate.
And while you can just sit there and tell them that you have all of those qualities, isn’t it more believable when you confidently and boldly describe times when you demonstrated those qualities.
In a strong voice with direct eye contact with the interviewer, you describe these times when you were a great employee or volunteer.
Wouldn’t you as an interviewer give serious consideration to hiring that person?
How about if another person had similar experience, but wasn’t as confident in describing their strengths-would you BELIEVE that those were their strengths, or something they read out of a book.
You need to sell yourself, and as much as some people get uncomfortable with the fact that that is what happens in an interview, that’s what you need to do. Being confident about your strengths demonstrates that they are true strengths, and you’re not just repeating something you read in a book.
Now, let’s go get some jobs!
Melanie Szlucha’s company Red Inc. Helps candidates stand out from the crowd–in a good way. Follow her on Twitter or check out her website.
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