Most people are programmed to turn the weakness into a strength. In the realm of emotional intelligence, in the realm of (you’re going to see the subtle flip to this, not the traditional one) effective interviewing, you’re going to need to divulge something that you’re not particularly good at.
Hiring managers who asked that question don’t want you to deflect it. They want something real. They want some meat on the bones. This is going to require some thought on your part, because, in this sense, you don’t want to reveal something that relates the work, right? You don’t want to reveal something that’s going to be problematic for you in their assessment, but you also don’t want to give them something flimsy.
The trick is to give them something and then pause and say, “You know, I don’t know if that’s all that relevant for the job. But, one thing I know is relevant is my focus is really on my strengths and trying to maximize my strengths pretty definitely so that, yes, I’m working to improve, but, at the end of the day, I try to focus on my strong points to ensure that you get the best from me well I’m still trying to improve the other.
Do you get the point? You’ve got to give them something. You gotta give them something with some significance that’s not going to harm you in their assessment. You don’t want to give them something too trivial because it’s won’t be good enough. Give them something “juicy” then, flip it to say that you tend to focus on your strengths and playing to those much more while you work to improve the things you judge you are deficient at.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2020
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, all as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1800 episodes, and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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