How do you present your strengths in a job interview?

If you are responding to a friend's question, listing your strengths might be easy. When you are vying for the position of your dreams, it can feel like the make or break moment in your job interview. If you’ve been working with a good recruiter who really knows you and knows the position and the company, you can discuss with him or her where your strengths actually fit the needs of the position. From there, you just need to talk confidently about what makes you such a great fit. 

Still, you first have to think a bit about what your strengths are, and how you can focus your answer so that what you say resonates in the mind of the interviewer. So what are your strengths?  Here are a few ideas on how to define them.

First, list the ones that come to mind, and when you do, think of an example to illustrate each one. For instance (strength) “My real strength is my attention to detail.” (Example) “That’s probably why I am always asked to review the project plans to see if anything has been overlooked.”

If you need more ideas, think about what your bosses and co-workers rely on you for, or the complimentary things they say about you or your work. Some examples could make you realize that you are: always on time to meetings, very deadline oriented, have a can-do attitude, work well under pressure, have great follow through or follow-up skills.  

Once you’ve have a handful of strengths, pick two or three and concentrate on how you will present them.

To be safe, do the same thing for your weaknesses. Let’s face it, those are just the few things we can do better if we just give them a bit of attention. You probably only have two, so then you’re done. Just paint them in the best light possible.

We’d like to know, have you ever really defined your strengths? How have they helped you get a job?