5 Steps To Selling Your Strengths To An Interviewer

As if interviews weren’t stressful enough, we have to think about how to play our strengths and weaknesses to our advantage and answer those age old questions without lying, or saying something really obvious. It can seem impossible to show your strengths in an understated and impressive way, so here’s how to show your strengths in an interview and answer the ‘what are your strengths?’ question perfectly!

Photo via Pursuit of daydreams

Step One: Brainstorm
Before an interview prepare a list of your strengths, from the weird and wonderful to the cheesy and predictable. Write everything from independence to problem-solving and pick a few from the pool, always write down skills and strengths you actually have rather than what you think the job needs.

Step Two: Choose your strengths
Choose at least five strengths you’re happy to talk about, choose strengths that are personal to you and think about why they are your strengths. Try not to choose strengths that are typically used to answer these questions, and if you do be prepared to create an example that makes your answer different.

Step Three: Ask around
Ask a friend or family member what they think your strengths are, sometimes their answers will shock you. Often people think they are lacking in confidence, but appear extremely outgoing to those around them, so ask around and don’t be afraid to use your favourite answers!

Step Four: Craft stories
Obviously your strengths have to align with the company you’re interviewing with and their values, but you may need some illustrative stories to provide perfect examples of your strengths in action. Choose personal and professional stories, perhaps you moved to a new city by yourself or volunteered with a team of people for a few weeks, just have some examples to hand in case you need them.

Step Five: Be proud
Be proud of your strengths, play them up as much as possible! When you’re asked what your strengths are don’t be afraid to say something as mundane as ‘being a team player’, if you can back it up with relevant context, explain why you think it’s a great strength to have and sell yourself to the interviewer you’ll be fine.

So there’s no quick fix for answering the ‘what are your strengths?’ question, because it requires you to dig deep and ask yourself what skills you have that can be applied to the job. You need to be relevant and confident without appearing cocky, which is easy to do as long as you keep smiling and know exactly what to say! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Bloglovin to get more tips on interviews, the working world and fabulous inspiring women! X

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