02: What are your greatest strengths?

TRAPS: This question seems like a softball lob, but be prepared. You don't want to come across as egotistical or arrogant. Neither is this a time to be humble.

BEST ANSWER: You know that your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs before you answer questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this.

Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements.

You should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.

Then, once you uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that best match up.

As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:

1. A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest wants and needs.

2. Intelligence...management "savvy".

3. Honesty...integrity...a decent human being.

4. Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes well with interviewer's team.

5. Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.

6. Good communication skills.

7. Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.

8. Definiteness of purpose...clear goals.

9. Enthusiasm...high level of motivation.

10. Confident...healthy...a leader.


Do not simply state your strength.

Everyone has some strength, all you need is to convert them into benefits. In short, try to advertise yourself by converting your features into strengths.

Your answers can be : -

1) I am a hard worker and because of this ability I can work for additional hours to accomplish my tasks.I am commitment oriented and hence I always enjoy the trust and confidence of my team mates which enables me to perform my duties very easily.

2) I am adaptable, so I can handle any type of people and situations and also bring out the best from them in spite of conflicting situations or opinions.I am a quick learner, so I can any subject quickly and analyze my job and add value to it as well as I can identify the problem and solve them faster and better.

3) My strength is that I have very strong values and ethics and a very good eye for detail. I believe in strong relationships and have a very supportive family and very good friends.

4) I’ve always been a great team player and therefore I can work efficiently to produce quality work in a team environment.I can accomplish a large amount of work within a short period of time hence I get things done on time.

Difference between Smart Worker & Hard Worker

"A smart worker always put things right but a hard worker always does right things."

If you are interviewed for a managerial position or for an admission in a MBA College, You should mention traits that are important for managers like :

“Well, I believe I am good at planning and execution, and working with people. I’ve always been good at detailing all the steps too. Even in college, I used to spend time organizing my week and planning a strategy to tackle each class and assignment. I love working in a team environment where I try to use strengths of each individual in a team and hence produce the best results.”

“EVERYONE CLAIMS THEY ARE HONEST, HARDWORKING, SMART & SO ON….. BUT WITH AN EXAMPLE IT IS MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE.”