Interviewing

How to Identify and Communicate Your Greatest Strengths

Tristin Zeman

Copywriter, Human Resources Manager, and Marketing Expert


When it comes to acing phone and in-person interviews, preparation is key. While a job seeker never really knows what a recruiter is going to ask, there are a handful of common questions that every job seeker should prepare to answer. Here’s how you should prepare for the “What are your strengths” interview question. 

What is the Purpose of “What are your strengths?”

Whether you are applying for a part-time job or a C-suite position at a major company, you are guaranteed to encounter the “greatest strength” interview question. There are as many reasons to ask this question as there are answers. Therefore, understanding the “why” can help prepare for this and other related questions. 

Creates a relaxed tone

Interviews are awkward and nerve-wracking for most people. This is why interviewers like to throw in easy, open-ended questions to help the interview flow like a conversation. 

Chance to show-off

People are biologically wired to enjoy talking about themselves. This becomes even easier and more enjoyable when given the chance to share positive things. Unlike asking about your greatest weakness, asking about your greatest strengths is a positive, uplifting question that can keep the conversation in a light mood.

Opportunity for more information

The first time most job seekers and hiring managers meet is at the interview. Often the only information an interviewer has to work with is the applicant’s resume or CV. Unfortunately, asking a job seeker to just “tell me about yourself” in an interview can go awry quickly with more rambling than useful information. Instead, asking an interviewee to describe their biggest strength is a chance for the interviewer to learn more about the person behind the resume in a more controlled, but still open-ended way. 

Gauge preparation

There are a handful of standard interview questions that job seekers should be prepared to answer no matter what position they are applying for or what industry they are in:

  • Tell me about yourself
  • What are your greatest strengths?
  • What are your biggest weaknesses?
  • Why did you leave your last job?

Because these are so common and expected, if you struggle with these questions, interviewers are likely to consider you unprepared and not serious about the position. These questions also help interviewers gauge how prepared you will be to make an immediate impact in your role.

Judge of character

The way a person answers a greatest strengths interview question can tell a lot about them. On one hand, the response can be strictly professional and focused on position-related hard skills. On the other hand, it can be person-centric and showcase their soft skills. Both responses are equally acceptable, but be aware that even the way you choose to answer this type of question says a lot to recruiters and hiring managers about who you are and how you think.

To check if the key skills they’re looking for aligns with yours or not

Even if you have years of experience in an industry, the #1 skill needed in a specific role can vary from company to company. It could be based on the skill sets the company already has or the company’s culture. By asking about your greatest skill, hiring managers will be assessing if what you offer matches what they need.

Different ways to phrase greatest strength interview questions

One part of good interview preparation is understanding the different ways that common interview questions can be asked. The other part is understanding the subtext of what the interviewer is really wanting to know. These are a few variations of greatest strength interview questions for you to prepare for during your next interview.

“What is your greatest strength?”

Interview tip: Pick just one. If you must share more than one, acknowledge that the interviewer said to pick the greatest. Then continue with your (no more than two) greatest strengths.

Example: “I know you said your greatest strength, but mine is actually a two-part. My greatest strength is my ability to spot issues before they become large problems AND being decisive about what to do without all the information.”

“What are your greatest strengths?” 

Interview tip: The interviewer is looking for multiple answers. Give them at least one strength from two different categories. That could be a soft skill/hard skill combo, personal life/professional life, or multiple greatest strengths from various parts of your profession. 

Example: “My greatest strengths are my time-management and copywriting skills. I plan out my copy production schedule well in advance to make sure I can hit my technical writing requirements. I have never missed a deadline.” 

“What is your superpower?”

Interview tip: If the question is phrased like this, it’s likely being asked by an interviewer at a company with a “fun” corporate culture and/or they are looking for a different kind of answer. A “greatest strength” example can be something you have worked hard at or have a lot of training; whereas a “superpower” is something you are skilled at without needing training. 

Example: My superpower is project management. I have an innate understanding of how to keep multiple smaller parts moving while staying on time and on budget and breaking a large project down into manageable smaller tasks is an energizing activity for me. 

“What is your greatest accomplishment or the project you’re most proud of completing?”

Interview tip: This question is designed to find out more about your experience and your values. Make sure to not only highlight what you did, but also explain the impact it had. you can even talk about your why – explain why it means so much to you.

Example: My greatest accomplishment is graduating from college with high honors while working a full-time job. It made helped me strengthen my time management and organization skills. It also feels great to not have the burden of student debt.

“What would your co-workers say is your strongest area of expertise?”

Interview tip: This question is designed to test your self-awareness along with finding out more about your greatest strength. Make sure to pick an example that you can back up with a story. 

Example: My colleagues would say my strongest area of expertise is conflict resolution. Whenever there was an internal dispute, teammates would come to me to help them figure out the best, most fair method to solve it. For example, I introduced the idea of floating holidays to our company to resolve staff shortages on some of our busiest days. 

Finding What is Your Strength

Identify your strengths- what are your strengths

Identify your strengths for job interview questions

Creating a winning answer to the question, “What is your biggest strength?” can seem overwhelming at first. There are a lot of possible ways to answer the question and the perfect response will often change based on the job you are applying for. 

Try this exercise to get started.  

  1. Get a sheet of paper and divide it into seven sections. 
  2. At the top of each section write one of the following: Learning/personal development, Career, Financial, Family, Social, Physical, and Spiritual. 
  3. Below each of those, start listing off the skills, experiences, and strengths you have for each category. This is a rough draft for your eyes only so feel free to be as honest and specific as you would like.
  4. Identify patterns. Do you have things relating to communication, priority management, resilience, or other attributes listed in multiple sections? If so, that is likely to be one of your biggest strengths. Use that to inform how you write your final response. 

Professional vs personal strengths 

When you start work at the beginning of your day, you don’t just magically turn into a different person. That is to say, the person you are off-the-clock is likely very similar to the person you are while working. So, it’s no surprise that many greatest strength answers blur the line between personal and professional. This is especially true for people who have taken time out of the workforce to raise children or pursue a passion project. 

Many personal and professional strengths can be one-in-the-same. Your patience, communication skills, curiosity, and time management are likely the same between your home and work life. However, some skills and attributes are relegated to either home or work.

Professional strengths examples: Marketing, networking, research, sales, reporting, product development, bookkeeping, data analysis

Personal strengths examples: Enthusiasm, dedication, determination, discipline, kindness, humility

Note that numbers and data should “prove” your professional strengths, while stories and anecdotes should help show your personal strengths. This is especially helpful when speaking with an interviewers who uses the STAR method of interviewing.

What’s your greatest strength — hard skills vs soft skills

Once you’ve assembled a list of possible strengths, it’s time to decide which one is the most appealing for different types of positions or companies. In general, it’s a good idea to have an example of both a hard skill greatest strength and a soft skill greatest strength so that you are prepared for anything. 

Hard skills are job-specific abilities learned through education or experience. These are things that can be quantified with a yes/no or pass/fail type of clarity. Hard skills allow for testing and it is easy for job applicants to back up their hard skill claims with examples of past work or success. While the quality of work for a hard skill may be up for debate, it’s easy to assess if the person does or does not have that skill. 

Hard skill greatest strength examples include things like: 

  • Masonry
  • Copywriting
  • Welding
  • Wound cleaning
  • Mural painting

The opposite of a hard skill is a soft skill. Soft skills (A.K.A “people skills”) are not skills that can be easily replicated by a machine. They tend to be much more qualitative than hard skills which means that showcasing soft skills requires a more story-like approach to really highlight your best attributes. 

Greatest strength examples for soft skills include:

  • Trustworthiness
  • Honesty
  • Communication
  • Delegation
  • Time management

Get a second opinion

It can be hard to identify your own greatest strength. If you’re struggling to come up with a greatest strength to talk about in an interview, it’s time for a second opinion. Getting perspective from someone else can help you get a clearer view on what makes you a standout candidate.

What are Some Strengths that Stand Out From the Crowd?

Every industry has its own buzzwords and key phrases that aim to signal to recruiters and hiring managers that an applicant is well-versed in the business. Unfortunately, these buzzwords can make your resume blend into a sea of sameness. Instead, try standing out by taking these unique approaches to answer the question, “What are your greatest professional strengths?”

For customer service professionals:

            Skip: Communication, conflict resolution, patience

            Instead Try: Empathy, adaptability, emotional intelligence

For design professionals

            Skip: Creativity, curiosity, attention to detail

            Instead Try: Ability to take criticism, innovative thinking, loves challenges

For IT professionals:

            Skip: Professionalism, trustworthiness, respectfulness 

            Instead Try: Creative problem solving, communication, continuous learning

For management professionals:

            Skip: Delegation, people management, communication

            Instead Try: Decisiveness, accountability, employee development 

For operations professionals:

            Skip: Organization, time management, data processing

            Instead Try: Risk analysis, decision making, customer-centricity

For product-oriented professionals:

          Skip: Data analysis, project management, decision making

            Instead Try: Obtain stakeholder buy-in, thinking big AND small, collaboration

For sales professionals

Skip: Confidence, Perseverance, Charisma

Instead Try: Active listening, Negotiation, Preparation

Format your Response to the Interview Question, “What is your greatest strength?”

Creating a format for your interview responses is a great way to be prepared while also allowing yourself the flexibility to tailor the response to a specific job or position. This also helps prepare for unexpected variations of the question like, “What is your biggest strength when it comes to working with others as a team?”

A good, universal template to use for your answer to a question about your greatest strength should include: 

  1. Your strength
  2. When/where you’ve used it
  3. How you’re better at this than others/average
  4. An example that highlights you using this skill

For example:

“My biggest strength is my flexibility [1]. In my last position [2], I was promoted [3] to a floating department manager because I was able to quickly learn all the different products and services we offered throughout the company and adapt to the different clientele that each department served. One of the best and most entertaining examples of how I was able to succeed in this role is the fact that I was the monthly sales and revenue leader for both our automotive and ladies’ intimates divisions in the same month. [4]”

Catering the Response to the Job Need

Potential employers want to leverage your greatest skill to fit their greatest need so it’s crucial to cater your response to the job you are seeking. Instead of having the same answer for every interview, tweaking your response to fit the specific context of the job will be more effective.

For example, imagine you are interviewing for a third-shift factory position. You could tell the interviewer that your greatest strength is your ability to work with others or you could tout your ability to work independently. It’s likely that a hiring manager would be much more impressed with the latter because of how that strength would be an asset in that specific role. Therefore, you should be sure to cater your response to the job to show interviewers you have the tools to do outstanding work.

Do NOT be Shy

When it comes to naming your greatest strength, don’t be shy! This is your time to show up and show off your skills. Instead of taking the modest approach, make your successes known and don’t shy away from taking credit for your accomplishments. Here are the best ways to highlight your greatest strength.

Skip the humble pie

There’s a time and place to be humble, but it’s not during an interview! This is not the time to be bashful or to downplay the parts you played in past successes. While you should never lie or overinflate your skills or experience, now is not the time to shy away from your achievements.

Back up claims with data

Showing evidence of your skill is the best way to demonstrate your strength. Instead of stating an opinion-based strength like “I’m great a throwing free throws”, try backing it up with data (ie “I have a 90% completion rate from the free throw line”) to provide context and proof.

“What is your greatest strength” Answer Samples

Sometimes it takes a little inspiration to create a strong answer that shows off your skills and abilities. The sample answers below are a great starting ground to format your responses. Make sure to re-write them in your own words to ensure you hit the major points without sounding robotic. 

How to answer, “What are your strengths” when…

You’ve never had a job before

  • Leverage other experience
  • Focus on soft skills
  • Tie it back to the job you’re interviewing for
“My greatest strength is my ability to explain difficult concepts to people in ways that make sense to them. I’ve been a science tutor for sixth grade students for the last year and in that time, I’ve helped the kids I tutor succeed by customizing the tutoring session for their learning style. I realize that not everyone learns by reading a textbook so we talk it out or I find Youtube videos so they can watch instead of reading. This strength would help me communicate effectively with customers as a cashier working in your store.”

Your strength is a hard skill

  • Be specific
  • Give an example
  • Tie it back to the job you’re interviewing for
“My greatest strength is my ability to quickly develop HMTL without errors or bugs. I have competed in several hack-a-thons where I developed and deployed a mobile game app in just 48 hours with no team or support. While I don’t anticipate working under such tight deadlines in my daily role,  it is great to know that I can perform at such a high level under a time crunch if there was a project that needed it while working for your company.”

Your strength has little to do with the job

  • Go for authenticity
  • Give a second-biggest strength (tied to the job)
  • Tie it back to the job you’re interviewing for
“My greatest strength is a bit unconventional — I have perfect musical pitch. I can hear a soda machine buzzing and know that it’s a G-flat or tell that the cash register is a C-sharp. Music has always been a passion of mine and I’ve got a lot of experience performing for crowds which is why I’m confident I could lead the best rendition of “Happy Birthday” this restaurant has ever seen!” 

“What are your strengths” Examples of What NOT to Say

Most of the time, there are no hard rules when it comes to interviews. Responses are based on the industry, company, and position you are applying for, but there are some things that should never be said. These are a few “What are your strengths” examples that interviewees should avoid. 

Anything illegal

Potential employers will likely not take kindly to any confession of illegal activities. Something may not be explicitly illegal in your state or area. Nevertheless, if it toes the line, it’s best to find a different response. 

Things of a highly personal nature

Anything that has to do with bodily functions is out. This includes anything remotely adult in nature.

Party tricks

It’s great if you know the newest TikTok dance, but it’s not likely to win any points with potential employers. Some party tricks (like remembering long sequences of things or numbers) can be turned into good greatest strength answers. However, anything intended as “magic” or for laughs isn’t appropriate. 

Mentioning too many strengths

Mentioning too many strengths can easily backfire, as listing multiple strengths starts to dilute the impact of each one. Keep your response focused to one or two strengths and back them up.

Giving a vague answer

Another way to flub this interview question is with a vague answer that doesn’t tell the interviewer any additional information about who you are, what you’ve done, or what kind of employee you would be. Because you’ll only be talking about 1-2 strengths, your answers should be specific and persuasive.

What if They Don’t Ask For my Strength?

After spending time and energy creating and rehearsing your response to an interview question about your greatest strength, it can be a real letdown if the interview never asks. Here are two options of how to use your preparation even if you are not explicitly asked about your greatest strength.

Add context to other answers

If the interview has gone on for awhile and you still haven’t been asked about your biggest strength, it’s time to consider using your prepared response as part of a different interview question. When the interviewer asks you to “describe a time when…” or “share an example of how you…”, then you can blend your greatest strength into that response. This will help show that your greatest strength isn’t just a one-time thing, but it is part of your usual behavior in the workplace.

End on a strong note

If you have not gotten the opportunity to share the strength that makes you a top candidate by the end of the interview, it’s time to act. Almost every interview will end with the interviewer or hiring manager asking if you have any additional questions or information you’d like to share. This can be an appropriate time to share your greatest strength and drive home how you’d be the ideal employee for the role.

Possible Follow-Up Questions That You Want to Prepare For

After an interviewer asks about your greatest strength, they may have follow-up questions. Here are a few possible follow-up questions you should be prepared to answer.

  • What have you done to sharpen your [greatest strength] skill?
  • Tell me about a situation where you used your greatest strength to help a customer.
  • Why does this strength make you a better fit than other candidates?
  • What is your greatest weakness?

Conclusion

The ideal response to a greatest strength interview question will vary by the job you are applying for, the company you are interviewing with, and its industry. Therefore, preparing a response to questions about your greatest strengths is a solid way to enter your interview with the confidence needed to plant your feet in your next career. 

Write A Comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.