At some point or another, we have all had to sit through the grilling of an interview. Some of us might even have had to face answering the BIG question: What are your weaknesses? All of a sudden there was a struggle within us, a conflict with our desire to present ourselves in a confident manner. Or we might have encountered a question where the need arose to boast about our abilities and competencies and we automatically went into reserve mode and started underselling ourselves. What then seemed to be a welcome invitation for us to shine turned into the opposite for us, showing the strengths of the interviewer and exposing our weaknesses, which made our references and qualifications appear to be nothing but a piece of certified paper!
I’m sure there are many of you who can identify with this. For some, it may serve as a memory of what happened when you first set sail to your careers! Others may have experienced this just the other day! At Facets of Growth, we prefer to speak about our challenges as opposed to labelling these our weaknesses. By definition, a weakness is more of an inherent condition versus a challenge which can be overcome, in respect of which you can take a decision to accept and work on same. Not many interviewers are often bowled over by a candidate’s ability to highlight their challenges and point out their natural abilities, thus showing a correlation of how the two can be used hand-in-hand to bring out the full potential of the candidate (which is what the interview is about after all!).
There are several ways of how our natural abilities can be made known to us. One such a tool to heighten our self-awareness, is a Personality Profile, which acts as a mirror to reflect our uniqueness. This tool aims to highlight one’s natural abilities. At the same time, our limitations are reflected too. So now you might ask yourself: “Does a Personality Profile turn individuals into better people?” Well, no one is perfect – luckily! Just imagine, that would be so boring! Once we understand how the two (our natural abilities and limitations) could work hand-inhand, we reach a point of self-development, and know exactly the areas which we are to work on in order to better or improve our way of doing, or being! Yes, the use of this tool is not only limited to the workplace. The information gathered about ourselves can be used to impact any environment around us.
A Personality Profile is merely a tool, (underused by many) that helps us to understand ourselves and others better. If we are able to harness the power of self-awareness it will enable us to answer questions such as “What are my natural strengths? How do I communicate most naturally? How do I influence my environment, productivity and relationships?”.
An important career question which should arise to any of us applying for a job is “What am I able to do well because of my natural abilities, that may in turn be useful in the job I am applying for?” A Personality Profile is often overlooked when career planning. Think about it – the more we know about our ourselves, the better we are at positioning ourselves at applying for the right job! You would know when asked about your ‘weaknesses’, how you can be surprisingly well prepared to give a concise response in a way your interviewer might not have expected. Use this moment and show your strength!
Even if your interview does not lead to an appointment, the result of a good interview could leave a lasting impression. An impression which could lead the interviewer to keeping you in mind for a position where you might fit best in.
A Personality Profile helps us to win, either way. The power of self-awareness gives direction and becomes the starting point for us to grow further!
Know your challenges (weakness) so you can show your strength!