Interview help needed

ellies_angel

It comes accross well if you can identify your weekness, it shows you have a good understanding of yourself.
I said at my last interview one of my weaknesses but expecting others to have the same values as myself, leaving work at the end of the day, telling myself it was ok to put it down and come back to it tomorrow (I got the job and won't allow myself to log in to my work email from home). Another of my weakneeses is that I am a reflector. Sometimes I need to consider something before giving an answer. The positive to that is I recognise it in others (don't think they simply aren't paying attention and I don't make hasty decisions)
There were parts of the person specification which I didn't meet specificaly, however I could relate it into a diferent context to the work I did. One area I had never done, and I was open and honest and said I hadn't had experience of that, but one of the reasons for applying was I was looking for a new challenge and it was obvious from my CV that I was keeping my proffessional knowledge (CPD) up to date so could more that demonstrate I was willing to learn.
How you come accross, your attitude is what it important, Skills can be learned. Attidudes are very difficult to change. I would rather employ someone with the right attitude with no skills over someone with all the skills and the wrond attitude. Skillls can be learned. Good luck

andrewjf

ellies_angel wrote: »

It comes accross well if you can identify your weekness, it shows you have a good understanding of yourself.

Good candidates will have pre-prepared canned answers which reveal nothing of their true weaknesses. Utterly pointless question in my opinion, and lazy interview technique.
If I get confronted with this dumb question I usually mention some technical aspect which has no relevance to the job, but say I'm taking steps to improve my knowledge in that area.

Dunroamin

Woodvale wrote: »

If there were several similar jobs, I'd probably go for the one which I knew had a good reputation, or had more potential for career growth, and if I knew one of the companies was a good place to work in, as in there is a nice atmosphere between the staff.

Then those are the sort of things you could say about the one you're applying to, particularly if true.

Errata

Don't think of weaknesses, think of areas you want to improve on.

marlot

Yes, take a CV. Interviewers can sometimes arrive unprepared.

Focus mainly on the value you would add in the post. How would your strengths mean that you can do it better than anyone else. How do your prior achievements mean that you have additional knowledge which would allow you to add more value etc.

Voyager2002

andrewjf wrote: »

Good candidates will have pre-prepared canned answers which reveal nothing of their true weaknesses. Utterly pointless question in my opinion, and lazy interview technique.
If I get confronted with this dumb question I usually mention some technical aspect which has no relevance to the job, but say I'm taking steps to improve my knowledge in that area.

Very good candidates will have the self-knowledge to recognise that they have weaknesses and do something to stop that ruining their work. For example: 'I don't think clearly when I'm under a lot of pressure, so I always prepare what I'm going to say well before I go to a difficult meeting'.

Racheldevon

In relation to any questions around why you want to work their/what attracts you to the post, make sure you actually answer the question. I've asked this a lot when interviewing candidates, and frequently people don't answer the question, but instead tell you why they're leaving their current role.

What has attracted you to apply? What is it about the organisation/company that interests you? Values/ethos/organisational campaigns? How does the role enable you to apply your experience and skills to meet the requirements of the post?

andrewjf

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Very good candidates will have the self-knowledge to recognise that they have weaknesses and do something to stop that ruining their work. For example: 'I don't think clearly when I'm under a lot of pressure, so I always prepare what I'm going to say well before I go to a difficult meeting'.

Many jobs involve solving problems under pressure. Saying something like "I don't think clearly when I'm under a lot of pressure" would put doubt in the interviewer's mind that you could handle those situations.