Hey Jobcasers,

On Part #2 of my posting series: "Interview Tips", I want to discuss answers to another really popular question a lot of us see at all levels of employment: "What's your greatest strength?" While this question may seem simple at first, you may rethink just what you tell your interviewer in your next interview after reading more.

Let's start with the question of whether we should mention a skill-based or behavioral-based strength. In my opinion, it's better to use skill-based, but behavioral-based can be useful too (unlike the inverse that we discussed in Part #1: "What's Your Greatest Weakness" where your response should always be skill-based). What's far more important than whether it's skill-based or behavioral-based is that it is both relevant and backed by prior experience.

So let's go into what it means for your greatest strength to be relevant.

You might have a phenomenal eye for color theory and design which would serve you incredibly well in creative roles such as a Graphic Designer or UI Designer, but if I am looking for an Accounts Receivable Clerk, I don't see how that would benefit my organization in the capacity that I am hiring for. Does this mean that your creative side doesn't matter? No, but it doesn't get you any closer to the offer and when you're competing with other highly qualified candidates for a limited number of positions (sometimes as few as one), everything that's not actively helping you get the offer is actively hurting you, so maybe we need to rethink how we respond to that question.

Let's assume that you're applying for an Accounts Receivable position at a small business that uses QuickBooks as their primary accounting software. While your creative side is a wonderful bonus, it is not directly relevant, but what is directly relevant is that you took a course on LinkedIn learning on how to use QuickBooks and you actually taught your friend a few useful tricks for using it.

Is this an overwhelmingly strong "Greatest Strength"? No, but it's a lot more relevant to the position at hand and demonstrates that you have a grasp of what your duties will entail and will be easier to train for the position than somebody who has never opened up QuickBooks.

But what if you have no relevant skills or maybe you feel that a behavioral-based response will better help you make it to the next round of interviewing? You need to carefully comb the Job Description and get an understanding of the kind of environment you'll be working in, as well as the number of people you'll be working with.

If you're going to be working alone in data entry, then while it's great to be a team player, it may be less relevant than the fact that you're highly detail-oriented.

That means you should respond with the fact that you're detail-oriented, but it is imperative that you continue on this response with examples of times when your attention to detail prevented financial losses for your organization.

The issue with going with behavioral-based responses is that the vast majority of candidates do so both in the interview and on their resume, but without having clear, concise examples of these skills in your past performance, they are meaningless. It is the reality of the world we live in; I can say that I'm a team player and that I'm all about being a great leader, but unless I can give clear examples and references to verify the truthfulness of what I say, it's just talk. Having examples fresh in your mind will help validate the truthfulness behind your claims instead of leaving the interviewer to sit there wondering if you're really X or if you're just saying that because it sounds good.

I want to thank you all for reading, but I do want to finish on one very important note. No matter how valuable this employment opportunity may be to your career goals, never misrepresent yourself on your resume or in your interview. We need to remember that if the employment opportunity is not win-win (a deal in which both you and the employer are satisfied), then it is best to not participate at all.

I'll close on that note and thank you all again for reading.

Best Regards,

Gage Cherry