Here is the Strongest way to Successfully Answer the ‘What is your biggest Strength?’ Question

By Jack J. Kelly

I am putting together the ultimate interview questions and awesome answers guide to help you succeed in finding a new job.

Here are some of the recent installments. Here is what to say when asked, ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’, How to Answer the Awkward “So, Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question, 25 Sample Questions to help you with the “What Question Should I ask if the Interviewer asks if I have any Questions?” Question,How to Answer the “Do you have Any Questions” Question.

Today we cover the, What is your biggest strength? question.

This is a fantastic question to receive. It is a set-up pass for you to dunk the ball, hang onto the rim and just smile, (or if you are like me, and about 5’8”, this doesn’t really apply).

Sit up straight in your chair, smile, and relax; the interviewer just tossed you a slow pitch down the middle, to hit it out of the ballpark, (okay, I promise, I’ll stop with the annoying sports analogies). Think of your strengths, (no, the ability to binge watch Netflix for the entire weekend does not count. Nor does eating an entire pizza pie followed by a tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream count as a skill).

What you need to do to master the answer is to confidently, clearly and concisely articulate several relevant examples of your strengths, that help frame why your background, skill sets, current and previous experience, academic education, and social skills, (hopefully, you have at least one thing going for you), are appropriate and suitable to the job, will address the company’s needs, and offer you the ability to be challenged and grow your career. You need to use this question as a means to sell yourself on why you have the specific unique blend of talent and experience to succeed in the job, and make the hiring manager’s life easier.

The answer is framed as a win-win for both you and the hiring manager. The hiring manager gets the best, most appropriate candidate, and you have the opportunity to advance your career and professionally grow.

Let me offer you an example; if I were to interview, (for those people at my company, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere), my answer would be as follows:

  I am an experienced executive recruiter with twenty years of relevant experience, and have placed over two thousand professionals with the nation’s  premiere top-tier Wall Street firms, investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and an array of prominent Fortune 500 corporations.  I also have effectively managed large teams of recruiters who have grown to become very successful in their own right. Additionally, I was an innovator in applying social media techniques such as creating a newsletter that is sent out to more than one hundred thousand people each and every day, and a blog that has had over several million visits. This has helped increase the visibility of our jobs and enable myself and my company to attract quality candidates efficiently, cost-effectively and quickly. 

I would then elaborate and embellish upon these themes, and offer specific examples of my successes and strengths.

Yes, it sounds a little braggadocios, but you have to be a salesperson in the interview. If you don’t actively and enthusiastically market and sell yourself, no one else will. It is up to you to be your best cheerleader. I understand that many people feel uncomfortable doing this. Too bad, you have to. Trust me, a hiring manager has no interest in someone who can’t convey why a firm should hire them.

The point of hiring is to find a person who brings value to the table, and offers a solution to their needs. If you can make the hiring manager’s life easier and better, you are the right person. If you can’t sell them on why you are the right and best person, the hiring manager will move on to the next candidate. Just because you have the right skills, temperament, education and work background doesn’t translate into automatically getting the job. This is a trap that many people fall into. They naively believe that their background alone is sufficient. It’s not. If this was a math equation, I would suggest that (1). appropriate and suitable experience, plus (2). the right skills and specific knowledge, along with (3). the requisite educational requirements, along with (4). the ability to sell the hiring manager on why all these attributes makes you the best candidate, equals getting the job.

The, What is your biggest strength? question offers you one of the best ways to showcase and enthusiastically sell your relevant and appropriate skills and experience that make you the perfect fit and will help make the hiring manager’s work life more successful.