Everyone has talents. You may be good at conducting research, or creating advertisements, or soothing disgruntled customers. You have strengths, and there is nothing wrong with highlighting these strengths when you are interviewing for a new position. Hiring managers want to understand what skills you will bring to their organization. Therefore, you need to show how you stand out from other candidates.
Conflicting Messages
On the one hand, people don’t like to think they are average. You don’t want to think you are the same as everyone else, yet society also leads you to think that if you show you are better than everyone else you are being arrogant or boastful. People often dismiss compliments and overlook talents in order to appear humble.
There is nothing wrong with understanding your strengths; it is how you use the understanding that can be considered negative. Knowing you have talents and using them to improve job performance is a good thing. Telling people you are better than they are to make them feel bad about themselves is a negative characteristic.
Self-Improvement
Understanding strengths and weaknesses is a part of self-improvement. When you ask someone how you can be a better friend or co-worker, the individual appreciates your desire to develop and will help you see where you can improve. A good friend will tell you what you are doing right as well as what you are doing wrong.
You have to resist the urge to dismiss the compliments and focus only on the negative. Personal growth can only occur when you hone your strengths as well as improve on your weak areas. Often people know what talents they have, if they are willing to let go of their self-doubt and look at their skill sets honestly. If you listen to yourself and feedback from others, you will be able to create a list of strengths that sets you apart from others.
Highlight Your Strengths
Once you have admitted your strengths to yourself, you should highlight your abilities. List your skills on your resume and use examples of how you applied your strengths in various positions to improve job performance and benefit the organization. When seeking employment, look for open positions that will allow you to highlight your skills in a job interview. Explain to the hiring manager exactly how your skills will help the company so they see how you are a better fit for the organization than other potential candidates.
When you are seeking employment, you want to stand out in a crowd. Understanding your skills will make you a better candidate and employee. If you are having trouble determining what you bring to potential employers, contact us. The professionals at Job Store will help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to put your best foot forward at your next job interview.