Why should employers ask candidates about their strengths and weaknesses in interviews?

Employers should consider asking candidates about their strengths and weaknesses to gain insight into their self-awareness, honesty and ability to assess their performance. It can help you understand how candidates perceive their capabilities and areas for growth and whether their strengths align with the job requirements.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the key benefits of asking candidates this question:

Understand a candidate’s self-awareness

A candidate who can speak candidly about their strengths and weaknesses is typically self-aware and confident. This can be a good sign when hiring because it indicates the candidate knows what they can do and where they need a bit of help.

They may excel at communicating their needs and take coaching and constructive criticism in a positive manner that leads to growth.

Get more details about strengths and weaknesses

Asking about strengths and weaknesses can encourage candidates to mention skills not listed on their resume or to frame them in a different way. This question can help you learn more about the candidate’s suitability for your position and where they might need a bit of help in training if you hire them.

Assess how a candidate transforms weaknesses into strengths

How candidates discuss their weaknesses may demonstrate how they handle challenges, learn from mistakes and strive for improvement.

Variations of the strengths and weaknesses interview question

Whether you want to talk about strengths and weaknesses in phone interview questions or in-person interviews, you can do so in a variety of ways. Here are some variations you can use:

• What do you think makes you a great fit for this role?

• What professional skills are you working to improve?

• What skills do you have that other applicants may not?

• If you could change one thing about your job performance in the past, what would it be and why?

• What feedback have you received from previous customers, clients, supervisors or colleagues about your strengths?

• What constructive criticism have you received in past jobs, and how did you respond to it?

How to assess candidate answers to “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”

While you can certainly use this question to learn whether a candidate has the skills or strengths you need, you can learn a lot more when you appropriately evaluate their answer.

Consider whether the candidate is confident in their answers

Assess whether the applicant can answer the question confidently. Consider whether they speak as easily about their weaknesses as their strengths or vice versa. Some potential takeaways this evaluation can support include:

• Whether the candidate came to the interview prepared

• Whether the individual is confident in themselves and their own knowledge and skills

• Whether the person understands where they can grow and seems to be working or willing to work on those areas

You might also consider how much effort a candidate puts into this question. If they provide a quick list of skills and weaknesses without any context, it might indicate that they don’t understand why this is important. You can also evaluate whether they’re able to reflect on their growth needs based on their chosen weaknesses.

Compare answers to your position requirements

Compare answers to this question to your position requirements, but go beyond simply checking off a list. Consider how the candidate contextualizes strengths and weaknesses and what that might mean for their performance in a role.

For example, if someone lists conflict with customers as a weakness, that may be a negative factor for a customer service position. However, if they explain this weakness stems from empathy and not wanting to disappoint the customer, you might turn this weakness into a strength with coaching and growth.

Ask follow-up questions to learn more

Take time with this question to truly understand a candidate’s answers. You might ask follow-up questions to vet or better qualify strengths, for instance. If a candidate says that their biggest strength is analytical ability, you might ask them about a time they used this skill for a positive outcome. Or if someone says they have excellent conflict resolution skills, pose a hypothetical example and ask them how they might work to resolve it.

You can do the same with weaknesses. By better understanding why someone perceives a certain skill or trait as a weakness, you can better decide if it matters for your position and if you can provide support for growth in that area.

Frequently asked questions about strengths and weaknesses job interview questions

Should you ask for more than one strength and weakness?

Asking for a single strength and weakness can limit a candidate’s response and your ability to understand the big picture regarding their fit for a role. Instead of asking for a specific list of weaknesses and strengths, consider asking for a range. You might say something like, “Can you talk about two or three of your biggest strengths with regard to this role?”

How long should you allot for answers to this question?

You probably have multiple questions to ask, and this is just one way to evaluate a candidate for a role. Consider spending around five minutes or less on this question so you can talk about other things unless the candidate’s answer creates follow-up questions that are especially informative.

What if candidates can’t answer this question?

Because this strengths and weaknesses interview question is common, many candidates prepare for it ahead of time. If a candidate can’t answer the question, it may be an indication that they didn’t prepare. However, you may not want to base your hiring decision on just one interview question. Instead, consider using this question along with others to inform your decision.