What is Your Greatest Strength?

1. The common mistake is providing strengths without providing details. Provide evidence to back up your strengths.

2. Remember the interviewer is looking for a fit. To find out what an interviewer is looking for, look at the job description.

3. The interviewer is looking for work-related strengths.

4. Use this question to show the value you can add to the company.

5. Write a positive statement about your strengths you can say it with confidence and belief.

6. Have a really good story to tell about how you use a particular strength to help your former employer or client to achieve successes.

Never Give Up: Quotes to Consider

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
-Dale Carnegie

“Never give up! Never, never, never, never give up. Never!”
-Winston Churchill

“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
-Albert Einstein

“Keep working. Keep working. Keep working. Keep working.”
-Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

“Fall down seven times, get up eight (Nana korobi ya oki).”
-Japanese Proverb

“Perseverance…keeps honor bright: to have done, is to hang quite out of fashion, like a rusty nail in monumental mockery.
-William Shakespeare

“…if you keep going when everyone tells you to quit; if you press on even when have been told it’s all over; if you ignore the singing of the fat lady and the falling of the curtain; if you drive on, even when it’s dark and even in the rain, then you win. That was the promise of America when I was a kid, and it’s still the promise today, but only you believe in it and only if you keep trying.”
-Jerry Weintraub

How to Ace the “Tell Me about Yourself” Question

1. What is the “Tell Me About Yourself” interview question?

It’s a quick overview about your professional experience. It’s an elevator pitch about you.

2. How long should the answer be?

It should be 2 to 3 minutes long.

3. What to talk about

You can talk about your professional experience, key accomplishments, and primary strengths and how they are relevant to the position you are applying for.

4. What not to talk about

Keep it at the high level. Leave the details during the later part of the interview. You want to leave out your personal life such as family, romantic life, vacation, etc.

5. Make it concise, clear, and compelling.

Make it a coherent story. The product you’re selling is you. How can you best describe yourself in 2 to 3 minutes so a hiring manager can understand who you are and the service you’ll be providing?

6. Practice

Rehearse the answer until you can say it naturally and confidently.

7. The Delivery

Remember to relax, smile, and say the answer with enthusiasm and conviction.

How to Effectively Ask for Help in a Job Search

1. It’s a sign of strength to ask for help in a time of need.

You may feel asking for help makes you look weak. However, it’s human nature to offer help when you see someone in need of help.

2. Be specific.

The key is to be specific. The more information you provide, the easier it is for others to help you. For example, include the names of actual companies you may want to work for and the corresponding job functions or job titles.

3. Follow up.

Check in with your contacts every week or two. People are busy. It’s a good practice to touch base with your contacts regularly so they will remember you.

4. Be thankful.

Always be grateful with your contacts spending time to help you out with your job search. Send a thank you e-mail, a thank you card, or take them to lunch as a gesture of gratitude.

5. Give back.

Help someone else out. If you receive a job requirement from a recruiter and you won’t be pursuing it yourself, pass it on to your network. You may just brighten someone else’s day with this act of kindness.