Evaluating Your Strengths and Weaknesses
When planning your career, it is often helpful to evaluate your strong and weak points.
Try asking yourself the following questions:
- What are the strong points of my character and personality?
- What are the weak points of my character and personality?
- Are my weak points something I can put a positive spin on, or are they something that I need to start working on to control?
Your Strengths
It is important to evaluate your strong points, as not only will they lead you to a suitable career, but having a good idea of what they are will also be very useful in an interview situation. You should always make your prospective employer aware just how valuable you will be! If you're having trouble getting started, take a look at the following list for some examples:
- ability to handle conflict
- ability to make decisions
- ability to strike the balance between the big picture and detail
- ability to take risks
- adaptability and willingness to change
- being personally organised
- commercial awareness
- commitment
- competitiveness
- creativity
- determination
- enthusiasm
- initiative
- judgement
- quick thinking and getting to the point
- self-confidence
- sensitivity to people and situation
- strength of will
- willingness to take responsibility
Your Weaknesses
Try to view your weak points as either limitations or areas for improvement, and look for positive ways of presenting them. For example, you might know that you can be a bit obsessive with tasks, but looked at it from a different perspective, this could be seen as attention to detail, and a desire for perfection. This is not about hiding from the truth, but more about putting a positive interpretation on a negative characteristic.
Do not be discouraged by your weaknesses; we all have them. Admitting to what may be wrong is your first step towards improvement.
You will often discover that a weakness is often nothing more than an excess of a strength. Control the excess and you have removed the weakness!
The table below shows some of the characteristics that may be seen as weaknesses, along with the positive characteristics they can be turned into once the excess has been controlled.
| | | Weakness | Corresponding Strength |
| Stubborn | Tenacious |
| Cheap | Economical |
| Demands perfection | Strives for excellence |
| Compromiser | Negotiator |
| Impulsive | Fast |
| Gambler | Takes risks |
| Self-effacing | Modest |
| Obsessive | Attention for detail |
| Bossy | Leadership |
Apply yourself to your weaknesses and, wherever possible, turn them into strengths.
By reviewing your weaknesses, you might also see what areas need work in terms of control, education or outside help. Better to acknowledge a weakness and work on it than to let it hamper your career.
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