Strength-Based Job Interview Questions
A new style of job interviewing is becoming popular with employers in all sectors – strength-based interviewing.
Rather than using situation interviewing questions, where applicants give examples of their experiences, strength-based interviewing ask you questions on your strengths, preferences, and work style.
As with situation job interviewing, the interviewee can prepare their interview answers by predicting the job interview question.
Below are 10 strength-based interview questions, read the question and prepare your answer in preparation for any forthcoming job interview.
10 Strength-Based Interview Questions
Strength-Based Interview Question 1 – What energies you at work?
Strength-Based Interview Question 2 – What task or duties are you completing when you are using your strengths?
Strength-Based Interview Question 3 – Are you at your best when working in a team or when working on your own initiative?
Strength-Based Interview Question 4 – Which task engages you?
Strength-Based Interview Question 5 – Do you prefer starting or finishing tasks?
Strength-Based Interview Question 6 – Which task come naturally to you?
Strength-Based Interview Question 7 – Do you prefer following orders or completing tasks in your own way?
Strength-Based Interview Question 8 – Describe a successful day?
Strength-Based Interview Question 9 – What is important to you at work?
Strength-Based Interview Question 10 – Do you have any questions for me?
How to answer strength-based job interview questions
The idea for strength-based interveiw questions is for the interviewer to gain an ‘honest’ response from each applicant, as each strength-based question doesn’t have a right or wrong answer.
So be yourself, be truthful.
The idea here is to stop an interviewee from preparing high-scoring job interveiw answers. But applicants can and should prepare for their job interveiw.
When answering strength-based questions, use examples drawn from your industry experience to highlight your level of sector knowledge and your skillset. During the examples, focus the answer on what you did not what the ‘team’ achieved.
For multiple-choice questions, as an example ‘do you prefer starting or finishing tasks?,’ that you have no preference to (you can start or finish tasks) give an example for each option; ‘On X project I enjoyed starting X task because of Y, when working on A I enjoyed finishing the project because of B.’
Be prepared, when answering both options, to be challenged on your preference.
Interveiwers trained in strength-based interviewing will look for non-verbal communication cues to check the congruence of your words and communication.
