Strengths
Strengths are positive personal qualities you’re naturally good at. If you’re good at something, you’ll find it easier which means you’ll feel more confident and engaged. Knowing your strengths will help you select careers, subjects or courses which bring out the best in you.
Information
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When you try to define your unique strengths, think about what comes naturally easy for you. Don’t choose attributes that you would like to have or that you admire. Choose strengths that describe your core i.e. what is so obvious that you almost don’t notice it in you anymore, since it is like your very nature.
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In general it’s much better to focus on using your strengths and try to control your weaknesses. Focus your energies on your strengths only and try to avoid, decline or delegate tasks that use your personal weaknesses. On the other hand, facing your weaknesses can have a lot of potential for personal growth. If you are not good at something, improving even slightly may have a positive impact on your overall quality of life.
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Being asked about your strengths is very common in job interviews for all levels of positions, in all industries so you must be prepared to talk about them. Many candidates don’t do it well, so there is an opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd if you can speak about your strengths in an authentic and compelling way. Preparing for interviews is covered in the “Interviews & Assessment” section of the toolkit.
Suggested activities
- Ask a variety of people you respect for some feedback on your strengths. For full details of the activity check out the Strengths Feedback activity document on the right-hand side.
- To identify your unique strengths, you may wish to complete Gallup’s self-assessment - StrengthsFinder. After filling out a survey about what you do best, you get to read a report on your top strengths.