We talk a lot about preparing for the job interview here at Interview Chatter. And, even though I think we’ll all agree that preparation is the biggest factor in a successful job interview, things can still go bad no matter how well prepared you may think you are.

Here’s a great blog post I found on 8 Interview Mistakes and How To Recover.  This article covers everything from forgetting the interviewer’s name to stains on your shirt. 

So, prepare prepare prepare, but also be ready to recover during an interview when something doesn’t go as expected.  There is no need to let a stain derail your entire interview, right?

You can be sure that you’ll be asked about your strengths and weaknesses at your next interview.  Sometimes coming up with a few of each can be difficult so it’s best to prepare for this way ahead of time.  Here’s an excerpt from a great article I found at Monster.com that tells how to assesses your strengths and weaknesses. 

It’s a great exercise and even helps with scripting your answers.

Assessing Your Strengths

Assess your skills, and you will identify your strengths. This is an exercise worth doing before any interview. Make a list of your skills, dividing them into three categories:

1. Knowledge-based skills: Acquired from education and experience (e.g., computer skills, languages, degrees, training and technical ability). 2. Transferable skills: Your portable skills that you take from job to job (e.g., communication and people skills, analytical problem solving and planning skills).

3. Personal traits: Your unique qualities (e.g., dependable, flexible, friendly, hard working, expressive, formal, punctual and being a team player).

When you complete this list, choose three to five of those strengths that match what the employer is seeking in the job posting. Make sure you can give specific examples to demonstrate why you say that is your strength if probed further.

Assessing Your Weaknesses

This is probably the most dreaded part of the question. Everyone has weaknesses, but who wants to admit to them, especially in an interview?

The best way to handle this question is to minimize the trait and emphasize the positive. Select a trait and come up with a solution to overcome your weakness. Stay away from personal qualities and concentrate more on professional traits. For example:

“I pride myself on being a ‘big picture’ guy. I have to admit I sometimes miss small details, but I always make sure I have someone who is detail-oriented on my team.”

Scripting Your Answers

Write a positive statement you can say with confidence:

“My strength is my flexibility to handle change. As customer service manager at my last job, I was able to turn around a negative working environment and develop a very supportive team. As far as weaknesses, I feel that my management skills could be stronger, and I am constantly working to improve them.”

When confronted with this question, remember the interviewer is looking for a fit. She is forming a picture of you based on your answers. A single answer will probably not keep you from getting the job, unless, of course, it is something blatant. Put your energy into your strengths statement — what you have to offer. Then let the interviewer know that although you may not be perfect, you are working on any shortcomings you have.

Depending on the type of position you are applying for and the span of control of the hiring manager, it is very likely that they may have other open positions or they may know of other hiring managers with open positions that you’d be perfect for.  So, be prepared to answer the question “should you not be selected for this position, would you be open to considering other vacancies in the department?”  I do this frequently myself when I interview candidates.  It is usually because I have found the perfect person for the job but then another great candidate comes along that I don’t want to slip away.

From the candidate’s perspective, this can be a difficult question to answer because you don’t want to give the hiring manager the impression that you are interested in any ole job, however you want to maximize your chance of getting a job.  This happened to me in my recent job interview. 

I knew I was applying for a job I was minimally qualified for (they preferred more management experience etc…). Towards the end of the interview, the hiring manager told me that she knew of another vacancy in the organization that I’d be perfect for given my skills and experience and wanted to know if I’d be open to interviewing with the other hiring manager.  How did I handle that?  I informed the hiring manager that I was not opposed to discussing the other opening however, my primary interest was the position in which I was interviewing for.  In the end she informed me that she was bringing back the top two candidates for the second round of interviews and that I was the third ranked candidate (bummer!).  At that time I consented to her forwarding my resume to the other hiring manager and when she did so, she even included the email trail where she had described how she “believed in my talent and ability”, so it was basically a bonus reference to the other hiring manager.

So, be sure to prepare to discuss other openings at the interview keeping these things in mind.

1. Emphasize your interest in the position you are applying for taking the time to reiterate why you’d be perfect for it.
2. Always be open to discussing the other position.  Even if it turns out not to be what you are looking for, it could lead to something that is.
3. Make a great impression with the hiring manager, even if it’s clear they don’t want you for the job because that manager may end up being the best reference you’ve ever had.