Strengths-based interview questions (and how to answer them)

Source: University of Kent; Michael Page

In doing so, recruiters hope to uncover candidates with a natural affinity for the work they do and who are therefore more likely to thrive in the job than those who have to work hard to fill the role (and who may struggle during challenging or stressful periods).

The advantage – assuming you fall into the former category – is that strengths-based interviews tend to be more open and honest. However, you'll still need to have your wits about you, as your interviewer will be listening carefully to the examples you give and reading into the words and expression you use.

Here are some sample strengths-based interview questions and how to approach them:

1. What kinds of things are you good at?
   People supposedly perform better when they are energised and engaged and doing what comes naturally. While not wanting to sound too contrived, your answer should certainly relate to the job you're applying for. For example, “I'm someone who tends to spot new opportunities before other people” may work well if applying for a marketing role. However, make sure you can back it up with credible examples of your doing so.

2. When working on a project, which part do you tend to enjoy most?
   This frequently-occurring question requires careful thought. You may be someone who feels most energised at the start of a project, and that's fine, but it's worth making it clear that you like seeing things through to completion too. Otherwise you may risk sounding like you lose interest easily or never finish anything.

3. What do you learn quickly?
   People pick up new information and approaches far more quickly when doing the things they enjoy. Again, try to frame your answer around the role – being good at recognising other people's strengths and weaknesses might be a useful trait if you're applying for a managerial or recruitment role, for example.

4. When did you achieve something you were really proud of?
   While you want to avoid delivering a stock response, you'll need to have done a certain amount of thinking about this question beforehand. A good answer for a sales role might read: “During my first job, I was the first ever graduate at the firm to be given their own account with a blue chip client.”

One of the advantages of the strengths-based interview is that it aims to match candidates to roles they are really suited to and where they are best placed to thrive. It's not even that the “open and honest” format needs to be taken with a pinch of salt; it's more that it makes a big difference if you've thought about your answers in advance and genuinely thought about the third party perspective on those answers.

So stay authentic in your responses, but also think about their relevance to the role and back up all your answers with examples from your experience.