Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- essays research papers

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses What are my personal strengths and weaknesses? When I think about this question, the first thing that comes to mind is a job interview. I, like most people, find this simple question to be the most stressful moment of any interview. I want to give an answer that is imaginative but does not give the interviewer a bad impression of myself. In this paper, I will describe my strengths and weaknesses as I would to a job interviewer. I will give specific examples of my strengths and place a positive spin on my weaknesses. When deciding which strengths you want describe to an interviewer, you should make a list, choose three to five of those strengths that match the job posting, and give specific examples of that strength (Martin, 2005). I can easily tell you that my greatest strengths are the core values that I was instilled with during my service with the United States Air Force. Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all [I] do (USAF, 1997); these are my strengths that I bring to every job or task I do. Integrity first refers to a willingness to do what is right, even when no one is looking (USAF, 1997). Integrity also means optimizing your job tasks and assisting coworkers in optimizing their job tasks. For a manager, integrity is motivating your team so that they understand the importance of their job so that they are willing to do their jobs, even when you are not looking. Service before self refers to the fact that professional duties take precedence over personal desires (USAF, 1997). In the business setting, service before self means finishing tasks or jobs before you go home at the end of your shift and not leaving them for someone else to finish up. If it is Friday afternoon and I have been given a task, I will always finish my job then, even if it means starting my weekend late. Service before self also means that you should never call in to work just because you do not feel like coming in. I have never taken a personal day at any job I have ever worked. Excellence in all [I] do refers to the development of a sustained passion for continuous improvement and innovation (USAF, 1997). One example of this is my attending the University of Phoenix; I wish to improve my job skills and marketability. In the business setting, this also means that if there is ever a task that I did not complete to the stan... ...eople for the first time. Interpersonal skills, like any skills, will only improve with practice and feed back. One nice aspect of my current position is that it requires me to speak with new people on a daily basis to accomplish my job assignments. I also get a chance to practice my interpersonal skills while attending the University of Phoenix. With every new class I enter, I am required to deal with new people in different settings. In summary, assessing strengths and weaknesses during a job interview is something that no one should take lightly. By giving my interviewer a well thought-out response, I can let the interviewer know more about myself and help he or she see that I am the right fit for the job. By letting my interviewer know about my weaknesses, I let him or her know that I am not perfect but that I am continually working to improve myself (Martin, 2005). References Martin, L. (2005). What Are Your Greatest Strengths and Weaknesses? Retrieved on June 5, 2005, from http://interview.monster.com/articles/biggest/. United States Air Force. (1997). United States Air Force Core Values. Retrieved on June 5, 2005, from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cv-mastr.htm.