You May Have Considerable Practice With This Interview Quest

You May Have Considerable Practice With This Interview Question Eith

You may have considerable practice with this interview question, either as an interviewer or interviewee. There are numerous websites that offer insight as to the best way to respond to this question and just as many websites encouraging interviewers to remove this question from their repertoire. Despite its use in hiring, understanding personal strengths and capitalizing on them is a predictor of success (Shaff & Hoyt, 2017). Marilyn Vos Savant once offered the following wisdom to the parents of a 14-year-old boy who struggled with math: “If I were you, I’d forget about the math and concentrate on what your son can do well. Success is achieved by development of our strengths, not by elimination of our weaknesses” (Savant, 2014).

Understanding strengths provides professionals an opportunity to clarify their goals, proactively identify how to spend their time and effort, and may help to enhance the ability to work with others (Shaff & Hoyt, 2017). As part of this Week’s Assignment, you will complete Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment. The StrengthsFinder assessment will identify your personal strengths, which have been shown to improve motivation, engagement, and academic self-confidence. Through this assessment, you will discover your top five themes, which you can reflect upon and use to leverage your talents for optimal success. After you take the assessment, you will apply the results to your potential future profession and to your doctoral study in a written assignment.

You will also describe how you already use the strengths in your professional life.

Paper For Above instruction

The interview question "What are your strengths?" is a common yet challenging inquiry that reveals a candidate's self-awareness and ability to leverage personal assets effectively. Recognizing one's strengths is essential not only in interview contexts but also in professional development, academic achievement, and leadership roles. As explored by Shaff and Hoyt (2017), understanding and focusing on strengths can predict and enhance success, aligning individual capabilities with personal and organizational goals.

The significance of identifying personal strengths is well-articulated through the analogy shared by Marilyn Vos Savant, emphasizing the importance of developing one's talents rather than obsessing over fixing weaknesses. This paradigm shift from deficit-focused to strength-based approaches has gained increasing acceptance in psychology and organizational development. When individuals understand their top talents, they can channel efforts toward activities and tasks where they naturally excel, leading to higher motivation, better performance, and increased engagement (Clifton & Harter, 2003).

In the context of professional and academic pursuits, discovering personal strengths through tools such as Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment provides valuable insights. The assessment identifies an individual’s top five themes, which serve as a foundation for personal development and strategy formulation. These themes represent innate talents that, when nurtured, can be employed to optimize one's potential in various areas, including careers, leadership, and scholarly endeavors (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Applying the results of StrengthsFinder to professional life involves intentionally focusing on and deploying these strengths in daily work. For example, a person whose top theme is 'Strategic' might excel at problem-solving and planning, making them well-suited for roles that require innovative thinking. Similarly, someone with 'Achiever' as a dominant theme can leverage this in project management and goal setting. Reflecting on how these strengths manifest in current professional roles enables individuals to enhance their productivity and job satisfaction (Higgins et al., 2014).

Furthermore, integrating strengths into one's doctoral studies can facilitate better time management, increased resilience in facing academic challenges, and more effective collaboration with peers and mentors. As doctoral work often involves complex research and independent effort, recognizing strengths such as 'Learner' or 'Input' can help students identify resources and strategies that support their academic journey (Fredrickson, 2013).

In my own professional experience, I have identified and utilized several of my StrengthsFinder themes. For instance, my 'Responsibility' theme means I am highly committed to my tasks and dependable to colleagues and clients. This reliability fosters trust and facilitates collaborative projects. Additionally, my 'Learner' theme drives my continuous pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement, which is crucial in academia and professional environments demanding ongoing adaptation and skill development.

By consciously harnessing my strengths, I have been able to take on leadership roles, mentor peers, and contribute innovatively to team projects. Recognizing these themes also helps me manage weaknesses more effectively, as I can delegate or seek support in areas where my strengths are less prominent. This strength-based approach aligns with contemporary research indicating that focusing on personal and collective strengths leads to higher levels of engagement and success (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

In conclusion, identifying and applying personal strengths through assessments like Gallup’s StrengthsFinder can be transformative in professional and academic contexts. It shifts the focus from fixing weaknesses to cultivating talents, thereby fostering motivation, engagement, and overall success. Both in interviews and everyday professional life, articulating and leveraging one's strengths can significantly influence outcomes and personal growth.

References

• Clifton, D. O., & Harter, J. K. (2003). Investing in strengths. In K. S. Cameron & J. E. Dutton (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 111–121). Berrett-Koehler.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1640), 20130220.
• Higgins, M., Aiman-Smith, L., & Reilly, R. R. (2014). Connecting strengths and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), 329–346.
• Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). StrengthsFinder 2.0. Gallup Press.
• Savage, M. V. (2014, October 31). Developing your strengths. Parade.
• Schaff, C., & Hoyt, E. (2017). The CliftonStrengths: Focusing on strengths as a predictor of success. Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, 33(4), 75–82.
• Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.