Originally Posted by JRose5
Curious to see other members replies.
JR5
I wouldn't say a thing anyone has posted so far in this thread. They are beyond cliche. Every candidate says that, do you want to be just "anothercandidate"? Or do you want to stand out? When they ask you to "describe yourself", you want to keep it short, but relevant to the job. Tell themwhat you've been doing recently, maybe what motivated you to come here and what career you are looking for - for starters. You could go a lot of places,but again, keep it detailed and relevant to the job.
As far as strengths and weaknesses.. again, relate it to the job. As always, avoid cliches. Interviewers hate hearing those. If you are going to say them, atleast back it up with a specific example - then it could work. A tip when the interviewer asks about your weaknesses: a lot of people say you should convert astrength to sound like a weakness. That is the oldest trick in the book and trust me, it does not make you look good: you just sound desperate for the job. Bereal, we are all human, we all have weaknesses somewhere, no one is perfect. Maybe you are more reserved? Being reserved might affect communication at theworkplace. BUT, the key thing to say following your weakness is a detailed example of how you are working towards solving that weakness and maybe what you havelearned from having that weakness as opposed to not having the weakness.
"Recently I have taken steps towards adjusting my reserved nature and becoming more open and talkative towards peers, especially in professional andacademic environments. For instance, this past Summer I was in an accelerated French course and rather than being reserved, I chose to quickly make friends andcommunicate openly towards peers and teachers. This allowed for a resourceful atmosphere, which I am certain everyone including myself benefited from. Frombeing less reserved, I have learned to benefit from open communication and exercising crucial teamwork skills." Again, keep it detailed and relevant tothe job. I hope this helps!