5 Professional Strengths

Understanding professional strengths — yours and other people’s — is an important employability skill. 

We need to understand — and be able to talk about — our professional strengths. Knowing our strengths helps us find work we enjoy and do well. Being able to articulate our strengths helps employers and interviewers understand how we contribute. Understanding other people’s strengths helps us work together effectively, and tolerate each other’s weaknesses.

 Activity 

Take the High 5 Test. You’ll need the results for future work, so paste them into a document and save it.

Be Able to Describe Your Strengths

Being able to define and describe your professional strengths will improve your career. Below, you will create strengths statements that you can use in resumes, job interviews (where you’re almost always asked about your strengths and weaknesses), performance reviews and team projects.

Strengths Statements

Create two statements about each strength – a brief one (about 10 words) and a more detailed one (about 50 words) that expands on the 10-word statement.

• Use "I" statements
• 10-word statements can be used in cover letters, interviews, and your LinkedIn profile
• 50 word statements can be used in detailed resumes, performance reviews, and when an interviewer asks for specifics

For example

Strength: Deliverer

10-word statement: I have a strong sense of responsibility for my commitments.

50-word statement: I have a strong sense of responsibility for my commitments. Whether the challenge is large or small, I handle it without excuses or procrastination, and take responsibility for finding the right resources and meeting deadlines. That’s why employers and coworkers know they can depend on me, and clients enjoy working with me.

Know How to Describe Weaknesses

Interviewers typically ask about weaknesses, for example “tell us about your greatest weakness” or “what’s one of your weaknesses and how do you handle it?” Always be prepared to discuss one or two realistic but not overwhelming challenges. Acknowledge the challenge briefly and then talk about what you’re doing to turn it from a challenge into a strength.

For example, you might say “When working in a team, I used to micromanage, and end up doing all the work myself. I’m working on that by encouraging my colleagues to take ownership. Together, we create consensus, clear boundaries and realistic expectations. Since doing this, my last two projects have been much more enjoyable and successful – for all of us.”

List of Weaknesses With Examples will help you understand how to talk about your professional challenges.

 Self-Assessment 1 

Strength, Weakness or Challenge?

It’s easy to criticize ourselves: I should be more assertive or I shouldn’t procrastinate. But doing that can damage our self-esteem, making it even harder to turn weaknesses into strengths.

These two changes in how you think can make a huge difference:

Challenge vs Weakness

Think of weaknesses as challenges. Calling something a weakness can make it feel like a fixed trait  – something that can’t be changed. But thinking of it as a challenge can create room for change. After all, a challenge can be overcome.

Strengths are a Spectrum

Think of strengths and challenges not as opposites, but as on a spectrum. Challenges aren’t the opposite of strengths; they’re simply too much or too little of a strength.

For example, if you’re passive, it doesn’t mean you’re not assertive – just that you’re not assertive enough. If you’re aggressive, it means you’re too assertive.

Thinking of strengths and challenges on a spectrum means you don’t have to change completely, or become someone you’re not. You just need a bit more or less of a strength.

  Self-Assessment 2 

  Canadian Workplace Quiz