Interview questions

[MrsAlwaysRight]

I'm currently on maternity leave and have been offered an interview next week. I am just wondering if anyone can give me some suggestions to put a positive spin on what I have learnt whilst on ML e.g become more organised etc.

I also was wondering what answers people give to that favourite interview question "What is your biggest weakness?" I have previously used "I am a perfectionist and like to do a job properly which sometimes means I take longer to complete tasks" I'm not sure whether to stick to this as the job I am applying for will involve completing jobs to strict deadlines, but add to the answer that this saves time in the long run as my work is very accurate. Or can anyone suggest an alternative example?

Many Thanks

What's your biggest weakness is a rubbish interview question, although sadly lots of people still use it.

Don't say you're a perfectionist. Everyone says that. Think of something from your last job, an area of the job where you wanted to develop your knowledge or your skills further. Make sure you pick something that you did something about. This way you are highlighting something that is no longer a 'weakness', you are demonstrating that you have good self-awareness, are committed to continuous improvement and have initiative.

So for example, if you had to use Excel in last job, you were doing it all fine, no problems, but you felt you wanted to learn it more in depth, use some of the more intricate functions, use that as your example. Say how you identified that you wanted to do this, and what proactive steps you took to achieve your goal, what positive impact it had on your work.

in terms of addressing your maternity leave (if it comes up in the discussion) I would focus on how you kept your skills and knowledge up to date during your time off work. I don't think you should say that you learned organisation, that implies that you weren't organised in a work setting beforehand. Focus on how you can do the job you've applied for, how you can demonstrate the skills and experience they've requested.

Thanks for the advice Flowery Will put my thinking cap on!

Well after all the worrying I did over this interview the weakness question wasn't even asked! I've had a call this morning provisionally offering me the job