Re: Tech Writing 101 - How to tie a shoe

[Charlotte A Archer <charlotte -dot- a -dot- archer -at- GTE -dot- NET>]

John R. Sullivan <John_Sullivan -at- STRATUS -dot- COM> wrote:

>Things I object to? Well, at the top of my list is "What is your biggest
>weakness?" What an absurd question.
>
>I've determined that I'm never again going to try to answer that question
in
>an interview. How do others handle this
>(and other) ridiculous queries?

Actually, I've never considered this one a ridiculous query and I'm one of
those who excels at answering this one since it's a standard and my Mom's a
human resources person <G>.   The best answer is always to pick a weakness
which is also a strength, or a weakness which can also be thought of as a
strength.

Another good way to handle it, and one which I use to weed out jobs that I
don't want, is to take a "weakness" which would be a strength to a good
employer and is only a weakness to a employer.  (i.e, my favorite is that I
will not sacrifice quality for quantity, so I may work slower than someone
who is less detail oriented.)

How you answer these kinds of "ridiculous" questions can tell a prospective
employer a lot about how you see yourself, and how the employer responds to
your answer can tell *you* a lot about the prospective employer.

Just as a final comment, I *do* believe very strongly that a job interview
is a two way interview.  As a professional looking for a business
relationship, I want to establish a relationship which will be mutually
beneficial.  I don't want jobs for which I am not well suited nor do I want
to work for an employer who is not a good fit.  Make sure to use your
interview as a way to evaluate the prospective employer while he is
evaluating you.

Regards,
Charlotte A. Archer


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