J-O-B

I finally remembered, here before I try to go to bed, to go back to some Forbes article I read a million years ago about job interview questions. Two questions that have always tripped me up are:

"What is your biggest weakness?"

and

"Tell me about a challenge you have overcome."

Now, when I get asked the first one, this scene from Trainspotting pops into my head...

I have actually answered people with "I'm a bit of a perfectionist..." not advised. 

The Forbes article recommends that you talk about a former weakness. So I think I have something in mind that will work. I can talk about how my confidence has increased as I have gained experience. I honestly used to have a hard time cutting the cord, as it were, with trainers. I ask a million questions and I want to make sure I am doing everything right. It took awhile for me to realize I can usually just use my own common sense to figure out what to do. Most jobs are not a cat and mouse game of Sherlockian intrigue where I have to stay ten steps ahead. Usually, all the possible outcomes are discussed in the training manual.

The second question is very much like being put on the spot at the end of Improv class when the teacher asks us what we learned. Every day brings new challenges and I am learning constantly. To pick one instance...my brain freezes. Luckily, I have an example from my recent past. My former manager and I were having problems communicating by email so, the next time I saw her in person I had a private discussion with her and we worked it out. I will embellish all this, of course.

All the other standard questions I am pretty confident I can handle. Fingers crossed...