Self-Knowledge Question #39: My Greatest Strengths

[ng_moonmoth]

Initial post on what I'm doing here.

39. What are your greatest strengths?

Ah yes, the all-too-common job interview question! Which I always like to follow up on by noting that any strength can turn out to be a weakness if improperly applied. We've all been there.

Anyway, I would say my most prominent worthwhile attributes are patience and perseverance. I don't readily give up on things; if success has eluded me so far, I'll look for another approach and try that out. It's only when I've exhausted everything I'm willing to try that I'll set something aside. And even then, I'll probably hold on to it, in hopes that perhaps sometime in the future something new will come to light.

Comments

[mama_kestrel]

I still remember the rather bemused look on the interviewer's face when he got to this question and I laughed. I inquired if the next question might be my greatest weakness; he allowed that indeed, it was. He joined in my laughter when I told him "My greatest strength is that I am tenacious. My greatest weakness is that I am stubborn!"

[ng_moonmoth]

And that winds up looping around in my head to the copious, and often-remarked-upon, list of traits that are described in complimentary terms when observed in men, and pejorative terms when observed in women.

I applaud all who are objecting to this, and willing to call people on their transparent attempts to police women's behavior they do not like in this fashion. I think even more traction will result when people start applying the pejorative forms to men when their behavior merits being remarked on. I can think of lots of men who more than deserve this treatment.