"What are your Strengths?", is a most common question in job interviews.
Here is a try to understand what the term 'Strength' means.
Prior to that, we need to revisit few concepts like Talent, Skill, Ability and Aptitude.
Here is a try to understand what the term 'Strength' means.
Prior to that, we need to revisit few concepts like Talent, Skill, Ability and Aptitude.
‘Talent’ is something that one is born with; it is your natural ability to do something without really thinking about it. For example, you may have no experience in playing tennis, but if you have the talent, you may have no problem keeping the ball in play. You are a natural on the tennis court. Example: Sheba’s talent for painting showed at a very young age.
‘Skill’, on the other hand, is something that you acquire after putting in a lot of hard work; unlike talent, it is not inborn, but learnt. Not everyone is talented, but if you make the effort, you can learn a new skill. Example: Hemant is a wonderful teacher. It’s a skill he’s honed over the years.
Ability is a conceptually broad term referring to possession of 'talents' and 'skills' necessary to perform a current task.
‘Skill’, on the other hand, is something that you acquire after putting in a lot of hard work; unlike talent, it is not inborn, but learnt. Not everyone is talented, but if you make the effort, you can learn a new skill. Example: Hemant is a wonderful teacher. It’s a skill he’s honed over the years.
Ability is a conceptually broad term referring to possession of 'talents' and 'skills' necessary to perform a current task.
Skills, abilities, and aptitudes are similarly related but distinct.
- Skills are a backward looking description. Skills describe what a person has learned to do in the past.
- Abilities are a present description. Abilities describe what a person can do now.
- Aptitudes are a forward looking description. Aptitudes describe what a person has the ability to do in the future. They describe what a person can learn to do.
A 'strength' is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific activity.
Talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied. Talents, knowledge, and skills -- along with the time spent (i.e., investment) practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base -- combine to create your strengths.
For example, being drawn toward strangers and enjoying the challenge of making a connection with them are talents, whereas the ability to consistently build a network of supporters who know you and are prepared to help you is a strength. To build this strength, you have refined your talents with skills and knowledge. Likewise, the tendency to confront others is a talent, whereas the ability to sell successfully is a strength. To persuade others to buy your product, you must have combined your talent with product knowledge and certain selling skills.
Although talents, skills, and knowledge are each important for building a strength, talent is always the most important. The reason is that your talents are innate and cannot be acquired, unlike skills and knowledge. For example, as a salesperson you can learn your products' features (knowledge), you can be trained to ask the right open-ended questions (a skill), and you can practice making a sale (investment). However, the innate tendency to push a customer to commit at exactly the right moment, in exactly the right way must be naturally occurring and cannot be learned.
Talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied. Talents, knowledge, and skills -- along with the time spent (i.e., investment) practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base -- combine to create your strengths.
For example, being drawn toward strangers and enjoying the challenge of making a connection with them are talents, whereas the ability to consistently build a network of supporters who know you and are prepared to help you is a strength. To build this strength, you have refined your talents with skills and knowledge. Likewise, the tendency to confront others is a talent, whereas the ability to sell successfully is a strength. To persuade others to buy your product, you must have combined your talent with product knowledge and certain selling skills.
Although talents, skills, and knowledge are each important for building a strength, talent is always the most important. The reason is that your talents are innate and cannot be acquired, unlike skills and knowledge. For example, as a salesperson you can learn your products' features (knowledge), you can be trained to ask the right open-ended questions (a skill), and you can practice making a sale (investment). However, the innate tendency to push a customer to commit at exactly the right moment, in exactly the right way must be naturally occurring and cannot be learned.
Authors and Credits:
Edited for easy reading.