July 13, 2007

Mad Cal tip for job seekers: Never care too much about work.

I've been doing a few first round interviews for staff positions at work. One of our standard questions if to ask the prospective employee to list 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. One answer I (and my interview partner as well) hate is when people list 'caring too much' or 'work too hard to be perfect' as one of their weaknesses. In any service agency, it is good to care for the well-being of students/clients, and working hard is important, but I'd much rather accept an honest answer rather than use some interview tactic to make weaknesses sound like strengths, as long as it's not something like 'I steal a lot' or 'I often resolve my problems through violence.'
(Just a random note: Wouldn't 'I steal a lot' or 'I often resolve my problems through violence' make great t-shirts? I just made someone else very rich.)

When I was interviewed a few months ago, I remember one of my answers was that I may procrastinate, but I'll always get the task done on time. I forgot what my other weakness responses were, maybe something along the lines of being on time or not being able to speak Spanish. In any case, I figured my qualifications and strengths were good enough and I was better suited for the position than anyone else at the time so I wasn't going to make up any BS.

I guess this part of the job shouldn't bother me, but I just care too much about my work and want to work hard to make it perfect. (See how bad that sounds?)

No comments: