1. Introduction

Not sure if you should practise to prepare for your strength interviews? More than half of all candidates are rejected at the first interview stage (Fennell, 2022)

Let’s get started!

2. What is a Strength-based Interview?

A strength-based interview focuses on identifying a candidate’s natural talents, motivations, and abilities rather than assessing their skills through past experiences or competency frameworks. These interviews aim to explore what you genuinely enjoy and excel at, aligning you with roles you are more naturally suited for.

Now let’s see some key features of the strength-based interviews. 

What do Strengths-based Interviews Measure?

Strength-based interviews measure the following strengths and skills in you: 

1. Natural Talents and Skills: During the strengths interview, the interviewer will assess your natural abilities that you perform effortlessly and excel at consistently. For e.g. analytical thinking, creativity, or communication skills.
2. Energy and Motivation: This interview will focus on what tasks or activities energize and excite you. This helps the employers determine if you’re passionate about the type of work involved in the role.
3. Authenticity: Genuine interest and enthusiasm in your responses, reflecting your true strengths and preferences.
4. Resilience and Adaptability: The strengths-based interview questions will draw out answers on how you approach challenges and whether you thrive under pressure.
5. Teamwork and Collaboration: This interview measures your ability to connect with others and work effectively as part of a team.
6. Problem-Solving Ability: The interviewer will also assess you on the basis of how you approach tasks and find solutions to challenges, based on your strengths.

Strengths interviews are often different from more traditional interview questions. Check out some of the key differences below. 

What is the difference between strength-based and traditional interviews?

Strength based interviews and a traditional interview differ based on the aim of the interview. Put simply, traditional interviews focus on identifying what you can do, while strength interviews on the other hand centre on what you enjoy doing or activities that energise you.

Competency and strength questions are often two of the main questions types you may encounter in an interview. 

Let’s find out the key differences between these below. 

Differences Between Competency-based and Strength Interviews

How are competency-based interviews different from strength-based interviews? 

The key differences between the competency-based interviews and strengths assessments are: 

1. Strengths interviews explore natural talents, motivation, etc., to determine alignment with the role whereas competency-based interviews assess past experiences and skills demonstrated in specific situations, based on the idea that past behaviour predicts future performance. 
2. Strength-based interviews gauge personal qualities, potential and whether you are naturally suited for the role. On the other hand, competency-based interviews evaluate your specific skills, experience, and behaviours that are directly relevant to the role. 
3. While the SBI interviews are more conversational and dynamic, focusing on identifying enthusiasm, energy and passion rather than rehearsed answers, CBI interviews focus around job-specific competencies, often using the STAR+R method for responses. 
4. For strength questions, you should understand your preferences and what energizes you. CBI interviews require extensive preparation, whereas strengths interviews require self reflection rather than example-based preparation.

Next, let’s see how the strengths-based interviews assess the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. 

3. How Do Strength-Based Interviews Work?

Strengths-based interviews or strengths assessments can either follow the conventional in-person format in an office or the virtual video format. Depending on the recruiter and the job, strength-based interviews can last up to an hour, and you may answer as many as 20 questions within the interview.

For an in-person strength online assessment, you can expect the session to follow the standard process of in-person traditional interviews. However, the interviewer will ask you questions about your strengths and values instead of your experiences.

Let’s dive into what a strength online assessment often involves.

Strength based Video Interviews

What are strength based video interviews?

Strength based video interviews or strengths online assessments are either live in real-time with the use of a video conferencing app like Zoom, Skype, Google Meet etc., or they can follow a pre-recorded interview format.

Uncover the key facts you’ll need to know about video interviews ahead of your strength based interview with this quick video below:

Now that we know more about how they work, read on as we uncover some of the key strengths and attributes that the strength-based interviews measure. 

What Do Employers Look for in Strength Based Interviews?

Employers mostly look for candidates that have strengths or skills that are specific to the role. However, our team has found that the following strengths are most commonly considered crucial across various industries and candidates who possess these are likely to have a better chance of landing the job.

Wondering how you’ll be scored during a strength-based interview? Our next section is specifically dedicated to that. So keep reading!

How are Strengths Based Interview Questions Scored?

Strength-based questions aim to identify your strengths and positive traits, and there are no specific scoring criteria for such questions. Strength-based questions are usually scored subjectively based on the assessment’s context and goal.

In other cases, the scoring process may be qualitative and geared toward spotting important themes and patterns in your responses. This approach compares responses to a specified set of strengths to find common themes or traits that emerge across multiple questions.

Overall, the scoring process for strength based questions will depend on the specific strength assessment and the desired outcome.

To help you secure a good score in your upcoming strength-based interview, our experts have provided some fool-proof strength-based interview tips. Read on to find out what they are. 

4. How to Prepare for a Strength based Interview?

Here are 8 simple yet practical tips that you can use during the interview to ace any strength-based interview. 

Top 8 Tips to Pass Strengths-based Interviews

1. Recognize Your Strengths: Before going for the interview, take some time to reflect on your strengths, talents, and attributes. Consider your areas of expertise and make sure you think of some examples of your work.
2. Be Yourself: Strengths based questions assess your natural abilities, so be yourself! Remember that it is your natural talents that are being assessed, not your capacity to fit into a particular personality type.
3. Listen Closely: Before giving any response in a strength based interview, make sure you understand the question asked. Take your time to consider your answers before giving a sincere response that highlights your strengths.
4. Use Real-life Examples: Feel free to cite real-life experiences to demonstrate your strengths. Provide concrete instances where you have utilised your natural abilities to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
5. Display Enthusiasm: During the interview, show enthusiasm for the position and the company. Let your interviewer see that you are passionate about using your natural strengths to contribute significantly to the growth of the organisation.
6. Remain Positive: Try to maintain a positive outlook even if asked difficult strengths based questions during the interview. Maintain your confidence and optimism, and remember that the interviewer is interested in your natural strengths.
7. Pick a Small Area for Improvement: If your recruiter asks you to share any development areas, mention an area for improvement that is not critical to the job and that you can easily improve on. This will show that you are self-aware and willing to improve without raising red flags for your employer.
8. Describe Your Efforts to Improve: After sharing an area for improvement, talk about the steps you are taking to address it. This could be through training, requesting feedback, or taking advantage of development opportunities. Doing this demonstrates that you are working on self-improvement.

The first step towards preparing for a strengths interview is to practice similar interview questions. Practice with us to ace your strength-based interview. 

While you can answer many competency questions using a structure, strength based questions are more dynamic. 

However, one of the most common strength questions is “Tell me about yourself”. To answer this question, we can use the SEAT technique. 

What is the SEAT Method?

The SEAT method can be helpful to answer the question “Tell me about yourself”. This method directs what to mention when answering this question:  

• S – Mention the valuable skills and qualifications you bring to the job.
• E – Talk about your current experience in the field
• A – Highlight any remarkable achievements you have made so far
• T – Discuss the type of person you are and how you can positively impact the job

Watch the following video for more tips on how to answer “Tell me about yourself” with a sample answer by our experts:

Check out some of the most common strength-based interview questions that may form part of your strengths interview below with sample answers!

5. Common Strength Based Interview Questions and Answers

What are the most common strength based interview questions? 

Although strengths based interview questions may vary depending on the job and industry type, here are some examples of strength based questions in recruitment interviews and how you can answer them.

How to Answer Strength Based Questions

Question: What are you most passionate about in your work?

Good Answer: One thing I am most passionate about in my career is helping others develop and grow in the organisation and in their careers. In my previous job as a Team Leader at a restaurant, I always made it a priority to provide regular constructive feedback at the end of every week to support my team members on their skills through various activities.

Question: What do you think are your greatest strengths or skills?

Good Answer: One of my greatest strengths is my ability to communicate with people effectively. In my previous position as a project manager, I oversaw a team of designers and developers on busy schedules. To ensure we were all on the same page, I scheduled regular short and concise check-ins to cover the key areas.

Question: What are some examples of work you have done and are proud of, and why?

Good Answer: I am particularly proud of a project where I created a series of in-depth guides on my company’s website. My goal was to simplify complex information into engaging, easy-to-understand instructions and articles, which helped users better interact with our system. This project required extensive research, collaboration with our development team, and attention to detail to ensure accuracy and accessibility.

This project stands out for me because it was a combination of creativity, strategy, and impact. They not only showcased my strengths but also made a tangible difference in helping our customers and achieving organizational goals.

Question: What is your greatest weakness?

Wondering if your upcoming assessment process consists of a strengths interview assessment or not? Read on to find out which industries/employers often use strengths interviews in their hiring process.

6. Which Industries Use Strengths-based Interviews?

The strengths-based assessment focuses on understanding what energises and motivates the candidates to work the way they do, and hence various industries and employers use strength based interview questions in the interviewing process. The industries that use strength based interviews are as follows: 

Now, let’s check out some top employers who use strength-based interviews in their interviewing process. 

Which Employers Use Strengths-based Interviews?

Discover some of the top employers that use strength-based interviews in their hiring process below: 

The list above is not exhaustive, but if you are planning to apply to any of the above employers, keep reading through this extensive guide on strength interviews to see why these employers use strengths assessments and other key insights. 

Why Do Employers Use Strength-based Interviews?

The main reasons why employers use the strength-based interviewing method to assess candidates are as follows: 

1. Identify Long-Term Fit: Candidates who are naturally good at and enjoy their tasks are more likely to excel, remain motivated, and stay longer in the role. Employers want to ensure the candidate is not only capable but also finds genuine satisfaction in the work.
2. Focus on Potential: Strength-based interviews are particularly useful for entry-level roles, graduates, and apprentices, where candidates may not have extensive work experience. By evaluating natural strengths, employers can assess potential rather than past achievements.
3. Encourage Authenticity: These interviews are conversational and focus on what energizes candidates, reducing the likelihood of rehearsed or overly polished responses. Candidates can showcase their genuine preferences and talents, giving employers a clearer picture of their suitability.
4. Drive Higher Performance: Employees working in roles that align with their strengths tend to be more productive, engaged, and satisfied. Strength-based hiring helps build high-performing teams aligned with organizational goals.
5. Align with Organizational Culture: Employers use this method to assess whether a candidate’s values and strengths align with the company’s mission and culture. This helps ensure candidates integrate well with the team and work environment.
6. Reduce Bias: Since the focus is on natural strengths and energy, rather than past experience or qualifications, this approach can promote diversity and inclusivity in hiring.

Still have other questions about strengths based questions? Here are some frequently-asked strength based interview questions and answers.

7. Strength-Based Interviews FAQs