What are your core competencies? Your core competencies are skills, abilities, or traits that you are most experienced in and which can provide a benefit to the company or the customer. They should be things that not everyone excels in, and that you do almost as a second nature. Examples might include good communication skills, a great sense of organization, employee management, mathematical proficiency, or near-perfect data entry. Maybe you have exceptional customer service skills... it can be many different things. Most importantly, you should list things that will help you in the specific job you are applying for. There is no need to mention how fast you can type if you are applying for a job driving cars.
What are your strengths? A really great way of addressing a flaw is to always include a suggestion for improving that flaw. For example, you could say, "I'm always told that I am a bit too slow... but that's only because I want to do the best job I can. I guess you could say I'm a bit detail-oriented when it comes to perfection." An employer can only view that as a great characteristic, and in no way a negative quality to possess. Discussing your strengths is a delicate matter; you do not want to come across as egotistical. An excellent response I appreciate hearing from interviewees is: "I am very determined. I enjoy being challenged in my job, and I strive to learn as much as possible in my role. At the end of the day, I need to be able to look back on my day and feel satisfied with the work I've done. I suppose you could call it a sense of self-worth. That's why I always put my all into everything I do."
Why should we hire you? Your key strategy is to first identify your interviewer's greatest wants and needs before answering questions. You might say: "I have several accomplishments I'd like to share with you, but I want to make the best use of our time together and address your needs directly. To assist me in doing so, could you elaborate on the most critical priorities of this position? All I know is what I've heard from the recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc." Then, ALWAYS follow up with a second and possibly a third question to delve deeper into their needs. Surprisingly, it's often this second or third question that reveals what the interviewer is most seeking. You might simply ask, "And in addition to that?" or "Is there anything else you consider essential for success in this role?"
Prior to any interview, you should have a mentally prepared list of your greatest strengths. You should also have a specific example or two that illustrates each strength, chosen from your most recent and impressive achievements. Make sure you have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements firmly committed to memory. Then, once you understand your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can select those achievements from your list that align best. As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:
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