Trite and True: My Strength Is My Weakness Accelerated Learning Resources

Trite and True: My Strength Is My Weakness

I have officially reached the awkward lull phase of my career search. I have perfected my resume, submitted numerous applications, and am now waiting anxiously for a phone call from interested employers. While I am stuck in limbo somewhere between the worlds of college student and Registered Nurse, I have found myself thinking about the next step of the process to landing a job: the interview. I have written previous posts about the basics of confidence and being prepared when walking into an interview, but I have never specifically sat down and outlined what I bring to the table.

This is where the word awkward comes in. While I may carry myself with confidence, I have never been great at introspection and self-evaluation. I am not calling myself an awkward person per se—although I have my fair share of awkward moments—but I simply find the process of evaluating myself somewhat awkward because it is so unlike what I am used to. I typically am the annoying friend who uses the phrase “I don’t care, you pick!” in my conversations, so naturally I am finding it hard to sit down and write areas of strengths and weaknesses.

If there is one thing, however, that I know about myself, it’s from what I’ve learned from my meticulous dedication to deadlines, organization, and preparation during the past four years of my life. These tendencies have led me to put “perfectionist” at the top of my list of strengths, and after considerable thought, my weaknesses.

On one hand, being a perfectionist is great for any business or employer, naturally. Being a perfectionist means the employee is motivated, pays attention to detail, and will most likely break their back trying to obtain perfection, all of which is good for productivity and business. This type of employee ensures things get done, and done right. I have always known that I have had perfectionist tendencies, not only because of my need to make lists for everything, but also because I am never happy until all of my tasks are completed. Most of us have perfectionist tendencies, and usually these types of traits lead us to success. However, dont take me for that obsessive-compulsive, neat-freak, color-coding, organizational junkie. Thats not who I am. My room can attest to that fact, because it will never resemble anything less than the aftermath of a volcanic eruption of shoes and mismatched socks.

Being a perfectionist is also my biggest weakness. I know it sounds trite to use my strength as my weakness too, but hear me out. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the details and the scrutiny that I miss out on the big picture. I am overly critical not only of myself, but sometimes of others, and because of that, the stress in my life increases.

Not only have I found great answers to questions in interviews through this self-reflection, but I have also learned that I need to make personal changes. In order to turn perfectionist traits into pure strengths in my life, I need to learn when enough is enough. I have learned that the ability to change is all about being aware of our bad habits, and that is why I am sharing with you my newfound awareness. I was recently reading a book (Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson) and was deeply moved one sentence in particular. It says, “As you begin to eliminate your need for perfection in all areas of your life, you’ll begin to discover the perfection in life itself.”

If that’s not a mantra to live by, then I don’t know what is.

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