At the 2024 “Career Journey and Job Connection” Festival organized by Hanoi National University with the participation of many representatives of domestic and foreign corporations and enterprises, a student expressed concern that when the employer asked a question related to weaknesses, how should the candidate answer appropriately and not lower his or her own value?

Regarding this, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh, Recruitment Director of Sun Group Corporation said: “When we ask about weaknesses, the reason is not to put down the candidate. Because in fact, we all have weaknesses and strengths, no one is perfect. We - the recruiter, can ask such questions to see how you react, face and share about things that make you uncomfortable. No one likes to share their weaknesses with others. The problem is whether you are honest and sincere with yourself and whether you want to overcome your weaknesses.

In this situation, you can 'assign' the story of sharing your weaknesses to recognizing and having a plan to improve yourself in the future. Such directions will create a better impression with the employer," said Mr. Thanh.

Mr. Thanh gave an example, currently the young person's weakness is English, you can share about upcoming plans such as registering for English courses for working people; at the same time, state the goal within 3 or 5 months... to improve foreign language skills and meet job requirements.

Ms. Pham Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of Recruitment and Talent Attraction Center, SHB Bank said that in addition to looking at the candidate's reaction, questions about personal weaknesses help employers assess honesty.

“Recruiters with many years of experience can evaluate this through the candidate's answer. In addition, with a wide network of relationships in many fields, recruiters can also evaluate when you talk about what you have done and how in a certain period of time.

Asking you to reveal your weaknesses is how we see how you face them and how you overcome them. Usually, after the question about weaknesses, recruiters will ask how the candidate overcame those weaknesses. Through this, we evaluate your ability to face and solve situations, as well as your ability to turn your weaknesses into strengths... ", Ms. Hien said.

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Photo: Thanh Hung

During the job networking event, many students also asked questions related to what criteria employers will use to evaluate a candidate who does not have much experience in the position they are applying for.

Answering this, Mr. Thanh said: “For final year students, who have almost no experience, we rely on the following criteria: good academic ability (through cumulative GPA), foreign language ability (IELTS, TOEFL...). In addition, during the interview, we will evaluate the candidate's potential/future development ability through whether their orientation is suitable with the direction we are recruiting for that position.

Of course, we are always looking for dynamic, creative, confident people; instead of just focusing on studying. Our advice is that you should boldly participate in extracurricular activities, volunteering, organizing events... because through that you can improve your skills and confidence in addition to adding information to your CV".

According to employers, right from the time they are in the classroom, students need to pay attention to preparing themselves from their study results, skills, participating projects, and necessary abilities to meet future job requirements.

Lunar New Year 2025 holiday schedule for students of Northern universities

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