Give me an example of how your strengths help you in Accounting.
"I'm very detail oriented. I have the ability to catch small errors that are overlooked by most and have proven this in college when I was an aide to one of my professors and constantly caught errors he missed. He told me that I helped keep him honest, which is why he offered me this letter of recommendation. He's also listed as a reference if you should like to speak with him regarding my detail-oriented abilities."
"My ability to thrive under pressure has helped in year end close and tax preparation for my current company. When all the departments suddenly remember they have a million things they need to submit, I'm able to organize it and keep the process moving while everyone else is stressed and I'm calm and composed. This past year, we had one employee who had a breakdown due to stress because there was an error in the financial reports. I was able to take over, correct the error, and help the employee overcome that stressful moment all while heading meetings and implementing the changes that were requested for the new year. Staying calm under stressful situations is perfect for audits and tax time at most companies because that's how you can lose a company."
This is a subjective question and one that will be asked (maybe in a different way), but this is the strength vs. weakness question. I'd focus on about 2-4 strengths and give an example. Common list of strengths to choose from are:
1) Organizational and planning skills.
2) Perseverance.
3) Persuasive ability.
4) Communication skills.
5) Leadership ability.
6) Stress tolerance.
7) Ability to learn and apply new information and skills.
8) Flexibility.
9) Trustworthiness.
10) Detailed oriented.
11) Reliable.
12) Unwavering.
13) Ethical.
Always try to give an example of how you've used your strengths to improve your performance or your company in some way.
"I'm a highly organized person. I live off of my planner and always carry it with me. I do bi-weekly budgets for myself so that I can continuously pay off my student loans. Due to my organizational skills, I'm great with time management, which allows me extra time to help other departments in my current role. I'm known for always completing my tasks on time, if not early. They know they can turn to me if they have extra work that they can't complete because I'll almost always help out unless it's not possible, then I'm direct and honest about my time constraints."
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Anonymous Answer
Some of the key strengths that help me with Accounting work are patience, attention to detail, calmness when things are challenging, ability to focus for long periods, and research and investigating skills.
Being patient allows me to not rush my work, but to apply a methodological and systematic approach to every task, so it is complete when I leave it. I particularly, enjoy researching and learning new things all the time is part of accounting work. Tax rules are constantly changing and clients have different requirements, so I am constantly having to find out more.
Also, when things go wrong my investigative skills and inquisitive mind help me get to the problem time and again.
Chad's Feedback
This is a great approach to the question! You do well to identify your strengths and provide more detail on how the key strengths aid you in your work and contribute to your success.
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