Many researchers have documented how the traits of “self-awareness” and “awareness of others” correlate with success.

One of our clients recently asked:  How do you assess for “self-awareness” during an interview?

Dave Mashburn, ThirdPool’s Consulting Psychologist, shot back the following answer:

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Self-aware people are open to feedback.  

Ask the standard… “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” question during the interview.  

When the candidate talks about their weaknesses, follow-up with this question:  

“What are some of the things you’ve done to improve your weaknesses?”

Or, “What is your strategy for improving your __________ (earlier stated weakness)?”

This gets you past the canned answers and helps you discover if the candidate is working on getting better. 

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This information is important because a truly self-aware person wants to improve their weaknesses.

Tomorrow we’ll work on assessing for “awareness of others.”