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"On occasion, my previous manager often complained that I use email to communicate with co-workers when I could just picked up the phone to call them. I use email for documentation purposes but also for efficiency (especially when having to communicate with long-winded co-workers).

I have learned to be more cognizant of the type of communication that I use in today's business environment."

pmoriarty's picture
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It sounds like you're trying the old, "turn a weakness into a strength".

Can you talk about recognizing this weakness and what you have done to improve upon it?

yahtzee's picture

[quote="pmoriarty"]It sounds like you're trying the old, "turn a weakness into a strength".

Can you talk about recognizing this weakness and what you have done to improve upon it?[/quote]

Sure. As I mentioned, I think that simply being aware of this has allowed me to put more thought into how I communicate with my co-workers and direct reports.

maura's picture
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I'd be careful about the way you phrase it. The way it's phrased now sounds more like others thought it was a weakness, but you considered it complaining, and stand behind it because it leaves a paper trail and you don't have to deal with people who might talk your ear off. Probably not the impression you want to give in an interview.

M&M say communication is about the receiver, right? And they also say that management is all about the people, right? And what was that about how efficient doesn't always mean effective?

Here's my take on a possible rewrite:

I tend to gravitate toward communicating via email, due to its efficiency and automatic "paper trail". However, I understand that if I rely on email too heavily, it's easy for both parties to misinterpret what's written, and I also miss out on the relationship building that comes with verbal communication. Recently I've started using verbal communication first, and email only when required, and I'm starting to see a positive difference in the way my ideas are recieved.

I'm interested to hear what others think?

pmoriarty's picture
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I like it Maura!

yahtzee's picture

I do as well....Thanks for replying!

asteriskrntt1's picture

Nicely done Maura

I have used a similar response with the emphasis on my becoming self aware - interviewers like people who are self aware. I have been told it is a sign of a good communicator and good problem solver.

That being said, it is a touch dangerous to identify this as a regular trend.... Perhaps saying something like "When I do my personal quarterly (or whatever) review/assesment, I noticed that [u][b]every so often [/b][/u]I lapse into using too much email vs. phone or face-to-face communication. While email is great for paper trailing....."

*RNTT

TomW's picture
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remember, from the Weakness Question cast, that the weakness is not always a bad thing.

Out of the 10 things you do, 5 are strengths and 5 are weaknesses. It's not a good and bad. Most likely, the 5 strengths are mission-critical skills and the 5 weaknesses might be things you are still good at (better than most even), but just are not things you are as good at as your strengths.

For example, I can run circles around most people in Arris (an old UNIX-based CAD system I used to use), but compared to my knowledge of other software that I'm currently using and training people in, it's a weakness. Since I don't need it anymore, I'm not even working on improving it!