How to Answer Interview Questions - Q20

How do you rate yourself as a professional? There are people who will tell you that your automatic response to rating yourself (on a scale of 1 to 10) should be “11”. They say that anything less would be admitting a weakness. I don’t agree. An over-the-top answer like that is bragging, which is a lot different than selling yourself for the job. I think that if you answer “11,” you’re running a strong risk of coming off as arrogant in the interview, and I don’t know too many hiring managers who relish the thought of hiring someone who thinks they’re more than perfect. It makes for a strained working relationship. I think that on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, that an answer of 6, 7, or 8 is a reasonable, positive, sincere-sounding answer. It means that you recognize that you have room to grow and develop and become more and better than you are today. If you’re a young rookie, straight out of school or with only one job under your belt, you should answer 6 or 7. If you’re anything else, answer 7 or 8. Only a true Subject Matter Expert with a whole lot of experience should put themselves at a 9 or a 10. But once you give your answer (and pay attention to the surprise on their faces when you don’t give the automatic, knee-jerk, follow-the-crowd response of ‘11’), offer an explanation of why you rate yourself that way. Say, “On a scale of 1 to 10, I see 5 as a true average, and a 10 as perfect. I believe I’m better than average, and I don’t know that anyone could be a 10, because no one’s perfect.” Talk about how you rate yourself based on how others perform in the same roles that you have had. In every arena, there are 4 or 5 (at least) things that set people apart…what are they in yours? How do you rate in each of those areas? You really have to know yourself and your ‘market’ in order to answer this question. If you’re in the job search, you better know these things anyway. You can’t sell yourself for the job otherwise. And it makes it pretty hard to negotiate salary unless you know what you’re worth. If you can answer this question with a sincere, honest, reasoned response, you’re going to stand out from the other candidates and earn big points with the interviewer.