Job interview: Strengths and weaknesses

💬 The question word 什麼 sits where the answer would go, so there's no need to move it to the front like English "what". Your answer slots right into that spot: 我的優點是認真 "my strength is being conscientious".

🇹🇼 認真 is high praise in Taiwanese workplaces, meaning hardworking and reliable. It's one of the safest strengths to claim in an interview.

💬 認真 works as the whole description on its own, with no 是 needed. Here 很 mostly just completes the sentence rather than meaning a strong "very".

💬 Use 也 "also" to add a second quality, and put it right before the describing word. For example: 我很認真，也很友善 "I'm conscientious and also friendly".

🇹🇼 Modest, practical qualities like diligence and punctuality go down well in Taiwanese interviews. Bold self-promotion can come across as arrogant.

💬 缺點 (quē diǎn) is the mirror image of 優點 (yōu diǎn) "strength". Both end in 點 "point", so you can learn them as a pair.

💬 Putting 呢 after a noun turns it into "and what about...?" and carries the topic over from the last question. Try 你呢？ "And you?" as a quick way to throw a question back.

💬 太 puts "too much" in front of a describing word: 太忙 "too busy", 太貴 "too expensive".

💬 In this sentence 會 (huì) means "tends to", describing a habit rather than the future. Words for time like 有時候 come right after the person and before the action.

🇹🇼 Pick a weakness that is mild and easy to fix, like nervousness, and then show how you'll work on it. This is the expected safe answer in Taiwanese interviews.

💬 Put 怎麼 (zěn me) right before an action to ask "how": 怎麼去 "how to get there", 怎麼說 "how to say it".

💬 When 那 (nà) starts a sentence it means "so" or "then", picking up from what was just said. It isn't pointing at "that" thing here.

💬 多 goes before the action to mean "do more of it", which is the reverse of English word order. Other examples: 多吃 "eat more", 多休息 "rest more".

💬 When 好 stands alone at the start of a sentence, it works like "okay" or "alright" to wrap up one topic and move on. It doesn't mean "good" here.

💬 The time word 今天 comes before the action 來, which is the opposite of English "coming today".

🇹🇼 This is the standard polite signal that the interview is over. A good reply is 謝謝，再見 "thanks, goodbye" along with a slight nod.

💬 Here 再 means "later" or "following up", not "notify you a second time".

🇹🇼 This is the usual polite closing line in Taiwan. If you don't hear back within a week or two, it often means no offer is coming.