Have you ever been in a job interview and been asked, “What is your biggest weakness?,” and been completely unprepared with the response? You are not alone. There is a right way to reply to this question, and I’m here to give you some pointers. First of all, let me share how not to answer this question.
The Wrong Way to Answer this Question
As an IT recruiter, I ask this question a lot. Most of the time, candidates represent themselves in the wrong light by answering the question in one of these three ways:
- The I’m Perfect Response: “I have no weaknesses”
- The Pity Party Response: “I’m too ambitious” or “I’m too hard on myself” or “I expect too much from myself”
- The Don’t Give Me This Job Response: Worst of all, is when people are brutally honest and portray legitimate flaws in a negative manner such as, “I am always late for everything” or “I am very disorganized and cannot multi-task”
The Correct Way to Answer this Question
Be honest about a real weakness, but then let the hiring manager know what you have done in order to overcome this weakness. The hiring manager will appreaciate your honesty, because let’s face it, no one is perfect and if you say you are, it’s much harder to prove it than to admit you are human.
Example:
“My biggest flaw would be public speaking. After realizing this, I signed up for a public speaking technique course in order to help improve this skill. I also chose to take classes in university that required a great deal of presentations so that I could get as much practice as I could public speaking.”
The key is to admit a true weakness, but then spin the weakness in a positive manner so that the hiring manager sees you have the drive and ambition to overcome it.
Let’s practice the question, “What’s your biggest weakness?”
Feel free to post how you’d respond below.
I usually answer that my biggest weakness is that I take things personally when it comes to my job, If someone doesn’t have the same work ethic as myself I have become shut off to that person in the past. I try to overcome this by taking time to gain perspective and by trying to inspire others by being an enthusiastic and hard working employee
Meg, I like that you are highlighting your strong work ethic. One concern is that you are really telling them two weaknesses but only one strength. One is that you take things personally, the other is that you shut people off when you’re offended instead of communicating to workout a solution. These are both red flags for employers. But it’s good that you are being honest and self-aware. You might want to mention what you are doing to overcome your tendency to take things personally so you can keep positive work relationships.
We had 26 comments on this topic when I posted it on the Reddit/jobs forum. General consensus it that interviewer learn very little from asking people the “what’s your biggest weakness question”. Here’s the link to the comments http://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/p81rn/tackling_the_interview_question_what_is_your/
I am a bit Impatient. In the way when there is something that needs doing I like to get it done. I realize that there are situations that i need to be patient for and I am able to do that. But i also realize that there are times where the students need to be given a little extra push and i believe that i bring that quality to the job!
Hi Sarah,
I have the same weakness. I like the way you say the positive side of impatience – it give us that extra push to get things done. But it’s also good that you say that you are able to be patient when you know it’s needed. That should go over well in an interview, as long as you spend more time talking about the positive side.
Thanks for your comment!
Laura
Hi Sarah,
I also struggle with this weakness and know how hard it can be to be patient sometimes. There are situations when it can definitely be very trying to be patient but it’s good that you are able to recognize that it is needed sometimes. This is a great way to spin this common weakness in an interview and I am sure this will help many others who also struggle with this same weakness.
Thanks for the response!
Emily