in a job interview what should you say your weaknesses are?

Answer 1

Say you are a team worker and you don't like people who don't want to be team players. Tell them that sometimes you're a workaholic because you just enjoy it so. Tell them you really enjoy staying busy and being a self starter and you find it hard to not have something to do to keep busy. They eat up stuff like that.

Answer 2

Jada,

This question comes up often on here, yet, very few persons give the best advice on how to answer it. I just voted down 4 persons who told you to state something that is really a strength in roundabout way as a weakness. WRONG! The interviewer will immediately fail you on the question. Simply, you're not answering question. Also, a couple suggested mentioned something "minor" BAD! That tells the interviewer you can't self-evaluate well enough and score you low. What you do is state a weakness or fault that is common, something that MATTERS and how you OVERCOME it! That impresses the interviewer.

This is what is called a "loaded" question. Everyone is coached not to reveal anything bad in an interview. To get around that, the interview then has to pose a question that forces you to do that. Now you have to admit something! If you do anything to side-step the question, you either fail the question or score very low. The real point of the question is to guage how honest the candidate is and what his/her attitude is like. Seriously, everyone has weaknesses or faults. But how many admit to them and work on them? That's the purpose of the question. So you impress the interview that you showing them you can.

Here's how you do it. You state a typical fault, something everyone has or does and it must be something that MATTERS! Saying, "Oh, I should keep a tidier desk" or "I should keep my breaks to exactly 15 mintues" is too trivial and stupid. Those don't really mean anything. Something that matters to a manager and there are lots, for instance, "I have a bad memory for details", "I should be a better listener", "I try too hard to do things my way", "I tend to underestimate the effort required for an assigment", ... Then you give an an example of how it affects your work or a bad experience. Then explain what your learned from it and how you overcome your weakness.

Here's what I say. I'm a high tech engineer and I say, "I routlinely underestimate my assignments" and talk about how at my first job I tried to impress the manager by submitting low estimates. But I would fall behind schedule and thought I'd just work later to make up. But I couldn't. Then a problme came up I didn't expect and it made me fall farther behind. I worked longer hours to try to make up the schedule. But I couldn't. Then something took longer to do than I thought and finally, I missed the deadline. And this kept happening. I started to get into trouble. Finally, a senior engineer taught me a valuable lesson on how to estimate. He explained how we often underestimate effort by 50% to 100%. Also, we fail to account for meetings, interruptions for help and other daily activities. Finally, problems come up that you can't foresee. So what I do is look at the assignment and estimate the time for THAT assignment, then double it to account for all the delays. I was surprised that I often came in just under deadline!

You should see the reactions I get from interviewers. First, high tech is NOTORIOUS for missed deadlines. It's a serious problem! But even though it happens a lot, you still catch crap for it! But when I admit, I get a surprised look from the interviewer. Then I talk about my experiences, they start to smile (because it happened to them!) The smile tells me I'm earning points! Then I talk about what I learned and their head starts nodding. Now I'm earning BIG points! Then I show how I overcome my weakness and they're head is nodding so hard it looks like it's going to come off!! One interviewer exploded, "I have this guy in my group and I'm forever on his case to STOP giving low estimates and he just doens't get it!!! I just massively impressed the manager!!

Now Jada, you can pick any example you want but just make sure it's something common (everyone does it or recognises it), it's something that MATTERS and how you OVERCOME it! Make sure you use the words "I learned" and "I work on" in your explanation. That's what impresses the manager.

-- Liam

Answer 3

Being sincere in a non-obnoxious way works for me.
Most employers are used to the cliche responses such as 'pay too much attention to detail', 'workaholic', 'too hard on myself', etc.
For something genuine, select a particular complex part of your practice, e.g. analysis in an obscure, specific area. However, add that you've found that your abilities have significantly improved from more focus [and prioritization, perhaps]. [Make sure the recruiter is not looking for someone specifically to fill this obscure area!] Do not say you're weak in some personal area of self-development [such as, temper, pressure, tolerance of others.] Keep a serious face when you say it; and, look up with a smile and raise your eyebrows when you mention that you've improved yourself in that area.
Best of Luck!

Answer 4

What kind of job is it? I've never been asked what my weaknesses are during an interview.

Answer 5

I am a perfectionist and therefore tend to send those who are not screaming down a runaway elevator. I also believe that a committee should consist of 3,, 2 of which stay home. I hate phones, and I do not like talking to people. So, what job would you suggest?

Answer 6

Be truthful, but don't say your weak at something. Say something like, "I'm taking this class to improve my typing skills"...it shows you have a weakness (we all do), but it shows you know it, take responsibility for it, and are self motivated enough to correct it.
Just saying you're weak at something, gives your prospective employer an excuse not to hire you, instead of a reason why they should.
If it was your company, whom would you hire?

Answer 7

I frame it in such a way as to highlight a strength. For instance, you I could emphasize that your best work is done individually rather than in a group, instead of bluntly stating that you do not work well with others.

Answer 8

I said I "have a tendancy to dwell on minor details- because I like everything to be perfect". Your being self-depreciating but still answering the question.

Answer 9

public speaking in larger groups because it's usually true and the employer can empathize.

being a perfectionist line is too frequent and rehearsed.

Answer 10

Necrophilia, heroin addiction, Tuberculosis.