How do you answer that classic question in a job interview: "What are your weaknesses?"?

Question

I'm actually filling out an employment application and the question asks: "What are your weaknesses and what are you doing to improve them?"

This is a very, very tricky question and I'm just not sure how to answer it. Hiring managers love to use this question to trap you into giving out information that you wouldn't normally discuss.

Any advice? Thanks...

Answer 1

The one I use is:

"I tend to be impatient with incompetence or people who do not have fast learning curves." Each time I've used that response the interviewer moved on to the next question. That's a lot better than hanging yourself.

Just try not to mention anything that has to do with lack of work ethic or timeliness.

Answer 2

I would say, Your trying to work harder, or you want to be more efficient in your life, a weakness could be...wow this is a tricky question, well for me my weakness is that I am too giving of a person and I'm trying to balance everything out, pick something that is a good thing that could be taken as a weakness, like your too dedicated or too willing to help others, and then put a positive spin on it.  Hope this helps.  Good luck with the job!!

Answer 3

I've read a lot of resources that seem to indicate that there are some ways to finesse a suitable response for this kind of question. Normally, you would try and think of something that you are "working" on and can demonstrate that it won't interfere with whatever type of job you are applying for.

It helps to think back of a specific example where you were aware of your "opportunity" and took proactive steps to improve on it- Always try and think of something in the past, especially if it's a skill related to the job for which you are applying-

Answer 4

This is like the question - Have you stopped beating your wife? No matter how it is answered you are in trouble.

Realistically they are more interested in how you answer than the answer itself.

You could answer something like this:

"At another job I formerly had I saw some people who were really lazy and it made me angry to see that when I was working so hard."

Or

"I was at a job where one of my coworkers was a relative of an upper level manager and they were treated differently than other workers. I guess that life is not always fair but it made me sad and angry that this was going on."

Or

"You know I used to accept correction poorly but then I finally discovered that it was not about me but about my actions. And those actions can be changed. Since that time I've determined that I need to work on my strengths and my weaknesses and take correction for what it is - helping me to improve."

Or

"You know I hate to end up answering that question because you are asking me to compete against myself. Here is all I can say: I am trying to grow in a number of areas in my life and career. I think is we stay stagnant and don't try to improve we are wasting the life God has given us."        

  



  

Answer 5

Ask a good friend or family member what they think your weaknesses are.

Ben Marvazi

Answer 6

The big bad wolf that love little red riding hood like you and me too..

Why need the job badly.

Will do anything for cash.

To feed the little wolves back in the cave.

Luke 8.10,17

What do you think?

Answer 7

Honestly.  That's how you answer it.

The employee is trying to avoid two things here:

1)  An employee that sees himself as having no flaws.

2)  An employee who sees himself as having no clue how to help with those flaws.

Example:

When I get a lot of work, I sometimes get frustrated and agitated.  (There, you point out your flaw then you begin to discuss how you will change it) This is when I realize I need to reorganize my work.  I take 2-3 minutes and write down everything I have to do and an approximate time frame it will take to get it done.  This gives me a visual representation of what needs to be done.  It will also let me know if there are red flags in terms of what deadlines I need to meet that are better discussed earlier than later.  If it looks like I will run into a problem, I try to notify my supervisor as soon as I can so he or she is at least aware of the problem before it becomes a last minute surprise.  With the information organized, I can begin to prioritize my tasks and can begin working on it one piece at a time.

Pick a problem that everyone has at times, like feeling overworked, so they can relate to it.  Then mark out exactly how you overcome that problem.