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What is your Weakness
So I finally have another job interview- It's on Monday. I have been preparing by making my interview cheat sheet so I can rehearse my answers to the common interview questions. I have also done my research on the company and checked out their website so I know all about it and will sound educated in my responses.
There is one interview question that I really don't have a good answer for. The "What is your greatest weakness" question. I know you want to turn the weakness into a positive, and after doing some internet searching I found that you should go through the job description and find something in there that may be your weakness and then turn it into how you have been trying to improve in that area. But honestly, I can do everything in the job description just fine. I really don't want to lie and say that I had problems multitasking but have now mastered multiple things going on at once when I actually have no problem at all with this.
Any suggestions on how I can figure out what my weakness is and how to turn it into a positive and get this job?
Re: What is your Weakness
My go-to answer is usually that I'm a perfectionist - it's a pro/con, a lot of bosses love that in an employee but it can definitely be a downfall if you focus too much on one task.
Not the best answer admittedly though - I'm sure they hear it all the time.
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My MIL suggested to me to always say my weakness is bad spelling. It's sort of laughable, and can be easily fixed (thank goodness for spell-check). She said having a weakness that can be dealt with is better than saying "I am TOO *insert typical response here*" (such as too responsible, too intuitive, too detail-oriented, etc).
HTH and GL
this is exactly what I've always said but I like the bad speller idea.
When I was in college, I worked for the university and every employee was required to take a test called "strengthsquest." They have a book for sale that you can find at Target, as well as most bookstores and online. I highly recommend it to everyone,rather you are looking for a job, a major, interview material, or just a better understanding of how you operate. Growing up, I took all kinds of "personality" tests, this is the most accurate by far. After taking the test, it tells you your top 5 strengths (there are over 30, and every person possess all of them) and then goes into an analysis of each strength. I use this in interviews as my positives. Most interviewers ask for 3 strengths, so I pick the 3 most applicable to the job and explain them. Then I use my other 2 as weaknesses. Every strength has it's own weakness.
I am not saying go out and buy this book and use that (although I do reccommend the book, it's awesome), but maybe you can find a way to use a strength also as a weakness. I know a pp mentioned being a perfectionist. Be more specific. In my last interview, for example, I said I was very self-confident, but it can sometimes hinder my learning because I don't question myself often and sometimes hesitate to ask for help because I don't want to appear incapable. I have also used the fact that I am pretty adaptable and can handle changes in plans suddenly because it makes it difficult for me to work with people who follow very rigid guidelines. Hope this helps, GL!
Thanks for the responses! I actually used the weakness of delegating duties to others at my last interview (never heard back from them though) so I was trying to change things up a bit to have a better chance of getting this position. I may just use this one again but say something like "but my current position has changed this because we've got so much that must get done and I can't do it all on my own."
If I am overqualified for this position, it's only because I have a Bachelors Degree and this position doesn't seem to require any degree. (I would hope that having a degree always helps though) This job pays significantly more than my current one and is about a 2 minute drive from where I live so I will gladly take it if they offer it.
I may check out that strengthsquest book for future reference. I won't have time for this interview since it is tomorrow morning but thanks for the tip.
The whole "weakness that is really a positive" thing is bogus, and any interviewer with half a brain can see through that bullcrap answer.
The point of that question is to see how self aware you are - are you the type of person capable of introspection and self-evaluation, or do you require someone els to point out things that you can improve on? And if you are able to evaluate yourself, are you also able to plan your own self-improvement, or again do you require someone else to tell you what you need to do to do better?
Certainly there's something professionally that you acknowledge that you could improve on, and hopefully you've already started doing something to improve on it. The only "wrong" answers to this question are the canned "perfectionist" answers, or not having examples of what you've done to overcome a weakness. So if multitasking can be hard for you, admit it - along with strategies that you use to enable you to multitask better.
My point wasn't to turn a weakness into a positive, I was just saying that every positive comes with it's own set of weakness. If you know what you are good at, then you should also be able to see what you are not so great at. Maybe you suck at multi-tasking because you are very detail oriented and get consumed with the project at hand. That can be a positive if you are working in a job that needs you to stay focused on one task for lengths at a time. SO, if you know, I am good at xyz, than the opposite of xyz is an example of what you are not great at. Knowing your strengths means also having a grasp on your weaknesses. If asked, my answer wouldn't be "well I am not great at multi-tasking because I am so wonderful at being detailed oriented and following a project from start to finish." BUT, I might say "I tend to get consumed with the project at hand and so I do struggle with multi-tasking, which is why I try to start my shift by making a list/timeline of the things that need to get done..."
If you are honest about it, then there is no "bull crap" to see through. At least in my personal experience, and, thus far, I have never interviewed for a job that I didn't get. I give credit to knowing my strengths and weaknesses and being able to verbalize them well in an interview.
Ok, so this is a good way to answer the question. You're being honest, you're not trying to sugar-coat or tell them what you think they want to hear. And you're also giving an example of what you do to overcome it.
As someone who interviews others, hearing "I am too detail oriented" as a weakness IS a bullcrap answer. Just like "I'm a perfectionist", "I don't take enough time off", and "I take my job too seriously". Sure, you have a point......every strength comes with a weakness - so skip the bs and give the weakness without trying to dress it up pretty. Because again, that's not the point of the question. I'm not looking for an impressive weakness. I don't even like to ask this question this bluntly anymore, because so many people don't get it.