What exactly is the right way to answer “what is your greatest weakness?” Show
For such a popular interview question, the answer was never really clear! Are you supposed to deny that you have one? Or go all confession time on recruiters and share your most genuine weakness? The answer is neither. What you do is turn the situation to your advantage by framing your weaknesses positively. And no - we don’t mean saying “I’m a perfectionist” or some similar nonsense. So, wanna know how not to miss a beat when recruiters ask you “what is your greatest weakness?” This article will show you just that!
Why Do Interviewers Ask “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”The first step to answering “what is your greatest weakness” correctly is to understand why recruiters ask the question in the first place. When recruiters ask you to identify your greatest weaknesses, they are looking for the following three things:
When you know just what the recruiters are expecting from you, the interview question doesn’t seem as hard, does it? Now, let’s move on to the next important step: How to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”Let’s first state the obvious. No matter what, your answer should never be “Weakness? I don’t have a weakness.” Everybody has weaknesses. Denying yours only shows you’re not self-aware, which is, as we mentioned before, a red flag for recruiters. Instead, you should frame your weaknesses positively. And no, that’s not the same as disguising a strength as a weakness (“I’m just TOO detail-oriented”). What we mean by “frame your weaknesses positively” is the following:
Here’s a concrete example. Say you’re applying for a job as a copy editor. This is part of the job description: Source: glassdoor.com For starters, you wouldn’t want to answer “what’s your greatest weakness?” with any of the following: effective communication, accuracy, attention to detail, or teamwork. All these skills are essential to the job and mentioning them as weaknesses would do more harm than good. Rather, you want to identify a real weakness that you have, discuss it genuinely, and highlight how you are addressing it (or planning to). Here’s how you can do that: My greatest weakness is time management. I have always been very detail-oriented, so it sometimes takes me longer to finish a project than I initially think it will. This is why I started using time-tracking software in my last job. It made me more conscious of the time a task takes me and helped me never miss a deadline again. This is a good answer because:
Moreover, this answer effectively mentions a strength that is essential to the job: being detail-oriented. If you can also fit one organically into your answer, that’s a huge plus. 5+ “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” Answer Samples#1. Lack of experienceThis one’s usually a very good answer if you’re a recent university graduate or if you’re switching careers. For example, let’s say you’re a recent college graduate applying for a job as a graphic designer. You can say that you lack experience with a certain software because you’ve practiced on a different one. In such a case, if you’re asked “what is your greatest weakness?” you can answer like this:
Or, like this:
#2. TeamworkTeamwork (or lack thereof) is a completely valid weakness, especially if your job doesn’t involve working with many people. Just make sure not to mix up teamwork skills with effective communication skills, even though the two are connected. See, there are hardly any jobs out there that don’t require communication skills, so straight-on mentioning communication as your weakness might not be the best idea. Teamwork, on the other hand, involves close collaboration with a team to achieve a common goal, which is not necessarily required in every field. Here’s how you can tell the recruiter about this weakness:
#3. ProcrastinationYou’d be surprised how many people struggle with procrastination. It’s a (bad) habit that’s been around for so long, there’s even a Goodreads quote page dedicated to it. As a weakness, procrastination can be a two-edged sword. If you don’t frame it properly, recruiters might assume you’re likely to miss deadlines or submit low-quality work. The key here is to mention exactly how you’ve improved or are planning to improve this weakness. Here’s how to frame your answer:
#4. ImpatienceStruggling to remain patient is one of those weaknesses that is almost justifiable to have. Think about it. It’s almost impossible not to lose your patience at some point or another when you’re working. It might happen because of a difficult task you can’t complete, or a colleague missing a deadline. The point is how you react to your impatience and whether you let it impact your relations with your coworkers or customers. So, unless you’re working a job where it’s essential to be patient (such as being a teacher), you can use impatience as a weakness as long as you frame it positively. Here’s how to do that:
#5. Self-criticismMany people grapple with self-criticism. At one point or another, we feel like we could have done more, or that we didn’t give our all towards a certain task. For this reason, self-criticism is a weakness that you can use in most situations when recruiters ask you what your greatest weakness is. Here’s how you’d go about it:
#6. MultitaskingMultitasking might not be as great as you think. Yes, our increasingly busy lifestyles can sometimes trick us into thinking multitasking is amazing, but recent studies show multitasking can seriously harm work performance. Multitasking makes you more likely to make mistakes at work, be less efficient with your tasks, and overall really hurts your productivity. Hence, you can easily use multitasking as an answer to “what is your greatest weakness?” Here’s how you’d reply to the interviewers:
Skills You Can Mention as Weaknesses in An InterviewBy now, you should understand that it’s not really about the weakness, but about the way you present the weakness and the steps you’re taking to improve on it. If you are truthful and proactive about your weakness, it shows that you’re the type of person who shows drive and initiative - both must-have skills for a lot of employers. Having said this, you can take a look at the list below of soft skills that you can mention as weaknesses to get you thinking on what your weakness is:
As we mentioned before, you can mention any of these weaknesses as long as they’re not directly related to the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a position as a TV reporter, your weakness shouldn’t be public speaking, shyness, or teamwork - lacking these skills will negatively impact your ability to do the job (and will lead to you not getting hired). Instead, you could say the following:
Tips to Identify (and Address) Your WeaknessNow, in case we didn’t stress this enough, it’s important to be as genuine as possible when recruiters ask “what is your greatest weakness?” This means that your weakness should be authentic, not just a skill that you picked out of a list because you think it’s harmless to the position you’re applying to. The more authentic the weakness you mention (and the steps you’re taking to address it), the easier you’ll come across as a self-aware and self-improving candidate. In this section, we’ll teach you just how you can do this. Identifying Your WeaknessStruggling to pinpoint your weak points? Ask yourself the following:
The answers that come up more frequently will be your main weaknesses. Addressing Your WeaknessesNow, identifying your weaknesses doesn’t mean much unless you go the extra mile and improve on them. And sure, you can take a shortcut and say you’re doing something to address your weaknesses just for the sake of replying to the interview question correctly, but sooner or later that could harm your work performance. That’s why, instead of just mentioning it during the job interview, we advise you to try out one of the following ways to address your weakness:
Key TakeawaysWell, that was a lot to take in! Hopefully, now you’re more than prepared to answer “what is your greatest weakness?” Just in case, let’s go over some of the main points we covered in the article:
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What is your weakness best answer?Answer “what is your greatest weakness” by choosing a skill that is not essential to the job you're applying to and by stressing exactly how you're practically addressing your weakness. Some skills that you can use as weaknesses include impatience, multitasking, self-criticism, and procrastination.
What are your top 5 Weaknesses?List of Example Weaknesses:. Too self-critical.. Too critical of other people's work.. Difficulty delegating tasks.. Disorganized.. Too detail-oriented.. Need more experience in X.. Impatient with others.. Unfamiliar with X.. What are 3 examples of weaknesses?Examples of Weaknesses.. Self-criticism.. Shyness.. Lack of knowledge of particular software.. Public speaking.. Taking criticism.. Lack of experience.. Inability to delegate.. Lack of confidence.. What are two good weaknesses for a job interview?Sample responses to “What are your weaknesses?”. Self-criticism. I can be quite critical of myself, which can lead to negative self-talk and eventual burnout. ... . Fear of public speaking. I am a naturally shy person. ... . Procrastination. ... . Issues with delegating tasks. ... . Lack of experience with skill or software.. |