You're in a job interview and the interviewer asks, "What are your weaknesses?

I detest standard questions to which every jobseeker with access to Google can answer glibly. I prefer this: What do you love to do? What do you hate to do? How to manage doing the stuff you hate to do well?

This can be a trick question. Also, it can help to ascertain if the candidate has prepared well for such tricky questions. Ready wit and clear understanding of improvement areas of oneself can be assessed by asking this sort of question. Self-awareness is crucial for any candidate.

As a strengths based coach, I really dislike this question. I would answer it with - I prefer to focus on my strengths and rather than use the word weakness, I like to look for opportunities to develop and improve. We can't be good at everything and perhaps something I'm not good at, a colleague might be better at and vice versa. It is so much more energising and productive to play to my strengths than focus on my weaknesses!!!

Asking cliché questions like “what are your weaknesses” lead to canned and insincere responses. It’s much more productive to ask about challenges they’ve faced and where they plan to continue growing in their career.

Using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) during an interview can help you to stay concise when providing an example. Show humility in where you made a mistake and how you overcame it. Sharing mistakes and what the outcome was will enable the interviewer to see you as someone who is coachable and open to feedback.

A common question but easy to overcome. Start with selecting a genuine weakness that is not directly aligned with the essential skills or qualifications required for the job. Weakness isn't a negative. It's an area to improve on and state how you'll do it. Be honest.

View your weaknesses as areas of improvement that are not necessarily directly related to your job. We all have weaknesses and knowing your own is a sign of self awareness, and you can do that by reflecting on past feedback from colleagues or mentors.

Think about the best teams you've been a part of. Why did that team work so well? What skills did a coworker of yours have that you admired and wished you could develop further?

One of the best ways to prepare for this question is to ask others. Ask a peer or supervisor what they see as your biggest area of opportunity. Their view may vary greatly from what you think of yourself, but it allows you more to reflect on; giving you the opportunity to really understand your areas of weakness and begin thinking of ways to improve upon them. Always come prepared to discuss your biggest weakness; but more important, what you are doing to try to improve it.

By asking the weakness question, the interviewer is trying to gain a deeper understanding of you as a person and whether you would make a good addition to the company. Clearly describe your weakness Give a short example of a time your weakness affected your work. Talk about what you’ve done to improve your weakness.

Be honest. Weakness is not a shame or disgrace; it is part of human that makes us a human. Hiring process is not to find the most clever, smart, diligent, etc; but simply to find the most "fit". Lying about our weakness might land us on the job in a company, but will hurt us for the long term sustainability. So be honest with our weakness, and make it less relevant with the role that we are aiming for. For example, a data scientist is good at analyze and detail-oriented, but usually weak in public speaking. And this is understandable because as a data scientist we don't need to do a public speaking too much. Vice versa if we are a master of ceremony, we might weak in anything related with data and analytic because we don't need to do so

Using a real example of manager feedback would be my suggestion. Instead of saying “I’m bad or weak at xyz a I’d recommend saying “an area of opportunity I have is” and give an example of the situation and manager feedback to go along with. Go all in on identifying your “weakness”, by showing your self awareness, an example an interaction with your manager and ways you are working towards improvement. This can seam like a “got you” question but it’s one of the most important questions to answer truthfully and genuinely.

Avoid questions that go against company culture, acting like a perfectionist, or flat-out avoiding the question. Act real. Most people recognize real and they themselves are not perfect either. As mentioned in the prompt, the STAR method is a great example. Most importantly- recognize you have learned and adapted to your learnings to show you are not set in your ways and are coachable.

This is not a favorite question of mine, but when asked, I always spin it in a positive light. For example, one of my weaknesses is I can be too analytical at times - however, you can trust that once I fully understand the problem and what needs to be achieved, I can hit the ground running without any hand holding or much support. Or, I am a perfectionist at times, but know that the work I do is going to be the best work possible. Everyone has weaknesses, but being able to acknowledge and overcome is what the hiring manager is looking for.

The key to answering this question is approach it in a way that demonstrates self awareness, growth and a proactive attitude. 1. Acknowledge the weakness - be honest and humble (make sure not to pick something related to the role). 2. Show self awareness - how did you become aware of the weakness (did you seek out feedback, did you reflect on your own performance). 3. Actions and progress - what are you doing to address the weakness (mentorship/projects to develop the skill) and provide concrete examples of progress. 4. Emphasise commitment to improvement - i.e. always seeking feedback, view your weakness as an opportunity for growth. Be confident in your answer. No one is perfect. Be humble and show growth

Provide further examples of how you continued to improve. Show how you set up reminders to continue to sharpen the skills. Draw those to the job demands and company you are interviewing with as strengths. Don't linger on the weakness pivot to the strengths.

If asked for more details, provide a specific example of how you've addressed this weakness in a professional setting. Show the outcome and what you learned from the experience.

Following up on the "weaknesses" question in a job interview involves reinforcing your commitment to improvement and aligning it with the company's values. After discussing your weakness and the steps taken to address it, express your enthusiasm for applying those lessons in the specific role. Mention how you've successfully navigated challenges in the past and link your weaknesses to qualities that make you a stronger candidate. This strategic follow-up underscores your dedication to continuous growth and leaves a lasting positive impression on the interviewer.

If you discussed a specific weakness during the interview, follow up with the interviewer to provide an update on how you are addressing that weakness. Mention any steps you have taken or progress you have made since the interview.

When asked about weaknesses in a job interview, I believe in transparency and growth. Rather than clichés like being a perfectionist, I focus on genuine areas for improvement and my proactive steps to address them. For instance, I used to struggle with public speaking, but got involved in Toastmasters. This shows my self-awareness and dedication to self-improvement, traits that benefit any role. I aim to provide specific examples of my efforts. It's about showcasing not just awareness of weaknesses, but the drive and actions taken to overcome them.

Yeah totally avoid the softball examples or saying I can't really think of anything. It's a simple way to show you can be self-aware and understand you are giving an impression of your weaknesses along with your strengths to a potential employer. Don't linger on them that is THE key.

While explaining, please avoid neglecting the weaknesses and trying to be the perfectionist. Nobody is perfect, Everybody has their own flaws. Don’t express your failure due to your weaknesses instead explain what makes you overcome your weakness.

Overall, when answering the question about weaknesses, it's important to be honest, self-aware, and strategic. Focus on providing a genuine weakness that is relevant to the job, demonstrate how you have worked on it, and emphasize your ability to learn and grow from challenges. Interviewers can usually tell when a candidate is being disingenuous, which can harm your credibility. The last thing anyone wants to hear is the "I'm too much of a perfectionist" response - Avoid simply stating a weakness without providing context or examples. Instead, offer specific examples of how you have addressed or mitigated your weaknesses in the past, demonstrating your ability to learn and grow.

When responding to the "weaknesses" question in a job interview, it's important to avoid certain pitfalls. First, steer clear of clichés or insincere answers that may come off as disingenuous. Refrain from selecting weaknesses directly related to crucial job requirements. Avoid oversharing personal details or providing weaknesses that could raise concerns about your ability to perform in the role. Instead, focus on a genuine but non-essential weakness, and refrain from sounding overly rehearsed. Striking a balance between transparency and professionalism is key to delivering a compelling and authentic response to this question.

Frame your weaknesses positively: 1. Focus on self-awareness; 2. Be genuine and humble; 3. Provide examples of successful outcomes; Craft your weaknesses as opportunities for growth rather than limitations, and remember that interviewing well is mastering the art of self-marketing.

A sandwich approach- start with the weaknesses, talk about your strategy to work on or compensate these weaknesses and try to align a strength that could be complementary to your weakness.

Describe your weakness as one you're working to improve. Most important, make it clear that the person you're talking with can absolutely count on you to deliver what the organization needs. Authenticity isn't just about being yourself, It's also about having empathy for others. Keep that in mind, and you just might be able to answer "What is your greatest weakness?" in a way that's both true to yourself and will get you what you want.

When a recruiter asks you this question, you can link the answer with your role. For say: you’re working in the domain of HR, when faced with a question like this, you can say: I find it difficult saying “NO” to people, this would portray your helping nature and not have any negative impact on the role you’re being interviewed for and can prove to be advantageous.

In my view, it is important to also share the perspective of the weakness or weaknesses that you are sharing: how did you realize that you have this weakness, when did you realize it, and what you have been doing upto now for overcoming it. You may not have the complete solution to overcome it but atleast the other side will know about your efforts to overcome it.

This question gets a lot of criticism for why it's asked, but it's common and worth learning to answer well. Mainly it's a question about self awareness. A simple way to answer is to make it an area you are developing in professionally. Show why it's an area of development, how you are learning and how you have improved.

This is one of the most standard interview questions so you need to prepare a good response to it. Things to note: 1. Try to be as truthful as possible. If you fabricate something, you need more lies to cover that up. 2. The weaknesses should not be areas that would adversely affect you from doing a good job in the role you are interviewing for. Else you should question yourself if this is really a suitable role for you. 3. Acknowledging weaknesses is one thing, interviewers want to know what concrete actions are you taking to address the weaknesses. 4. Turn this question around and make use of the opportunity to showcase your positive traits instead: strong self awareness, humility, overcoming weaknesses by taking charge etc.

I do find this question a bit bizarre specially since it hardly ever effects the hiring decision...you hire based on experience , strengths , skills and a personal brand