What is your greatest weakness? is a common question in a job interview. It can be a difficult question to answer, but with the right preparation, it will give a winning answer.
Before you learn how to answer the question, let’s look at the reasons why the question is asked during a job interview, so you better understand what the interviewer wants to know.
The question about your weakness is to find out a few things about yourself. Are you self-aware and do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? This is important because people who know themselves are often people who can learn and grow both personally and at work.
The question is also asked to find out if you are honest with yourself with others. A good team member can recognize their weaknesses and admit them to others. Nobody wants to work with a person who thinks they walk on water and is never willing to admit that they are wrong.
The answer to the question of your greatest weakness simply reveals in which areas you are not strong. A smart boss will hire people who have different skills, so that the team is complete. Imagine a team where every employee is strong at finding sales opportunities, but no one can sell to those opportunities. Such a team would not be successful and the company would fail!
How do you answer the question of your weakness in a job interview? First of all, you need to know what your strengths are. Start with the positive and really know what you do well. Now think about what is not easy for you, what is difficult for you to achieve. Those are areas where you are weak.
If you’re still unsure of your strengths and weaknesses, think about what your former bosses or teachers have said about you. Think about the praise and criticism you have heard in the past. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Your strengths might be that you are a good listener, someone who motivates others, or complete projects on time. Weaknesses can be that you overanalyze everything, procrastinate, or are stubborn.
Now that you have both lists, look for what on your list of weaknesses could be perceived as a strength, depending on the situation. The opposite poles or yin and yang exist in everything in life. What I perceive as good, someone else perceives as bad. That means you can take your weakness and show it as a strength in the right situation.
Let me show you what I mean. You may have heard all your life that you overanalyze things and ask too many questions. When you go to a job interview and are asked, “What are your weaknesses?” you might reply, “I overanalyze things.” That answer won’t help you get the job. A positive and winning response is: “I’ve been told that sometimes I over analyze things and may ask a lot of questions. I know that can upset some people. I have the ability to see holes in plans that other people might not see.” . watch. That’s when I ask a lot of questions.” Do you see how what some people would find annoying, is actually a real asset to a company? The key is to give a full explanation of what you’ve been told is a weakness.
Here’s another way to handle the issue of your weakness. Learn what the job duties are and what they aren’t by getting a full job description before the interview. You can get this information from the job posting. If you are working with a recruiter, they will have the job description. You can answer that his weakness is something you know is not a requirement of the job. For example, Joe did telemarketing one summer in college, is now applying for a computer analyst job, and knows that he will never have to handle a sales call. When asked about his weaknesses, he may say, “I’m not a good salesperson. I did telemarketing when I was in college and I didn’t like it.”
The interviewer may accept that answer and move on to the next question, or they may want to know about a weakness in Joe’s current career as a computer analyst. If she wants another example, then Joe can provide a weakness that is a strength in the position he is interviewing for. You can say, “I know I can be very stubborn. I’m usually stubborn when I want to make sure the system is working fine and we haven’t missed any technical issues. Others want to get it up and running, when I stand firm to check.” when I’m still not convinced that the program is infallible. Joe’s stubborn side can keep the company out of big trouble if he starts up too soon. That’s a positive quality that will help Joe get the job.
Another way to answer the weakness question is to think of something you weren’t good at, but took the time to learn. Maybe you weren’t very good at doing Excel spreadsheets, so you took a course or someone taught you how to do the basics. You might reply, “I’m not an Excel expert, so I decided to get some help and learn. Now I can make a spreadsheet with basic functions. I plan to continue my skills and signed up for an online Excel course.” .” This shows the interviewer that you recognized your weaknesses and took the initiative to learn and improve your skills. It’s important to be honest with your answers. You don’t want to say you took a course or signed up when you didn’t. Lies have a form. to catch up and bite you later.
In short, when asked about your weaknesses, give an honest answer.
- You can name something that has nothing to do with the responsibilities and requirements of the job.
- You may give an answer that others perceive as your weakness, but is actually a strength in the job for which you are being interviewed.
- You can talk about something you weren’t strong at, but then you took the time and started to learn and improve.
This is just one question that you will be asked during the job interview. Remember to be positive with all of your answers and be sure to tell the interviewer about your strengths and abilities.