Killer interview question "what are your weaknesses?"

Amanda

Hi

In interviews, the interviewer ALWAYS asks these two questions.

1, "What are your strengths?"

and

2, "What are your weaknesses?"

Well, the first is easy as you can list experience and qualifications, competency and knowledge.

However, the second one is a killer question. What do you say?

The point of attending the interview is to tell the potential employer why you would be good for the job, rather than why you shouldn't be offered it!

It could be said that the only answer to that question would be to say that you won't answer that because you are not there to be negative!

Does anybody have any idea how to answer the second question as I will be doing just that later in the week!

Regards

Amanda

SomeBozo

2, "What are your weaknesses?"

The cliche ones are easy :

I am a perfectionist
I can't say no.

But they are very cliche!

Whatever you say here, you have to turn it around to a positive.

For example :

One of my weaknesses is that I sometimes have so much to do, I don't know where to start. So I attended a time management course and this helped me to write down all the tasks I have to do and prioritise each one.

The best I heard was for a admin job which was :

My weakness is spelling. Fortunatly we all use WORD now and it has a great spell check function and OUTLOOK does to.

Could not argue with that!

Bozo

lemontart

oh dear - my weakness is questions like those I see red as it illustrates either lazyness on the part of the person interviewing and lets face it we all have weaknessness be it the inability to function with out at least two coffees in the morning or a weakness in resisting that last biccy though sure it is not what they mean

tuggy12

SomeBozo wrote: »

Fortunatly we all use WORD now and it has a great spell check function and OUTLOOK does to.

Bozo

:rotfl: Perhaps you should have used a spell and grammar checker on your own post too.:rotfl:

Poppy9

Interviews:p

SomeBozo

tuggy12 wrote: »

:rotfl: Perhaps you should have used a spell and grammar checker on your own post too.:rotfl:

f it woz a jb intvuw or app form i wud hve chcked it.

Bozo

[Deleted User]

Offer them something you actually find a weak point, but also give examples of how you try to find ways of compensating for / reducing this weakness.

SandC

I've always wondered about the cliche response of 'I'm a perfectionist' as if someone IS a perfectionist they would not see that as a weakness but as a strength - what with them being a perfectionist and all.

I think the last time I was asked that I said I was a bit untidy. I dunno where I got that from, not the greatest answer in the world. Got the job anyway though.

It does in my opinion show laziness on behalf of the interviewer. Last one I had the question wasn't asked.

Sazzyukrafc

I usually say that I'm a bit of a talker

Liz_the_Whizz

I do lots of interviewing and, though it is the one question everyone knows they need to prepare for, I still find the answers quite revealing.

The best advice is to choose characteristics which are true rather than making something up. Experienced interviewers can of course spot the cliches a mile off, as they have heard them all before and people flounder or become evasive when the interviewer starts probing for examples.

I don't think it is a lazy interview question - it is important to have candidates who are self-aware and have really thought about their real strengths and weaknesses not just in general terms but in relation to the job they are applying for.

And as jobs get scarcer, it's more important than ever to actively develop interview skills which can set you apart from the ever growing crowd of applicants.

brightonman123

my weakness is jelly beans, especialy red ones. dont judge me.