Interview question - what are your weaknesses?

[RaistlinZ]

I have interviews tomorrow and Wednesday and I'm trying to prepare myself for some common questions that are bound to be asked. What's the best way to answer what your weaknesses are without sounding cliche or risk sounding like it would be a liability for my new job? TIA

 

[LS21]

list technical weaknesses that are not 100% relevant to daily job... say youre open to learning..etc

 

[olds]

Expensive whiskey and cheap women.

 

[Jeeebus]

"I take rejection... poorly." --> said in a raspy voice while fiddling with a pocket knife.

 

[Deeko]

Something that you can twist into a positive.

 

[Drako]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Something that you can twist into a positive.

Exactly. Of course some interviewers will call you on this and ask for another weakness, just be ready with a couple .

 

[thepd7]

It completely depends. When I was interviewing people if they didn't actually give me something I nixed them right off the bat. "Self-Awareness" is the term. I am not interested in working with people who are going to try and bullshit their way through their job so if they display that in an interview they are out.

In all likelyhood you will have a chance to explain what you said and what you have done to try and correct that weakness. And if they don't give you a chance I would start mentioning it anyways.

 

[tfinch2]

I repost interview topics.

 

[Deeko]

The one I generally use is an actual weakness, it is true (not BS), and you can also draw positives from it. I become discouraged when I'm not kept busy. What this translates to, is the less work you give me, the less I want to do the work I'm assigned. The positive is that it shows I am a hard worker who wants to be productive, and my way of countering it is to be proactive and try to find additional work to do.

 

[trmiv]

Just say "Interviewing" and leave it at that.

 

[Feldenak]

How are my weaknesses going to help you? I know what mine are and what I do to try and keep them under control & reduce them...that won't help you at all though.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Something that you can twist into a positive.

I usually say that sometimes I have a hard time delegating out work to others when I need to because I want to make sure the job is done correctly so I usually do it myself!

 

[mugs]

I think the best response would be to punch the interviewer in the face for asking such a terrible question. But since you probably actually want the job, I would respond with a REAL weakness along with what you do to overcome that weakness.

Something you can twist into a positive - come on, do you really think your interviewers are that stupid? If I were interviewing you and asked that question (which I wouldn't), it's unlikely that I'd hire you after you lied to me.

 

[dlock13]

Originally posted by: Deeko
The one I generally use is an actual weakness, it is true (not BS), and you can also draw positives from it. I become discouraged when I'm not kept busy. What this translates to, is the less work you give me, the less I want to do the work I'm assigned. The positive is that it shows I am a hard worker who wants to be productive, and my way of countering it is to be proactive and try to find additional work to do.

That is actually really good.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Thanks guys. I think I'll use a twist on Deeko's answer and say that I get discouraged when I'm not used to be best of my abilities.

 

[SunnyD]

Mine is that I'm a perfectionist.

Negative to perfectionism: I'm constantly going back and reviewing what I've done trying to make it better. This can distract me occasionally.

Positive to perfectionism: I'm constantly striving to make something as good as I possibly can, and if I come up with an idea to make something better 6 months later, I will find the time to do so.

Always take something that you can twist into a positive thing.

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang

Originally posted by: Deeko
Something that you can twist into a positive.

I usually say that sometimes I have a hard time delegating out work to others when I need to because I want to make sure the job is done correctly so I usually do it myself!

I've used that a few times. I'm thinking most interviewers have heard it a few dozen times.

 

[jjones]

No patience for idiots who waste my time with stupid questions. Are we done?

 

[w3stfa11]

How about being truthful and naming a weakness? Will that work?

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: w3stfa11
How about being truthful and naming a weakness? Will that work?

A weakness can be a legitimate weakness, from which you can still draw a positve. In general, interviewing is stupid, because it only tells the employer if you know how to answer questions they way they want to hear them answered.

I think its a bad question in general. Do they really expect someone to come in and say "oh yea, well, I lie about being sick when I'm not" or "I spend too much time browsing ATOT". Obviously not, they want to see if you can answer the question, which is really a testament to your interviewing skills, not your skills as a potential employee.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: Deeko
The one I generally use is an actual weakness, it is true (not BS), and you can also draw positives from it. I become discouraged when I'm not kept busy. What this translates to, is the less work you give me, the less I want to do the work I'm assigned. The positive is that it shows I am a hard worker who wants to be productive, and my way of countering it is to be proactive and try to find additional work to do.

Not your NFL predictions?

 

[Imdmn04]

Don't use the "weakness turn into a strength" line.

Everybody knows thats a bullshit answer.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: Deeko
The one I generally use is an actual weakness, it is true (not BS), and you can also draw positives from it. I become discouraged when I'm not kept busy. What this translates to, is the less work you give me, the less I want to do the work I'm assigned. The positive is that it shows I am a hard worker who wants to be productive, and my way of countering it is to be proactive and try to find additional work to do.

Not your NFL predictions?

Ooooooh, there's the burn.

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: w3stfa11
How about being truthful and naming a weakness? Will that work?

A weakness can be a legitimate weakness, from which you can still draw a positve. In general, interviewing is stupid, because it only tells the employer if you know how to answer questions they way they want to hear them answered.

I think its a bad question in general. Do they really expect someone to come in and say "oh yea, well, I lie about being sick when I'm not" or "I spend too much time browsing ATOT". Obviously not, they want to see if you can answer the question, which is really a testament to your interviewing skills, not your skills as a potential employee.

I agree that it's a bad question. Look for any any thread about this question, I'll be in there posting about what a stupid question it is. I don't think I've ever been asked it in an interview, which is good. But if they ask you what your BIGGEST weakness is, which is often how I've heard it phrased, then I don't think you can give a weakness that could be turned into a positive, because EVERYONE has some weakness that can't be spun in their favor.

What kind of answer the interviewer expects really depends on the interviewer. If I were interviewing you, I would not want to hear you lie to me and tell me your biggest weakness is something you can spin as a positive. I would like to think most interviewers can see through that BS, but perhaps I'm giving HR people too much credit.

If I were interviewing you, and I asked you that question (which I wouldn't), I'd want to hear a REAL weakness and I'd like to know how you deal with it. That gives me more useful information about you than a BS weakness-that-isn't-a-weakness.

My point is, I don't know that your assumption that they're testing your interviewing skills is correct. That's not useful information to them. An honest answer to the question gives them useful information. I guess a dishonest weakness-that-isn't-a-weakness answer gives them useful information too, but it's negative information - it tells them that you're dishonest and that your performance in the interview is more an indication of how well prepared you were for the interview, not your skills as an employee.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: Deeko
The one I generally use is an actual weakness, it is true (not BS), and you can also draw positives from it. I become discouraged when I'm not kept busy. What this translates to, is the less work you give me, the less I want to do the work I'm assigned. The positive is that it shows I am a hard worker who wants to be productive, and my way of countering it is to be proactive and try to find additional work to do.

Not your NFL predictions?

cry me a river HeroOfPellinor, cry me a river.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: mugs
I agree that it's a bad question. Look for any any thread about this question, I'll be in there posting about what a stupid question it is. I don't think I've ever been asked it in an interview, which is good. But if they ask you what your BIGGEST weakness is, which is often how I've heard it phrased, then I don't think you can give a weakness that could be turned into a positive, because EVERYONE has some weakness that can't be spun in their favor.

What kind of answer the interviewer expects really depends on the interviewer. If I were interviewing you, I would not want to hear you lie to me and tell me your biggest weakness is something you can spin as a positive. I would like to think most interviewers can see through that BS, but perhaps I'm giving HR people too much credit.

If I were interviewing you, and I asked you that question (which I wouldn't), I'd want to hear a REAL weakness and I'd like to know how you deal with it. That gives me more useful information about you than a BS weakness-that-isn't-a-weakness.

My point is, I don't know that your assumption that they're testing your interviewing skills is correct. That's not useful information to them. An honest answer to the question gives them useful information. I guess a dishonest weakness-that-isn't-a-weakness answer gives them useful information too, but it's negative information - it tells them that you're dishonest and that your performance in the interview is more an indication of how well prepared you were for the interview, not your skills as an employee.

What I'm saying is that you can spin a REAL weakness positively, by the way you deal with it. For example, the weakness I listed above - it IS legitimate. If you go 2 weeks without giving me any work, and then you give me an assignment, I'm not going to want to do it, and I'll probably still spend half my time mindlessly on the internet. Thus, my way of resolving it is to keep myself busy, and try to actively seek work when I don't have it. Which is a good thing, and it comes from a real weakness, hence why I don't consider that answer to be BS'ing the interviewer.

What I'm saying about the question "testing your interview skills" - that's not their INTENTION, but its the way it ends up. When 99% of the population being interviewed will give you a BS answer to that question, what is it going to tell you other than which people know "how" to answer? I've been on both ends of a lot of interviews despite my age, and I've seen the way interviewers react to people...and that's the way it usually ends up. Hence why I think its a stupid, useless question to ask in the first place.