You can ace your next interview by walking into it prepared to answer the dreaded “what is your biggest weakness?” question

When it comes to job interviews, the question "what is your biggest weakness?" can leave even the most prepared candidates feeling stumped. But fear not! In this article, you'll find expert guidance on how to handle the question about weaknesses for the job interview head-on. You'll learn tips and techniques for crafting thoughtful and strategic responses that showcase your self-awareness, professionalism, and potential for growth – all while optimizing your chances of impressing your interviewer.

The key is to be honest and genuine, while allowing yourself to show vulnerability and learning in a positive light and with a proactive approach towards self-improvement.

Why do interviewers want to know your weaknesses?

On the surface, it seems counterproductive to finding a good candidate for a new position by digging into someone's weaknesses. However, interviewers ask because they're trying to ascertain whether you have any level of self-awareness, can reflect upon your own performance, and are willing to change things that need improvement. 

Self-awareness

Interviewers are interested in understanding how well you know yourself and your own limitations. Acknowledging and discussing weaknesses in a job interview demonstrates a level of self-awareness, which is considered an important quality in a professional setting. 

On top of that, many organizations value humility and honesty in their employees. Discussing weaknesses can provide insight into your personality and how you approach challenges, which can be important for assessing cultural fit within the organization.

Performance management

Addressing weaknesses requires problem-solving skills. Interviewers want to see how you approach challenges and whether you'll work towards overcoming them. If you can articulate your weaknesses and discuss strategies for improvement, that showcases your ability to proactively identify and address problems.

It also hints at your aptitude for critical thinking. By being able to analyze your performance, identify areas that need improvement, and come up with strategies or plans to address them, you show off your ability to think critically, assess situations objectively, and make decisions based on thoughtful analysis.

Self-improvement

Weaknesses can be relevant to the job requirements and responsibilities. By discussing weaknesses in a job interview, you can demonstrate how you're working towards improving specific skills or areas that are relevant to the job, showcasing your potential for success in the role.

Interviewers are also interested in candidates who have a growth mindset – an attitude of continuous learning and improvement. Demonstrating that you can openly discuss your weaknesses and possess a willingness to learn and grow shows that you're open to feedback, adaptable, and have the potential to develop new skills.

How to discuss weaknesses in job interviews

Start by adopting the right approach and mindset. Now that you know what the interviewer is trying to learn, use that to guide your answer. With careful consideration and preparation, you'll knock the answer out of the park. 

Use these tips to answer the “what is your biggest weakness?” question:

  • Be honest: Many times, you'll see advice that says it's okay to make up a weakness. This simply isn't in your best interest. Honesty is crucial when discussing weaknesses in a job interview. Interviewers can often sense when a candidate isn't being truthful, so it's best to be sincere in your response.

  • Make your response relevant to the job: This involves some preparation, like reading the job description to find out which skills the company seeks in a new employee. If you're applying to be a teacher, admitting that you have a hard time with public speaking may not serve you very well here. It would be better to talk about something like being overly self-critical and holding yourself to standards that are sometimes too lofty. 

  • Tell a story: If you haven't heard of the STAR method for answering interview questions, now's the time to look into it. The basics are that you should describe a situation, talk about what was going on, and then discuss what you did and the results of your actions. You don't want to drone on forever, though. Try to keep your response to one to two minutes, as you don't want to detract from your overall interview performance. 

  • Talk about your action plan: While it's important to be honest about your weaknesses, it's equally important to demonstrate that you've taken steps to address them. Discuss the actions you've taken or the strategies you've implemented to improve in those areas. This could include seeking feedback, taking relevant courses or training, or seeking mentorship or guidance from colleagues. Highlighting your proactive approach to self-improvement shows that you're willing to invest in your own growth and development.

  • Highlight strengths: Yes, you want to be honest and use a real weakness, but you can spin that weakness into a strength by demonstrating confidence and self-assurance in your plan to improve the weakness. Since interviewers are usually more interested in how you fix a weakness than the weakness itself, emphasize your willingness to learn and continuously improve. 

Providing examples of weaknesses for interviews

This goes back to being able to reflect on your own performance. You have to dig through your past to come up with some challenges you've overcome or a skill that you've improved upon. Think about tasks or skills that you may not excel in or areas where you have received feedback for improvement. Above all else, avoid negative self-talk. Focus on steps you've taken to correct the weakness and how your actions will reflect positively in your job. 

Be sure to practice your response. You can do it in a mock interview setting or in the mirror. The idea is to refine your response so that you can deliver it with confidence during the actual interview.

Three common weaknesses with examples

It can be difficult to talk about yourself and any achievements you've had during your career. Most people feel like they're being too boastful or that something they pick from their past won't be a good weakness for a job interview. 

So, to help you out, here are three common weaknesses that you could mention in an interview, along with examples:

Time management

Many people struggle with managing time effectively, which can result in missed deadlines or incomplete tasks. For example, you could talk about how you tend to struggle with time management when you have multiple projects or tasks to juggle simultaneously. Don't be afraid to mention that you've missed deadlines or felt overwhelmed with competing priorities. Then, highlight that you've been working on improving your time management skills by using prioritization techniques, setting clear goals, and using time-tracking tools to better manage your workload and meet deadlines.

  • Prioritization techniques: You can explain how you prioritize tasks based on urgency, importance, and deadlines. Discuss using techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix or ABC method to categorize and manage tasks effectively.

  • Goal setting: You can mention how you set clear and measurable goals (i.e. SMART Goals) for each task or project, along with deadlines, to stay focused and organized. You can then explain how you break down large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks to prevent feeling overwhelmed.

  • Time-tracking tools: Using time-tracking tools or productivity apps to monitor your time usage and identify areas of improvement is a great way to manage time. Explain to the interviewer how you analyze your time logs to identify time-wasting activities and make necessary adjustments.

Public speaking

Public speaking is a common weakness for many individuals, especially when it comes to delivering presentations or speaking in front of a large audience. If you sometimes feel nervous or anxious when speaking in public, that can impact your confidence and delivery. But you could explain that you've been taking steps to improve your public speaking skills, such as participating in Toastmasters, practicing with small groups, and using visual aids or notes to help you to stay organized and focused during presentations.

  • Toastmasters or public speaking courses: If you've sought out opportunities to improve your public speaking skills, such as joining a Toastmasters club or taking public speaking courses, you can talk about practicing speaking in front of others and receiving feedback to hone your skills.

  • Small group practice: Not everyone has time to join a group or take speaking courses. In that case, you can talk about how you've practiced speaking in front of small groups of trusted friends or colleagues to gain confidence and receive constructive feedback. Further, explain how you've gradually increased the size of the audience to overcome your fear of speaking in front of larger groups.

  • Visual aids or notes: Everyone, including world leaders, uses cheat sheets or notes to give a public presentation. Talk about how your realization of this provided you with the opportunity to use visual aids or notes during presentations to help you to stay organized and focused. Then, explain how these aids assist you in delivering a clear and coherent message, even if you feel nervous.

Delegation

This is actually a big one for a lot of people because of the mantra, “if you want something done well, do it yourself.” If you have perfectionist tendencies, you may find yourself struggling with delegation because you prefer to do things yourself to ensure that the tasks are done to the proper standards. However, you could highlight that you've been working on developing your delegation skills by identifying tasks that can be effectively delegated to others, providing clear instructions and setting expectations, and regularly checking in on progress to ensure successful outcomes.

  • Identify tasks for delegation: Talk about how you started slowly and explain how you've learned to identify which tasks you're comfortable delegating to others based on their strengths, expertise, or workload. After that, mention how you prioritize tasks that require your unique skills and expertise, while delegating routine or repetitive tasks to your team members.

  • Clear instructions and expectations: Communication is a key skill that prospective employers want to see in job seekers. You can turn this weakness into something the company wants, by talking about how you provide clear instructions and set expectations when delegating tasks to ensure that team members understand the requirements and can perform the task effectively. Go a step further by explaining how you're open to questions and feedback from team members.

  • Regular check-ins: Don't forget to talk about how you regularly check in with your team members to track progress, provide feedback, and offer support, ensuring that projects are completed on time and meet the desired quality standards.

Remember that no matter which weakness you choose, your goal is to show that you can analyze your own actions and put steps into place to correct inefficiencies. Use language that explicitly highlights the relevance of your weakness to the job. For example, you could say something like, "I understand that as a [job title], it's important to be able to [skill or trait], and I've been working on improving my ability in that area." Interviewers appreciate candidates who are genuine and transparent about their areas for improvement.

Handling challenging or tricky weaknesses questions

You may get into an interview where the question isn't “what is your greatest weakness?”. Rather, the interviewer throws one of those tell-me-about-a-time-when questions at you. For example, 

  • Tell me about a time when you struggled with a particular skill or task at work and how you overcame it

  • What feedback have you received from previous employers or colleagues about areas you need to improve on?

  • How do you handle situations where you lack the necessary skills or experience?

  • Can you tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work and how you dealt with it?

Dealing with questions about sensitive or controversial weaknesses requires tact, professionalism, and self-awareness. You can use the same details you picked for the “what is your weakness?” question, but fine-tune the wording so that it fits within the question the interviewer actually asked. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. If the question trips you up, stay professional, focus on self-improvement, use neutral language, be prepared to explain using details from your past, and keep your response relevant to the job. 

Key takeaways

Choose wisely, especially when presented with a challenging or tricky weakness question. The bottom line is that you're trying to turn something bad into something good in a way that shows the interviewer that you have what it takes to succeed in the role the company has open.

TopInterview loves helping people to take the all-important steps to succeed in an interview. Give a shout-out to our team of career coaches and watch your career soar.

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