Answering a Dreaded Job Interview Question

By Carol R. Anderson

Director of Career Development and Placement

New School University

 

How do you answer a request to identify a professional weakness?

The weakness question falls into the same category as its cousins, “Tell me about a time when your work was criticized,” “Have you ever failed?” and perhaps the most stressful, for students already working, “Which part of your current job do you do least well?”

There are many ways to go wrong in answering this question, because you may not be aware of what is really being asked here beyond just naming a fault. Here's what your interviewer is looking for when any of these questions is asked:

•  What level of insight does this candidate have into his or her professional assets and liabilities?

•  Can this candidate admit imperfection?

•  Can this candidate take responsibility for a less-than-peak performance, without shifting blame to external factors or the employer?

•  Will this candidate blurt out a “fatal flaw” that would disqualify her or him as a candidate? For example, chronic lateness or procrastination, inability to meet deadlines, poor organizational skills, difficulty working on a team, or a lack of integrity.

•  How successfully has this candidate addressed the weakness/criticized behavior/failure/poor performance in order to mitigate the shortcoming or prevent recurrence, and did this candidate take the initiative to improve?

Because the premise of behavioral-based interviewing is that past behavior is the best indicator of future performance, it is important to provide a specific example in your answer. For example, for those with professional work experience: “I have a tendency to take on more work than I can do well. Last year I volunteered for a team that would develop a new product launch for my employer's new high-speed Internet service. It quickly became clear that I could not manage both this project and three already underway. I approached my supervisor and worked with her and my staff to streamline two of the less important projects and reallocate resources in order to deliver high quality work on all four. I now assess the resources available more realistically before I commit to an additional assignment.”

If you have little work experience, use your college activities. For such an example of “biting off more than you can chew,” you might substitute volunteering for a team to travel to the next state to clean up after a hurricane, as I once did in college, only to discover I hadn't left enough study time for two upcoming tests. It meant I had to do a lot of reading in the van during the trip and with a flashlight while others slept, but I learned my lesson. Your example must be true.

Remember, what is important here is not just the flaw, but how you manage it: do you take self-corrective action, or repeat the flaw as “just not one of my strengths”?

Additional pointers:

· Stay specific. Avoid “in this situation I would” or “I usually” which suggest your weakness impairs your work often and is not as credible as “I did.”

· Don't confuse a weakness (character trait) with a developmental need (weak Excel skills, no training in “platform skills” [public speaking and group facilitation]) Your interviewer is looking for your awareness of your limitations and your willingness to work on them, because they are harder to admit and correct than developmental needs, which can be fixed with additional training and experience.

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