Ask the Experts: Describing Your Weaknesses in an Interview
Question:
Interviewers frequently ask me to describe some of my weaknesses. What
should I say?
First Answer:
You’ve heard the saying “If the world hands you lemons, make lemonade!” the
same is true with this question.
Turn your weaknesses into strengths.
“My friends have told me in the past that I get too caught up in my work. I
think a weakness of mine is that I like to see things through to the end.
That sometimes means thinking about work-related projects when I’m not at
work.”
Never, ever state a weakness without turning that weakness into a positive
statement “My selling skills are my weak point. I can’t seem to close the
big sales when the time comes.”
Second Answer:
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 the most stressful, “Which part of your current job do you do least
well?”
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 performances, 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/criticism/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: “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.
Additional pointers:
- Stay specific. Avoid “in this situation I would” or “I usually” which suggests 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), because the former is harder to admit and correct, whereas the latter can be fixed with additional training and experience.
- Avoid giving a strength that when overdone becomes a weakness, because the interviewer will feel that you manipulated the question to pat yourself on the back for the strength.
- If asked for several weaknesses, provide only one unless prompted for more. You want to answer the above five questions and get the interviewer refocused on your assets.
—Carol Anderson, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University.
Third Answer:
This is an easy question to answer because you can think about it ahead of
time. First of all, never say you do not have weaknesses. That would make
you appear arrogant. However, you can talk about a weakness and put a
positive spin on it. How you ask? Pick a weakness, but call it a
challenge. Then, talk about how you have worked on it AND how you have
improved over time! Here is an example:
“A challenge of mine that I continue to work on is my organizational
ability. Several years ago it became apparent that I could be more
efficient if I organized my projects better. I realized I needed help, so I
asked a friend of mine who is really organized to help me change my habits.
She gave me some terrific tips. Some of them that I have started using
are….”
The value of answering the question in this way is that you show that you
can see your weaknesses and learn from your mistakes. This is a rare trait.
—Holly Lentz, Lentz Productions
Fourth Answer:
I have found two ways of answering this. In the first
instance, you may wish to talk about a weakness that you had but have worked to
overcome. For example, you might have been someone who had trouble delegating
responsibility and worked hard to overcome it. Now you realize the benefits.
A second way which is commonly mentioned is to pick a weakness that could be
construed as a positive, such as being too detail oriented, or perhaps investing too
much in your worklife. Now, be advised that most interviewers understand how this
game is played but the problem with mentioning a real weakness is that it may knock
you out of contention for a position and perhaps, most importantly, what you consider
a weakness may not be a problem in that job. For example, an individual who says that
he or she isn’t very good at math, may rule themselves out of a position where simple
budgeting is required, which they can do quite well.
—David E. Gordon, Columbia College
