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What is Your Greatest Weakness?

How do you answer “What is Your Greatest Weakness?”

Job Interview Question or JIQ #2


“Our greatest weakness is that,

We are unwilling to accept our weaknesses.”

If you are subjected to this question in a job interview – “What is your greatest weakness?” what will be your response or reaction?

You would have been bowled over by the time your brain scans for some reply (way-out) that would be appropriate.

This kind of a question can potentially damage or salvage your job prospects – Yes! It solely depends on how honest you are in dealing with your own weaknesses or short comings and also how wisely you are able to turn it to your advantage.

Your response tells the interviewer a lot about your uprightness, so it unquestionably holds a lot of weight.”

 

what is your greatest weakness

what is your gretaest weakness

 

“To err is human

But to forgive is not in an interviewer’s agenda.”

 

Never choose a weakness that indicates your inappropriateness for the job:

  • “An accountant needs to be good at calculations”
  • “A teacher has to have a patient attitude to manage the students”
  • Will you hire a person with quick temper for a customer relationship position?
  • Will you hire somebody who lacks charisma to be a team-leader?

 

Here, we are just not talking about the technical skills alone, but also about attitude and emotional traits of a person that define his/her personality.

 

Remember that a weakness isn’t necessarily bad:

So, the main idea of throwing this question in an interview is not to pull your legs down (though sometimes the interviewee falls a prey by his own naivety), but to gauge how well you can handle or had handled a pressure-situation in previous jobs.

Try not to expose your personal weakness- If you say you can’t get up early in the morning, do you think your hiring manager will appreciate the idea?

Try to rationalize how you transformed a weakness into strength by perception and perseverance in a purely job-related context.

 

Don’t blurt stereo-type answers:

Be direct in your approach and avoid stereo-type answers which will irritate the interviewers; I’m a perfectionist, I pay attention to detail, I never relax, I’m a workaholic- all these responses will sure-fire you from the prospective list.

These are neither strengths nor weaknesses but only hypocritical projections of your “self.” These kind of compliments should come from people around you and sometimes it is funny how the greatest strength becomes the greatest weakness too.

 

Do Your Homework Properly:

Think about this, if you are a workaholic who spends 15 hours a day adding prosperity to the company, your boss might be happy, but will your wife and children be happy?

I’m able to feel the heat from the women folk – the same applies to you too. Though the subject deviates to work-life balance, the undercurrent of the discussion is not to mention your weakness that is directly related to the job you are applying for.

Do your homework properly by analyzing the job specification and description thoroughly and decide if you will fit the bill.

Mention the areas you are trying to improve upon; you can very well say, “I’m trying to improve my prioritization skills which would help me to line up tasks and complete projects well within the time limit.”

You can highlight how you were an introvert and how you have transformed yourself as a “people-person” by realizing that it is the order of the day to be successful in a professional environment.

Avoid Rehearsed answers:

“If you don’t know your weakness, take a personality type quiz and the results will show you. Everyone has specific strengths and everyone has specific weaknesses.

It’s pretty certain that if you are not clear on your weaknesses then you are not clear on your strengths, and your value at the office will be questionable.”- Penelope Trunk

Interviewers expect you to come out with answers that are authentic and relevant and try only to mention the professional weaknesses and don’t add any melo-drama which will definitely add a bitter flavor to your otherwise good-going interview process.

Hiring managers will easily find out well rehearsed anwers which definitely lack honesty. Ofcourse, be prepared for these type of questions but use your presence of mind and let your reply match the mood of the interview

Remember Our strength grows out of our weaknesses:

“Be open but not naïve”

“Be honest but not blunt”

“Be sensitive but not emotional” –these are the cheerful-mantras to be kept in mind when you prepare yourself for an interview.