Interview tomorrow. What's your strategy for this question?

[C.R.E.A.M.]

I've got a job interview coming up this week. I consider myself fairly adept at handling interviews, for the most part. The one question I'm never sure how to handle though, is when they ask you about your weaknesses. It's usually something like "what do you think are your weaknesses" or "if we spoke to your last employer, what areas would they say are your weakest".

What do you think is the best way to tackle this question?

[nyc999]

Something that can be deflected into a positive.

For instance, "I sometimes have trouble working in large group settings because I keep such a high standard of excellence on my work."

Obviously that statement needs a little bit of work, but you get the idea.

[4_2_it]

They are looking for you to make an honest assessment. No one is perfect and trying to act like you are will not impress anyone.

I always talk about how the situations where I am learned the most were usually the results of a mistake. Then I give an example or two (not a problem for me) from my personal experience.

(I recognize this hedges the weakness thing a little, but does not avoid the question.)

[C.R.E.A.M.]

[ QUOTE ]
They are looking for you to make an honest assessment. No one is perfect and trying to act like you are will not impress anyone.

I always talk about how the situations where I am learned the most were usually the results of a mistake. Then I give an example or two (not a problem for me) from my personal experience.

(I recognize this hedges the weakness thing a little, but does not avoid the question.)

[/ QUOTE ]

This is actually similiar to the angle I was thinking about taking. Instead of talking about a weakness I currently have, talking about a couple mistakes and weaknesses I used to have at another job, and how I learned from them and improved upon them.

[gorie]

i just say that i am shy , but that i can still get along with anyone. because it is true and i wouldn't want a job where i am expected to deal with a lot of different people anyway.

but i don't really know how to answer those questions to make yourself look good. i think the "sometimes i just work way too hard!" answers are dumb, but i guess it's what you're suppose to say.

[swede123]

I'm a workaholic, requiring at least 120 hours of work per week!

Joking aside, you're on the right track. Think of a mistake or screw-up in a previous job/position, and talk about how this incident made you more aware of your weakness and how it's not really an area of concern any more.

Swede

[esad]

Tell them that sometimes you are too much of a prefectionist and you end up working too much. This sounds like a negative, but usually is looked at as a positive by employers who are looking for workaholics.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
i just say that i am shy , but that i can still get along with anyone. because it is true and i wouldn't want a job where i am expected to deal with a lot of different people anyway.

but i don't really know how to answer those questions to make yourself look good. i think the "sometimes i just work way too hard!" answers are dumb, but i guess it's what you're suppose to say.

[/ QUOTE ]


Try this:
I need to learn to say no more often. Sometimes I take on too many projects at once and wind up not be able to get each the full attention it deserves.

[Predator314]

That's the worst question ever. It's a stupid question too. There's no way to answer it without coming off like a 1.) arrogant prick, 2.) worthless loser, or 3.) a liar.

[Phil153]

[ QUOTE ]
That's the worst question ever. It's a stupid question too. There's no way to answer it without coming off like a 1.) arrogant prick, 2.) worthless loser, or 3.) a liar.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's exactly why it's a great question. If you can't handle questions like this without coming off like a dick you'll have the same problems with awkward situations at work/with clients or coworkers.