“What would you say is your greatest weakness?”
Are you cringing right now? It’s okay, we don’t blame you.
It’s not a fun question to hear; in fact, it’s one of the hardest to answer during an interview. Some companies have reworded the question to make it sound less scary, but no matter how it’s posed, it requires the same answer that no one enjoys giving. After all, your goal is to get the job, so why would you want to reveal your weaknesses? You absolutely have to sound perfect, right? Well, not exactly.
The truth is that no one is perfect (yes, really!). Employers know that there is no such thing as a worker who has never made a mistake and is automatically good at everything they try. This is why the age-old trick of saying “I care too much about work” or “I work too hard” does not really work. Because you’re human, you have weaknesses, and the interviewer knows it. Whether it’s written communication, mathematical skills, or anything in between, we all have one or more “weaknesses,” and they’re far harder to admit than are our strengths, especially in a job interview. A common response is to freeze up and either go the “I work too hard” route or to just say that you have no weaknesses.
Unfortunately, and there’s no way to beat around the bush here, but those are lies, and the interviewer knows it. You may think that your best bet at getting the job is to just lie and hope that the employer believes you, but you’re doing more harm than good. Failing to be honest about weaknesses is a big red flag. It makes you look like you have some big secret weakness that renders you incapable of succeeding at the role, and you’re desperately trying -- and failing -- to cover it up.
The best thing to do when you’re asked about your greatest weakness is to be honest – but not so honest that the interviewer thinks you aren’t cut out for the job.
You don’t have to go into every detail about every time you’ve messed up at work, but if you know that there is an area that you struggle in, you are better off telling the interviewer beforehand.
“But how can I make myself sound like a good candidate for the position after I just got done saying that I’m bad at something?” you may ask. This is a valid question. There are several different answers to this depending on the situation, but here are a few tips to help you out:
1. Do not pick a weakness that is relevant to the role.
Again, your goal is to be honest, but not to the point of making the interviewer think you aren’t a good fit. For example, if the role will require a lot of phone conversations, do not say that your weakness is that you hate talking to people. When asked about your weakness, keep the job duties in mind and pick a weakness that you know won’t interfere with the position requirements.
2. Mention a strength you have if you know it will help you overcome your weakness.
Drawing on your strengths comes in handy when the position you’re applying for is similar to positions you have held in the past (though it’s not uncommon that your strengths can apply to unrelated fields as well). Let’s say that you’re applying for a sales position. You have never actually made or managed sales before, but you’ve worked several retail jobs that have given you the customer service experience that is necessary in sales and will allow you to overcome the fact that you have never made a traditional sale. This is just one out of several situations where you can draw on past experiences. When you must bring up a weakness that you have, also bring up a relevant strength that will help you overcome it.
3. Cite an example of how you are actively working on your weakness.
No matter how you choose to answer the “greatest weakness” question, the most important thing you can do is to cite ways that you are working on overcoming the weakness. For the most part, the interviewer doesn’t care what the weakness is, so long as you’re working to improve that area and are capable of making that progress. Perhaps you talked to your supervisor, approached your co-workers for help, or even went to a seminar or workshop. Whatever the case may be, the goal is to work on your weaknesses and be able to show it. This is what the hiring manager is really looking for when they ask you this question.
4. You are a trainable, blank canvas.
This is a good thing to say when you’re applying outside of your normal field and have limited experience for the new job. While having several years of experience is a positive, it can also be a good thing to have no experience, depending on the position (this is most effective with lower or entry-level positions – when applying for any management position, you should always have some kind of relevant experience). If you absolutely have to admit that you are applying outside of your field and do not have much experience performing the tasks that new job will require of you, this is a good opportunity to mention that you are a blank canvas – because of your lack of experience, you don’t have your own “right” way of getting the job done; the company can mold you with their model of business.
However, keep in mind that while this may be a possible answer for some rare cases, this is an exception to the rule. Most non-entry level positions will expect you to have experience, which means you must have had real failures and had to have taken real action to correct them in order to be considered a good candidate.
At the end of the day, getting through the “greatest weakness” question is really about showing that you can put in effort to identify and correct opportunities. It’s meant to put you on the spot, and if you’re able to be honest about your weakness and actively trying to improve, then it likely won’t destroy your chance of getting the job. In fact, it will show the hiring manager that you are self-aware, motivated.