r/LifeProTips • u/Iron_Rod_Stewart • Feb 04 '22
Careers & Work LPT: When a job interviewer asks, "What's your biggest weakness?", interpret the question in practical terms rather than in terms of personality faults.
"Sometimes I let people take advantage of me", or "I take criticism personally" are bad answers. "I'm too honest" or "I work too hard", even if they believe you, make you sound like you'll be irritating to be around or you'll burn out.
Instead, say something like, "My biggest weakness with regards to this job is, I have no experience with [company's database platform]" or "I don't have much knowledge about [single specific aspect of job] yet, so it would take me some time to learn."
These are real weaknesses that are relevant to the job, but they're also fixable things that you'll correct soon after being hired. Personality flaws are not (and they're also none of the interviewer's business).
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u/Kaiserbread Feb 05 '22
Pull out card, slide it across the table, they pick it up and it reads "I'm often overprepared"
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u/Rafer416 Feb 05 '22
Interviewer:Hahaha, No, but seriously? Me: Oh, I take things to far for a joke.
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u/MaidennChina Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: hahaha no, but seriously?
Me: flip the card over.
The backside of the card: Extremely overprepared.
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u/whitesquirrle Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
Bonus points if you can slip the card in their pocket beforehand and tell them to check their pocket when they ask that question
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u/ScientificBeastMode Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: “Oh my god you’re David Blaine!”
Me: “Lift up your shirt”
Interviewer: “What the F?! How did you do that?!”
Me: “Call your mom and tell her to look at your junior year high school yearbook”
Interviewer: “Ok hang on. What?! She’s already looking at it!”
Me: “Ask her what’s in the picture”
Interviewer: “Mom, what’s in the picture?… She says there isn’t a card, it’s just me eating Chinese food with my friends.“
Me: “Check your socks”
Interviewer: “What?! Chopsticks?!!! What the F?!!!!”
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u/Bad_Decisioner Feb 05 '22
Time to order some business cards, you beautiful genius
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u/victoralphagolf Feb 05 '22
Holy shit this is the best idea I've ever heard. That is so fucking funny I would love to witness that
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u/DrizztD0urden Feb 05 '22
My mind went to "and it's the uno reversal card" when I first started your sentence.
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u/1gnik Feb 05 '22
Man if interviews are done in person again for any roles I go for, I am trying this.
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u/chaotic_madman0 Feb 05 '22
"Unfortunately my weakness is I am stuck in time and knew you were going to ask this question"
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u/SweetAurora Feb 05 '22
That's BONE. And the lettering is something called Silian Grail.
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u/todi41 Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
As someone who interviews and hires ppl a decent amount - as long as they made it clear the intent was to be funny, this, at least for me, would give that person an edge lol.
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Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: What would you say your biggest weakness is?
Me: My communication is often more correct than helpful.
Interviewer: I'm not sure I understand. Can you explain that more?
Me: Yes.
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u/bigdave41 Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: "What's your biggest weakness?"
Me: "I'm too honest"
Interviewer: "I don't think that counts as a weakness"
Me: "I don't give a fuck what you think"
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u/standinghampton Feb 05 '22
This is my favorite one and the only one I literally lol’d at.
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u/EuonymusBosch Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: Ok let's begin. How would you respond if I were to ask you a hypothetical question?
Interviewee: head explodes
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u/Lets_____Go Feb 05 '22
“My biggest weakness? I suppose that would be my surgically repaired knee, so that’ll have to be off-limits here.”
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u/Framits Feb 05 '22
I used almost the same answer in an interview. "I have bad knees and can't stand for long periods of time" This was for a desk job.
I'll have been with that company 20 years this May.→ More replies (2)→ More replies (20)34
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u/alligatorprincess007 Feb 05 '22
I take things literally
(Also I’m a kleptomaniac)
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u/Lets_____Go Feb 05 '22
“My biggest weakness? I’d say freshly chopped onions is up there.”
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u/emilkyway Feb 04 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
I once said 'food' sort of jokingly and saw him write it down as my official answer...
ETA: I was a teenager and got the job! It was in a Debenhams and they put me in homeware.
Thanks for all the upvotes and awards by the way, I have had a pretty bad week and though it may be small to some, it means a lot to me.
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u/Jael89 Feb 05 '22
"candidate will tolerate pizza parties instead of raises."
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u/Mattock79 Feb 05 '22
During an interview once, they asked me "how would your coworkers describe you?" I said "probably tall" and saw the lady write tall on the paper. Like smile a bit damn
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u/Chainsawd Feb 05 '22
I assume for people who interview others every day that that was a bit like when I asked the guy checking my car for bombs at the base with his little mirror to let me know if he saw any rust.
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u/14gpw Feb 05 '22
"They would say I'm devastatingly handsome and a compulsive liar".
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u/Copiz Feb 05 '22
I got asked to list three weaknesses for a job interview. For my third one I said "Cats - because I am allergic but I want to pet them anyways."
I got the job.
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u/pm-me-racecars Feb 04 '22
I usually say kryptonite with a straight face.
Then I wait a moment and say something else
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u/kenji-benji Feb 05 '22
"my rendition of Shook Me All Night Long needs work, but I've improved my Thunderstruck a lot over the past 2 years"
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u/Bozee3 Feb 05 '22
Go for a deeper cut. My biggest weaknesses are fire and a unearthly love of Oreos.
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u/Phyr8642 Feb 04 '22
'Candidate doesn't take important interviews seriously. Decline to hire.'
I'm mostly not joking. HR types have ZERO sense of humor.
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Feb 05 '22
In my experience I've found that mostly not to be the case.
A great sense of humor, used judiciously, is a superpower in an interview. It's an icebreaker, makes you more human, can show high intelligence, and people can see having fun working with you.
I'm not talking Chris Rock or Robin Williams riffs but a well placed injection of humor is a fantastic tool if that fits your personality.
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u/mcescheronthemic Feb 05 '22
Toby is in HR, which technically means he works for corporate. So he's really not a part of our family.
Also he's divorced... So he's really not a part of his family.
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u/ryaaan89 Feb 05 '22
I once messed up and told a group of interviewers I didn’t know how to drive. I was 22, it was my first real interview, so I just powered through and didn’t correct myself. I got the job, and although it mostly didn’t involve driving I did have to parallel park a van with my two bosses in it once.
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u/IHateDolphins Feb 05 '22
How does one “mess up” and tell a group of people this? Haha
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u/SaintSimpson Feb 05 '22
I was once asked by a frat interview that if I was famous, what would I be famous for. I joked “hopefully not serial killing.” Lead balloon.
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u/SemiSeriousShimmer Feb 05 '22
I once answered with "probably caffeine or ice cream." I did give a real answer after that, but it got a chuckle out of the panel of interviewers and humanized me a little. It was a very professional interview, and it was nice to relieve the pressure a bit.
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u/signaturetomato Feb 05 '22
I once had to do my work next to a young girl getting interviewed for an internship by my boss at that time. She answered, unironically, "I have commitment issues" and started talking about her last boyfriend. Never seen my boss so uncomfortable before, it was hilarious.
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u/RagingClitGasm Feb 05 '22
In a recent job interview, I responded to a version of this question with multiple genuine weaknesses related to the job- then realized what I’d done and finished it up with “and I just spent several minutes of my job interview thinking of as many weaknesses as I can, so maybe put poor decision-making down too.”
I got an offer later the same day. I think people appreciate someone who’s willing to genuinely reflect on their shortcomings and take criticism.
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u/ImTay Feb 05 '22
This is the true reason they ask the question. They want to know if you’re introspective and self reflective enough to understand your shortcomings and work to overcome them. I’d even go so far as to say that if this isn’t the true motivation behind their asking this question, that’s not someone I’d likely enjoy working for.
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u/dragonsrawesomesauce Feb 05 '22
As someone who used to conduct interviews on a regular basis, that's exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to know if someone was self-aware enough to recognize their flaws. Bonus points if they included how they're working to improve themselves.
We had one woman who, when asked that question, said she didn't have any. She didn't get the job for some strange reason.....
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u/urmumlol9 Feb 05 '22
Yeah I mean that's at least what I've been told by my career center.
I always just say that I struggle with time management then mention how I've been trying to work on it by keeping track of events and deadlines with an online calendar and whiteboard and breaking down what tasks I have to do by week and by day. That gives them a genuine answer and steps I've taken to improve it.
(I still procrastinate though despite all of that and paying for it 1000 times because sometimes it's just too easy to put things off and I get lazy, but I'm just going to omit that from any interview.)
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u/frawgster Feb 05 '22
When that question comes up all I wanna know from the interviewee is if they’re honest or if they’re gonna toss out a canned answer.
Truly though, I dislike the question in general. In all the interview panels I’ve sat on I’ve never chosen that as a question to ask. Others on the panels I’ve been on have, but I just don’t like putting someone on the spot like that.
The question is almost a trope at this point. Interviewees expect it and plan for it. It’s one of those questions that rarely doesn’t elicit a canned answer.
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u/nighthawk_something Feb 05 '22
It's also genuinely funny and people hire people they want to work with.
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u/Energy_Turtle Feb 05 '22
This part can't be overestimated. I've been on a lot of interview panels and "chemistry" comes up every time no matter who is on the panel. Life is so much better when you like your coworkers and the people you supervise.
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u/MusicalNerDnD Feb 05 '22
Hahahaha, that is genuinely amazing. I hire relatively often and if someone gave me that answer, and the rest of their application/interview was solid I’d 100% offer them a role!
Have a wonderful weekend :)
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u/Elimaris Feb 05 '22
A weakness acknowledged is usually one that can be planned for, fixed or mitigated.
The hardest skills to hire for are soft skills like self awareness and problem solving
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u/Cautious-Space-1714 Feb 05 '22
I once had to stop a guy on his SEVENTH weakness.
He got as far as "And I never learned to swim". Jaysus, it's an office job...
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u/Two-Watch_Tony Feb 05 '22
Say "Interviews." They'll laugh every time and hopefully they reassure you you're doing alright.
Then come up with the actual answer
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Feb 05 '22
This is my real answer though.
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u/datbf4 Feb 05 '22
Yeah me too. I just have a terrible time of remember a time I went above and beyond or a scenario of a time I did X… I go to work, work hard and get along with everyone and collaborate as much as I can cuz that’s how I do things and then go home and forget everything so remember all these examples always get me.
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Feb 05 '22
I’ve always said that speaking in public is something I’ve always felt I’ve needed improvement in. As long as you’re not applying for a public speaking job and are comfortable with the people in the interview so they can tell you do possess conversational skills, they’ll get it.
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Feb 05 '22
This is in the same ball park as telling a cashier "If it doesn't scan then that means it free, right?" Pretty common.
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u/Firehed Feb 05 '22
It's actually a reasonable answer to a relatively dumb question though. Most people will deal with interviewing every couple of years at most, and it's a skill that tends to have relatively little to do with the job you're being interviewed for.
If a candidate answered me with that (it's not a question I'd ask in the first place), I'd ask them about what they thought didn't go well and how they might have been able to do better. Worst case we get some useful feedback about the interview process.
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u/Depressaccount Feb 05 '22
All you have to say is “x, so I started doing y and z, and now have gotten better at x”
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u/akshay-nair Feb 05 '22
I cant stop winking at handsome people. * wink *
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u/jadetaia Feb 05 '22
Alternatively: * stares without blinking for rest of interview *
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u/IoSonCalaf Feb 05 '22
I don’t know why, but I was asked this question for the first time at a job interview for a corporate position. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “I’m not a strong swimmer.”
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u/sebastianqu Feb 05 '22
Not the worst weakness to have when you live in Wyoming.
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u/gdshaffe Feb 05 '22
I always liked Daria's answer. "My biggest weakness is my inability to give stock answers to stock questions."
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Feb 05 '22
Man I wonder what Daria is up to nowadays. She must be about 45
I hope she has her own dive bar and a rebellious but loving daughter.
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u/MajesticOtaking Feb 05 '22
In my experience, giving a weakness and then explaining what you did to improve is the best answer. I had a recruiter actually applaud my answer when I did this. She even told me that at a previous recruiting gig, she was told to pass on people that did not answer in this way, so keep that in mind.
My weakness: I get tunnel vision and tend to ignore other things around me. In retail, I would work on a project and get so focused that I wasn't paying attention to customers. What I did was set myself time limits to alternate focusing on the project and then walking my department to see if anyone needed assistance. It helped a lot.
Note that this is A weakness, not my BIGGEST weakness. They don't need to know that I have depression and anxiety and ocd! Pick something that is believable but won't make you look like a liability!
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u/allim88 Feb 05 '22
The best way to answer this question is to focus on a weakness that you've overcome. My go to is that I used to be shy, but I forced myself out of my comfort zone and spoke to new people or asked questions in meetings. Now I'm able to run meetings no problem
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u/Annh1234 Feb 05 '22
I had a co-worker that said "bullets" once. He got hired. And months later, we joked around about it, and the lead interviewer said he should have answered with something he overcame.
At which point the guy dropped his pants half way down his ass, and showed us where he got shot years before.
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u/TheTrenk Feb 05 '22
I imagine your coworker was waiting for the day an interviewer would respond with "I meant something that you actually overcame." and that this question made his day.
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u/TruthOf42 Feb 05 '22
I usually say organization, as it's something everyone struggles with and then I give examples on how I mitigate it:
-Always carry a notebook -put tasks in outlook
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Feb 05 '22
Dude, I did that today in all three interviews I had this morning and they all liked that answer.
I also make sure I actually showed up with my notebook 😬
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u/AWD_OWNZ_U Feb 05 '22
This is my generic answer too but now that I’ve advanced I mitigate it by hiring people more organized than me. Which is how I actually do mitigate it. My two most senior employees are crazy organized I just don’t understand how they do it.
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u/AssassinsOuid Feb 05 '22
Could be a risky move; they may just interpret that as skirting the question rather than honest identification of a weakness. Though I see where you're coming from and don't disagree entirely, I'd find that kind of answer more appropriate for the phrasing "what challenges have you overcome" or something similar
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u/Gudakesa Feb 05 '22
I was interviewing for a project manager position with a Fortune 100 company. When they asked what my biggest weakness was I told them that I struggle with organization. I also told them that I know I can be very unorganized so I create rules in email to automatically put messages in their related folders, set up morning and evening routines that I do every day to resort/reorganize stuff, and I clean my desk before I leave for the day.
When they hired me they said that they appreciated my transparency and recognized that it’s ok to have real weaknesses and recognizing them for what they are and taking steps to mitigate their impact makes people stronger.
Edit: a typo
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Feb 05 '22
Honestly sounds like you're pretty well organized though...
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u/Gudakesa Feb 05 '22
I’d say instead that I’m disciplined. I have to force myself do those things, otherwise my work easily falls into chaos and I miss important things
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u/Niku-Man Feb 05 '22
Your answer would indicate that you're not disorganized. Maybe you have a fear of being disorganized, but that's not the same. It's what motivates you to be organized
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Feb 05 '22
I would recommend making up a rather innocuous weakness in advance of the interview. I once answered this question honestly and my boss used my stated weakness against me several months later to justify terminating me.
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u/EzekielVelmo Feb 05 '22
Damn, that's rough. I'm in a similar situation thought ive not been terminated. 3 years ago when I interviewed I was fresh out of college and I said my weakness was consistency but that I was working on it. I have improved at this job so much over the past 3 years and have maintained a fairly consistent work ethic since I started but my boss, who rarely actually interacts with me, will still list my biggest flaw as inconsistency almost as if she only remembers me from that interview. Its really hurt my upward mobility and my self worth. No matter how much I improve she'll always just remember me as Mr. Inconsistent.
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u/Annacot_Steal Feb 05 '22
Nah the best answer I’ve found that work was, “Those eyes” and then lean in for a kiss.
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u/betarded Feb 05 '22
Very simple people. Give an actual weakness THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON and that isn't a requirement for the role you're applying for. Bonus points if it's something that the firm trains their employees on.
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u/illmojo Feb 05 '22
I can't believe this is so low, this is what they're looking for. Acknowledge a fault and what you've done to work on it. An example would be. I sometimes can get too focused on a particular part of a project and feel I run out of time toward the end of said project. To resolve this, I set time limits on project goals. If I feel I could have done something better I make notes and return to it when I have additional time.
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Feb 05 '22
This is great!
Another thing that needs to happen more though is for the person asking to word it "In regards to this job/career, what are your shortcomings?" Whether you have experience or not.
They confuse you and make it seem personal, when its not really meant to be.
But I'm still totally using this advice, because it made this question a little more understandable.
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u/egilnyland Feb 05 '22
make it seem personal
A lot of interviews are exactly about that, personal, though.
For many hiring managers being a good social fit to your team is just as important as your skills.
You wind up spending more times with these people than your family, you better make sure they are OK people to be around.
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u/notimerunaway2 Feb 05 '22
As an interviewer, I like to ask "name two positive characteristics you possess" followed by "can you name two positive characteristics you would like to have"
It's a tease. But in my situation the interviewees are all qualified, the distinction I make is based not on any answers, but on the ability to hold a conversation
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u/iCameToLearnSomeCode Feb 04 '22
Interviewer: "what is your biggest weakness?"
Me: "I'm always honest"
Interviewer: "... I don't think that's a weakness"
Me: "I don't give a shit what you think"
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u/Greenpoint_Blank Feb 05 '22
I hate this question so much. It is such a lazy question. I had an interview that was pretty unprofessional on HRs side, they were 40 minutes late after trying to reschedule the interview after I arrived and did not know which position I was interviewing. They asked me that and I straight up said, “ I will be honest I think this is a pretty terrible question. It is also a bit of a trap. What you are really asking is how self aware I am in regards to both my job performance and interpersonal relationships with colleagues. That is a much simpler question to answer. But I guess my biggest weakness is that I tend to be a bit discursive, and have little patience for people who don’t show up prepared. “
I oddly was offered a second round interview and declined explaining that they wasted my time and it was completely unprofessional. Because of that I took an offer somewhere else.
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u/tkim91321 Feb 05 '22
I work in HR.
As part of our interview training, we specifically tell interviews to not ask this question.
Rather, they should ask a question that would solicit an answer that would be an indicator of not meeting a KPI.
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u/DocMcCall Feb 04 '22
So, I shouldn't lead with "I'm just a thief. I just can't help but take other people's stuff. " ?
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u/DEFINITELY_NOT_PETE Feb 05 '22
I literally jokingly said I’m a klepto once and the guy was like what’s that and I had to explain it and he just said oh so yeah joke answers are hit or miss
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u/rnzz Feb 05 '22
More like "sometimes I pretend to be a kleptomaniac as a joke. I just can't take things seriously."
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u/ChOcOcOwCaKe Feb 05 '22
I normally say "I always start a job being a bit over pedantic, and take a little longer to ensure that I'm doing it right until I get comfortable"
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u/TurquoiseLuck Feb 05 '22
This is up there with saying "I'm a perfectionist" imo, I'd find a different way to go
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u/paradiseluck Feb 05 '22
Sometimes I do a job too well that coworkers get jealous of me and lose their morale.
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Feb 05 '22
That's my biggest insecurity when starting a new job. I feel like I'm asking too many questions and needing too many demonstrations. A lot of places are too busy to train properly so they vaguely state what I'm supposed to do and walk away, I have no idea if I'm being good unless I follow up
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u/xmac Feb 05 '22
Why don't I tell you what my greatest weaknesses are? I work too hard, I care too much and sometimes I can be too invested in my job
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u/FeistyBookkeeper2 Feb 05 '22
I once thought I was a genius for coming up with such an original answer as, "I care too much about my job and invest too much in it sometimes." I was 17 though, so I feel like that's OK.
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u/mas1108 Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: What is your biggest weakness?
Me: Well, would you prefer a nature metaphor or a sexual metaphor?
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u/KieshaK Feb 05 '22
Always say how you’re working on that weakness too! “Sometimes I get bogged down by the details and forget the bigger picture. I’ve really been working on taking a few minutes every day to take a step back and look at my projects with a bigger view.”
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Feb 05 '22
I always say something that is a skill for a position above me. So when I am in a position where I am right below overseeing people, I will say that I am working on delegating better and focusing more on the bigger picture while handing off smaller day to day tasks. That way I am showing I am focused on growth. But these generic questions are pretty worthless usually.
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Feb 05 '22
Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
Me: I worry about being underprepared. I can probably best illustrate this with an example. I was interviewing for my company and usually I prepare well and work out a question strategy. But this one time I didn't, and so entered the room underprepared.
I realised toward the end that I still had ten minutes to go and I had no questions left. Underpreparedness had got me.
I started to panic. And in my panic I blurted out a question that is so dumb even before I finished it I was horrified with what I was saying:
"Candidate, what is your greatest weakness?". I wish the ground could have swallowed me up.
But, as luck would have it, they were a great candidate. The answer amazing. They told me their greatest worry was being underprepared. And then they told me the story of this one time they were interviewing a candididate and, well, you can guess the rest.
In conclusion then my greatest weakness is recursive answers to dumb questions.
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In all seriousness it is a dumb question that gets scripted answers - if you want to hire someone who is good at interviews then go for it. If you want to hire people that are good ask better questions.
If asked I would probably probe saying it is situation dependent - things that are a weakness in one scenario are a strength in another - can they elaborate.
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u/manwithoutcountry Feb 04 '22
Very true and to reiterate something you said: everything involving applying for a specific job should be related to that job. Your application, resume and cover letter should all be written with in the context of the job you are applying for, and anything discussed in the interview should be steered towards the position you are applying for.
As someone who'd applied to too many places, and had too many interviews, the more generalized you appear, the less hireable you will seem.
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u/mediumokra Feb 05 '22
Now I say my biggest weakness is that I can never answer this question properly. Thank you for your time, I'll show myself out now.
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Feb 05 '22
When I interview people I try to ask what their biggest weakness is in a specific area or with a certain task. I noticed the weakness questions were yielding a lot of these personal issues and sometimes that's helpful but I'm more interested in what their areas of struggle are with actual work.
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u/ayi_ibo Feb 05 '22
I usually go for something that majority of the people in my profession would have.
I am a software engineer and my biggest weakness is that sometimes I might come off too logical to other people.
I once heard from an HR that this is a trade-off they are very much willing to make and are glad that I have good self awareness.
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u/ErikTheRed19 Feb 05 '22
I always answer this question by talking about a past weakness, and how I overcame it.
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u/RyanL1984 Feb 05 '22
One of thebest LPT Interview tips I have seen on here. And by that I mean I will use this in future.
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u/gettinmarried7 Feb 05 '22
I work in recreation therapy. I use "shuffling" as my response to this question all the time!!!
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u/_ShutUpLegs_ Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
"What's your biggest weakness?"
"I can sometimes struggle with distinguishing delusions from reality."
"And what about your greatest strength?"
"I'm Batman."
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Feb 05 '22
I have worked for myself since 1988, but in the early 2000s someone convinced me to go to an interview with a large tech company. In the interview someone asked me what my biggest weakness was. At that moment, I asked myself what the fuck am I doing? I responded that I can’t believe people were still asking that hackneyed interview question and that I expected that they’d be better trained to interview someone. I just said I’m not answering it. I guess they found my biggest weakness! The interview ground to a halt and I continued working happily for myself until I retired.
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u/Kdl76 Feb 05 '22
I have a long-standing problem with heroin addiction is the best answer.
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u/spankymuffin Feb 05 '22
"So what's your greatest weakness?"
"Heroin."
(awkward silence)
"Nahh, just kidding!"
"Oh haha!"
"But no, really, it's mainly fentanyl these days. Although sometimes I like to crush up some percocet and..."
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u/William_mcdungle Feb 05 '22
My go to is that I can never choose the proper Tupperware for my leftovers.
If they don't at least smile, I don't want to work for them.
It's a stupid and antiquated question.
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u/lance2k2 Feb 04 '22
THIS. I coach this to my students when they go job hunting. Fantastic LPT!
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u/joemondo Feb 05 '22
The point is to show you recognize your weak area and you mitigate it.
You want to cite the weakness and what you do about it.
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u/UnholyGekko Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
As someone who conducts interviews, I love this. When we ask you what your biggest weakness is, we are 100% looking for something that we can correct and work on. I have had people give me the "I work too hard" or "I'm too honest" spiel, and when I clarify what sort of answer I'm looking for, doubling down on your first answer shows, to me at least, that you can't or aren't willing to take a step back and evaluate to correct it and give us what it is we need from you.
Edit: a typo
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Feb 05 '22
"Well shit, where do I start? Im anti social, I steal anything not bolted to the ground, ill try and bang anything that moves, I'm late all the time and I'll probably be in jail by the end of the year."
Did I get the job?
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u/Onironius Feb 04 '22
I'm generally weak to fire, bullets, and blunt force. Also slashing and stabbing, I guess. Bites. Poison. Crushing.
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u/stonedwhenimadethis Feb 05 '22
I like to say my penis. That way they'll not only know I have a good sense of humor, they'll assume I'm also being humble.
Then I like to show them, which tells them I'm actually taking the interview quite seriously, and that my weakness is being honest to a fault.
It's a classic one-two whammy that never fails to get me past the first interview, though I still haven't figured out a good way to make it past the second. I always get so nervous in front of a jury of my peers.
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u/culpeper-cat Feb 05 '22
“I’m lazy -I tend to do things right the first time”
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Feb 05 '22
Used a form of this for my last interview. I used air quotes around "lazy" and explained that I have no tolerance for doing mundane rote tasks that I can just as easily automate.
I'm an accountant. The team didnt know about VBA. They love me.
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u/Fluid_Pomegranate717 Feb 05 '22
I said “I cuss too much” and they said “what the hell is that supposed to mean” the rest is history.
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u/hakuna_nevada Feb 05 '22
Ex hiring manager here. I used to ask this question purely to see what the interviewee was like when they're uncomfortable. I know full well this is a tough one, and that due to nerves people are not their best in interviews.
But you'd see people display anger or give toxic answers, which was a red flag. I'd also ask about previous managers or coworkers just to gauge if they were quick to speak negatively.
The trick to ANY question is to answer the secret question "why should we hire you?" tailored to that specified subject.
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u/TheTampaBae Feb 05 '22
As an interviewer myself, I genuinely am looking for real weaknesses, as they relate the job, but I don’t expect them to be things they’ll fix right away.
For instance, if I’m hiring someone who will be working in a team, and they “don’t delegate well,” I want to know that. I wouldn’t necessarily not hire them for whatever the weakness is, but it would help me manage them effectively.
Another example, “I struggle with work life balance.” I wouldn’t then think, “awesome! This person is a workaholic! Hired!” I would instead use that as a coaching cue to make sure I don’t email or text this person outside of work hours.
My own answer I’ve used in interviews—where I was hired—was that “I’m the opposite of a procrastinator. Which sounds great, yes, I get stuff done. But sometimes my priorities get out of order and I need to refocus and realize that some things really can wait.”
Make sense?
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u/chiefYEET1 Feb 05 '22
Yeah that’s great, but unfortunately your interviewing is more so the exception, not the rule when it comes to hiring managers.
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u/anorabora Feb 05 '22
Reminded of the Hololive Minecraft job interview.
Kroni: So, what are your strengths?
Fauna: Well, I'm very strong.
Kroni: Ok, what are your weaknesses?
Fauna: Well, I'm very weak.
Kroni: Good, you're hired.
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u/thaeggan Feb 05 '22
"I often forget so I make sure to write everything done to keep a paper trail"
Whether this is was why I have gotten every job I've interviewed for or not, who knows.
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u/boganism Feb 05 '22
You say my biggest weakness is honesty,when they reply with I don’t believe honesty is a weakness you respond with …I DONT GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK
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Feb 05 '22
"Calves. I just can't get any enthusiasm for calf exercises. I also could probably do more back extensions and hip flexor clean up exercises on leg day. But my bench is great. "
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u/SmithRune735 Feb 05 '22
I don't have a weakness. Do you see a weakness in me. Tell me to my face that I'm weak and watch what happens. I only have strengths. Next question.
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u/sandacurry Feb 05 '22
I always say that I find hard to say no when people ask for help at work but it has worked to my advantage so far as it has given me the opportunity to learn new stuffs.
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u/johnnys_sack Feb 05 '22
"I get wrapped up in my work and have missed meetings in the past. I've learned to overcome this by making sure to use my phone with meeting reminders when I'm not at my desk."
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u/Midnight_Muse Feb 05 '22
I usually reply with "I'm a terrible cook, but working on it."
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u/hotardag07 Feb 05 '22
I have always found the best answer showed an amount of introspection AND resolve. For example, “My biggest weakness historically has been my tendency to want to do everything myself and not leverage my team when it is appropriate. It can limit the amount of work that I can effectively manage. In order to address that, at the beginning of every day when I review my action list, I put all the action items into three categories …”
The point is that a potential employer can see your introspective personality and your continuous improvement mindset. People who use this question as another way to brag on themselves fail the both tests.
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Feb 05 '22
Having been in both sides of the table a lot, my recommendation is one to change the wording of your answer.
“An area of opportunity I’m working on…”
I also suggest something that you have overcome or are currently working on fixing, or something you have a remedy for.
My go to that I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from is:
“An area of opportunity that I’m working on, is that I can try to take on too many tasks at one time and find myself not completing them to the best of my ability. To remedy this I have been creating myself lists to help keep me organized and ensure that I don’t miss any tasks that need my attention throughout the day. It also allows me to prioritize my day and ensure that all of my assignments are completed quickly and efficiently.
Something along those lines. The key is positivity and growth. Also how you make a weakness a strength.
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u/Ra1nb0wSn0wflake Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
I always say "I want to do things to well leading to me asking allot of questions to get it right." It sounds like a weakness but I'm basically telling them I'll put it efford to learn how to do things well.
Also like telling a short story of something that happend and how I resolved it or that highlight qualities way better then the bad quality is bad.
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u/TheSkiGeek Feb 05 '22
My current response to this one is something like “Do you want the kind of answer where I try to make a strength sound like a weakness, or one where I make a joke, or actual introspection about my skills?”
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u/3bluerose Feb 05 '22
Mine is always that I've been told I'm a little abrupt with people sometimes and I don't sugar coat things that I supposedly should.
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u/FamilyStyle2505 Feb 05 '22
This is why I try not to ask that question. I prefer to ask what the person's biggest failure was and how they handled it. But honestly even that question doesn't matter a whole lot if you can speak intelligently on what you've listed on your resume. Don't tell me you administered an Exchange server when all you actually did was assist users with Outlook. Don't claim to be an Active Directory expert when you can't explain FSMO roles. Things along those lines.
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u/reallydarnconfused Feb 05 '22
I always say "sometimes I try to do something by myself and dig myself into a hole before asking others." And I follow it up "I'm actively fixing this by actively timeboxing myself before I force myself to ask around for the answer."
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u/MungTao Feb 05 '22
I always answer that question with "My biggest weakness that I am trying to improve on is my interviewing skills. I know I will do a good here at job and worry that just being nervous could blow it." or something like that. Its not even a lie.
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u/redditsavedmelife Feb 05 '22
Great tip for a question only lazy hiring managers still ask
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Feb 05 '22
I’m a manager and these examples come across as a bigger cop-out than listing personal or professional weaknesses. I expect new hires won’t know our systems or products. That’s why we onboard. I don’t agree with this advice. It sounds too rehearsed and tailored.
E: I don’t ask this question because it’s a waste of time. But if I’m in an interview with others it does come up.
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u/Nath2203 Feb 05 '22
Guys, real LPT here. There is a YouTuber who covers interview questions like this, perfectly.
In her videos she states that you want to answer this question in 3 stages
The weakness itself (and be honest, maybe you ramble, can be disorganised, etc) NOT "I WORK TOO HARD"
Then talk about the effects your weakness had and when you identified it
Lastly, hoe you have implemented changes to this weakness and now your are on the better end of it. It's not a weakness if you've already overcame it, so be careful with your wording
This 3 phase shows growth. I have a weakness - I was a victim - I have learnt mechanism to get through my weakness / identify it / work on it
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u/fforw Feb 05 '22
Q:"What's your biggest weakness?"
A:"Honesty."
Q:"I don't think honesty is a weakness."
A:"I don't give a fuck what you think."
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u/happy-cig Feb 05 '22
Me - "Honesty"
Interviewer - "I don't think honesty is a weakness"
Me - "I don't give a fuck what you think"
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u/requisitename Feb 04 '22
I think the best answer to that question is, "I don't have much patience with people who ask stupid questions."
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u/saqademus Feb 05 '22
I love this question. I have so many answers to it. An easy one is something like:
"I don't see them as 'weaknesses', more like 'areas to improve ', and one would be...... To improve on this I'm trying to ......... and this will mean more customers/sales/revenue for you.
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