My greatest weakness

What’s your weakness?

Interviews are tough!

Really tough. Of course, you can do all the preparation possible, but no matter how much time you put into this beforehand, it’s likely there’ll still be some sort of curveball ahead. For me, this comes in the form of certain questions that are a) very likely to come up in an interview, but b) hard to answer in the right way without sounding like an incompetent idiot. A really arduous question, and probably the most difficult to answer in my opinion, is the classic “tell me your greatest weakness”.

One of many reasons why this is a hard one for me is simply because the question itself seems counter-intuitive. I’m often left sat there in the interview room thinking: “how is me downplaying my weaknesses for the next few minutes going to tell you how good an employee I will be?”. It’s not really going to balance out the fact that the rest of the interview has been a chance to almost show off, and tell a future company how great I am.

Regardless, this is a question that comes up in many interviews, so it’s important to get it right, or you’re destined for an awkward couple of minutes of silence at best, or at worst, ramblings that seem to go on forever. Nerves can sometimes play a part in how things unfold too, so it’s important to be as best prepared as you can be, should it all go pear-shaped.

To try an avoid that awkward unprepared-for conversation, and to position yourself so that you receive a well-deserved pat on your own back after the interview, here is my list of potential answers that, when elaborated on, produce the kind of healthy professional conversing you’re aiming for in an interview (I’ve also rated them out of 10 for those who can’t be bothered to rank them/those who are tempted to disclose that maybe laziness is their greatest weakness*):

“My greatest weakness is…”

• “Weakness? What weakness? I don’t have one.” – 0/10 – You have a weakness. Everyone does. If you’re in a first stage with your flaws (denial), then move onto a next stage (acceptance) and learn how to answer this question properly.
• “I give too much attention to detail” – 8/10 – Really strong. It immediately tells the interviewer that you love working hard and accurately, and for extended periods of time. Hopefully that’s all true, but if not then you can work on that problem another day. This answer does become less strong, though, when applying for a role that requires oversight of others’ work (you could be coming across as everyone’s worst micro-managing manager).
• “I am a people-pleaser” – 7/10 – Pretty good, since everyone loves someone that gets on with someone else, and this is not as obvious an immediate negative as some of the others on here. However, this one could imply that you let people-pleasing get in the way of doing actual work, and your prioritisation and time-management skills aren’t quite up to scratch. So, for that reason I don’t think it’s the best option on this list
• “I criticise myself too much sometimes” – 9/10 – the strongest on this list, in my opinion, and the option I would personally use. Your greatest critic is often yourself, and this is true for almost everyone, including your interviewer. Not only does this characteristic keep your quality of work high, but it also shows continual personal and professional development. Additionally, the company will be able to sympathise with this mentality, as they will have certainly experienced this at work. “Just make sure you look after yourself too, OK?” should be the worst they end up thinking after you table this one.
• “I struggle with task prioritisation” – 7/10 – Again, not a terrible answer, but initially can make you seem disorganised. It is, however, something that many people struggle with, as it’s a skill needed in most job roles, so it could extract the interviewer’s sympathy again.

Realistically, the key here is to think of a quality that at face value seems negative, but upon elaboration can be turned into a positive. The aim of this question from the interviewer’s point of view is simply to continue to assess what you’re like as a person (and to ensure you’re not so egotistical that you can’t recognise one single fault about your working habits). So, let this play out to your advantage by being honest with yourself and authentic with the company, and show them that what once seemed a problem has since become resolved.

I am hopeful that these thoughts and ideas have provided a clearer path for those that, like me, struggle with professional vulnerability in interviews. Feel free to borrow these, and if you have some other responses, then please do get in touch, as I’d love nothing more than to discover other flaws I possess that I don’t yet know about.

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*Please, for the love of all that’s important to you, don’t say in an interview that your greatest weakness is that you are lazy – you won’t stand a chance.

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