Answering "What is your greatest weakness" or any version of this question is one of the most challenging tasks in an interview. You want to put your best foot forward, but how can you do this if you are asked to talk about something uncomfortable to discuss. Well, you know this question is coming. Whether you want to answer it or not, you are likely to be asked this question. It is one of the most popular questions asked in an interview. So, then, what is the best way to answer this?

Why Is This Question Asked?

Interviewers have a reason why they ask a particular question. It is crucial for the person being interviewed to understand this. If you know the motivation behind a question, you can have a better strategy for answering it.

Are There Any Red Flags?

An employer knows that you will be putting your best foot forward in an interview. You will talk about how you did this thing, and how you accomplished that thing. Rarely will you talk about what didn't work; what you were not successful in doing. Asking this question helps to fill in the blanks about you. If you cite a weakness that would prove problematic in the role, it could indicate that you would have difficulty being successful. An employer is trying to minimize risk with their hires, and if what you say suggests that hiring you might be taking a chance due to this weakness, they may want to look at other candidates.

An example of this might be a person that has difficulty learning new technical skills in an environment where technical mastery is essential.

Do You Have Self-Awareness?

It is easier to coach people when they possess self-awareness. Self-awareness is when you understand yourself, your character, your thought process, and your feelings and desires. When one has self-awareness, coaching is easier because they are aware of areas where they are not performing well. Instead of deflecting the conversation or denying the problem, they will take an active role in acknowledging an issue, leading to change. You cannot change what you do not acknowledge. If a job seeker answers this question in a way that indicates that they are not self-aware of their weaknesses, it can cause the interviewer to question whether the person is coachable. And everyone needs to be coached in their role, at some time and in some form or fashion.

It Gives Insight on a Person's Standards

The answer to this gives some insight into how the individual judges their performance standards or behavior. Listening to what the person identifies as a weakness and how they describe it provides a clue to how a person perceives norms and behaviors in the workplace. If the person says they are not aggressive enough, and to the listener, they seem pretty aggressive, then it gives the interviewer an idea of how they view aggressive behavior in the workplace. It could be that this is a mismatch for the employer's workplace.

How Does a Person Answer When It Does Not Put Them in the Most Flattering Light?

"What is your greatest weakness?" is a hard question for everyone to answer. No one likes to talk about weaknesses. Yet, how you answer this question can tell the interviewer how you approach answering challenging questions. Are you rattled? Calm? Do you apologize? Do you answer it with confidence? This gives a glimpse of how you would handle yourself if asked uncomfortable or challenging questions while on the job.

Prepare Ahead of Time to Answer This Question

This is not a question where you want to "wing it." You know this question is likely to come, so prepare in advance on how you will handle it.

Write a List of Your Weaknesses as Well as Areas Where You Are Okay but Could Do Better

First, you need to put together a list of possible weaknesses you can use as an example. On a piece of paper have two columns. One column will be a list of those skills, behaviors, or lack of knowledge that are real weaknesses in your career. The second column will have a list that contains those things that you do okay with but could do better with more practice, focus, or training.

Looking at this list, ask yourself these questions:

• Have any of these been pointed out to me by others?

• Have you taken active steps to improve in any of these areas? How?

• Have you had a measurable improvement in any of these areas?

Write down your answers next to the weakness.

Use Your Research to Find Examples That Will Not Cause Alarm Bells to Ring

Next, look through the job description. What are the requirements for the position, both hard and soft skills? Look at your company research. What is important in the company culture? What do they want to see in employees?

Now compare the two lists. If there is anything on your weakness or just okay list that is important to the company or essential for the role, such as skills or behaviors that are of value, cross it off. You are not going to be mentioning this in your interview. This will raise a possible red flag. You should be honest with yourself, though, and understand if you can't or won't do something important for success in the role or with the company, it might not be the right fit for you. But that is for a different blog post.

Look at what remains on your list. These are possible topics for discussion. Focus on the ones where you have improved. These are the ones that you would use as an example.

Develop Your Story

Now write down your story. You can construct your story with the following template:

The weakness/area where you are not as strong + how you realized this was something you needed to work on + what you did to improve + results

Things to Not Do When Answering 

You can successfully answer this question if you follow my guide on selecting an appropriate weakness. Here are things I would strongly advise you not to do.

Don't try to turn a negative into a positive

One of the oldest tricks in the book for answering this question is to try to make a negative into a positive. You know something like, "Sometimes I work too hard," or "I am too much of a perfectionist." Every recruiter is on to this, and you won't win any points with this answer. An answer like this is just spin. If you are trying to have an engaging conversation with your interviewer and build rapport, this can be a real turn-off.

When people used to give me that answer, I would challenge them. I would say that it did not seem like a real weakness and ask them for another. That really flustered them. 

Say You Have No Weaknesses

Some people think the way they get out of answering this question is to say that they have no weaknesses. This is a bad strategy. What do we learn as children? No one is perfect. The interviewer knows this. If you claim that you are perfect, they will not believe you. Plus, you have shone yourself to be totally unaware or a liar. Neither is a good takeaway about you from your interview.

Don't Deflect

Some people take the approach that they will deflect and not answer the question. You know the old political trick of answering another question that was not asked. I do not know many Recruiters that will fall for this. One thing that burns Recruiters are candidates that do not answer their questions. There is only so much time for an interview, and the questions are asked to elicit information relevant to judging whether you are qualified for the position. If you answer another question, you are depriving the interviewer of the chance to rule you in or out for a position, based upon your answer. Without sufficient information, the usual default will be to rule you out.

Things to Think About When Answering This Question

Keep the following things in mind when you answer the "What is your greatest weakness" question during an interview.

1. Keep your answer short. This is not the type of question that you want to go into great detail. You want to answer the question directly and succinctly. Say what you need to say, keep it short, and hopefully, the interviewer will move on.

2. Do not pick any weakness that is non-work related. Some people think this is a better way to answer the question, but it just confuses the interviewer and makes them think you are a bit obtuse. Of course, the example needs to be related to work—that is all they care about, not that you are a lousy cook (unless you wanted to work in a culinary position).

3. Answer the question with confidence. Don't hedge or apologize. Own up to what it is and have a story about why the interviewer should not be concerned.

4. Use the term "area of opportunity" instead of weakness when answering. It is a bit of semantics, but you are not planting the seed that this is a weakness by using this terminology.

5. If you have an apparent weakness, say so. I had a client whose 2nd language was English. She spoke well but sometimes had to stop and think about the proper word. Anyone that interviewed her would know that English was not her primary language. Therefore, since this was obvious, she could talk about not being 100% fluent in English as a weakness. People who interview her would know that her English would be sufficient for almost any job. If she talks about this, she does not have to bring anything else up for a weakness. 

Examples of Ways to Answer the Question

Here are some examples of how you might answer this question. 

Weakness: Public Speaking

Public speaking used to be my worst fear. I know many people would rather go to the dentist than speak in public, but I think my fear may have been worse. I would shy away from any time I could possibly have to talk in front of a group. I realized that I was doing a disservice to my team and peers if I had information to convey and did not share. So, I started to ask for opportunities to present in my area of specialty. I also took a public speaking class, so I was more comfortable with how to develop an effective presentation and how to keep eye contact, and to control my body movements. I do not know if I will ever eliminate butterflies when I present, but I know I am much more comfortable now.

Public speaking is a weakness that many people have, perhaps even the interviewer. So it is one that people can relate to well. It is also one that you can improve with practice. This example shows recognition of the issue and a plan that was put into place to improve.

Weakness: Delegation

When I first moved from being an individual contributor to a manager, I had a hard time letting go of tasks and letting my team do the work. I had more experience and thought I could do it better. It did, though, cause more work for me and caused the team to have low morale. My manager pulled me aside and said that she wanted me to get work done through others, and as I had grown through learning new things, the team would too. I realized that I had to get better at this. Sometimes, I still have the urge to do things myself, but I realize that in the long run, that is not good for me or my direct reports.

Learning how to delegate is an issue that is not uncommon with many new managers. Again, this is a skill that can be improved upon with time. This person was made aware of it by their manager and coached on it. It indicates that the person is receptive to feedback and takes action. It is helpful in this type of example if you can show that you addressed it several years ago instead of recently, so it thought of as a past problem and not a present one.

Weakness: A non-required technical skill

I am not as proficient as I would like to be in Microsoft PowerPoint. I can put together presentations, and I have never received any feedback that my presentations are lacking. I see others who put in such attractive graphics and format their presentations in an eye-catching way. On my own, I have looked at Youtube videos that focus on advanced PowerPoint skills, and I have started to play around with these. At some point, I would like to get certified as an expert in PowerPoint.

If the role does not require putting together many presentations or the company's expectations are serviceable presentations, this can be a fine answer. You can still do the job; you just want to be as good as others. This is an example where you use an okay skill that you want to improve. 

Conclusion

Don't get panicked by this question. With some research and preparation on your part, you can honestly answer this question but in a way that should not work against you in the interview. My method helps you develop good examples that you use with confidence.

Find out how to answer the challenging interview question, "Tell Me About Yourself?"

Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.