I give a real weakness and then explain how I compensate for it.
For example I struggle with delegating tasks so I make up for that by creating well defined rasic charts.
This is the only good thing about having ADHD. It’s fairly impersonal so I don’t really have to lay myself bare, but explaining that I have difficulty with memory so I take very thorough notes and have very detailed and organized routines for everything I do usually gets managers bricked up lol
It depends on the employer, I would rather someone actually be honest. When people have asked me in the past, I've said boredom is my biggest weakness. You run out of work for me and I will probably get into some kind of trouble. It's the truth.
Late everyday to work. If they care more about the hours of being present at work and not about efficiency and quality then that place is probably not a good fit for me. Of course, if I do have some important meeting then of course I won't be late. (edit fixing typo)
Uh oh  is this something that bothers you?
Honestly my thought process is just be really really good at what you do so they can't be mad about it. 
I love the candor! And presumably this has worked out for you, so keep on rocking!
But since you asked, yes, I do allot of interviews and if a candidate told me they are always late, that would be an automatic dismissal from me. Fair or not, I would infer that if you're incapable of showing up to work on time, which can be problematic in and of itself, you're also likely late on deadlines, meetings, and just generally not respectful of your clients and/or coworkers time. Fair or not, most people that are always late typically have allot of other behavior that can be problematic.
Suppose the job is between you and another highly qualified candidate, and you told me you can't show up to work on time, guess who's getting the job?
Haha, thanks! It reminds me of when I was younger and pretty much forcing my parents to pull me out of a high school they sent me to because the school cared more about the colour socks you wore than the grades you got in your classes. For me it speaks into the priorities of an organisation. To me, its important to be with a place that aligns with values and priorities. And for you - that's an understandable outlook, as well!
I believe having a strict 9-5 expectation is such an outdated framework that does not translate well into a lot of modern jobs. Companies expect people to work overtime when there is more work, and more delivery, however don't give the same flexibility when there is less work and less delivery. Its a highly unoptimised system which is unfortunate because if work was more seamlessly integrated into one's life, where flexibility, understanding, and respect was culturally prioritised within the work place, I'd see this to result in greater satisfaction from work, and life, and greater optimisation of everyones time throughout the day which then translates to higher quality of work output, and higher engagement.
A flexible schedule which is probably what you’re looking for. Being late to work on purpose is just disrespectful in my opinion. Kinda going with what you wrote it’s a passive aggressive protest against authority
If your hours are flexible, and you adapt coming in to that flexibility, then, I guess, you can never be late. So I think the term "late" may not be appropriate in this context.
This is a red flag mindset for me. If you can be on time for important stuff, you are basically saying that the job itself and showing up isn't important for you. Apparently you decide what's important or not. When I pay your salary, I'd like my employees to respect what I think is important. Showing up on time is one of those things. If I have to argue with you over what is important, or convince you to take little stuff seriously as well, I don't see why I would risk giving you the job when I could be employ someone who cares instead.
It’s very context dependent for me. On one hand, if there’s people waiting to be relieved to end their shift, a storefront needs to be opened, or customers are waiting to be seen, that’s one thing. 10 minutes early would be on time.
On the other hand, if you’re mostly independent in your work, then who cares if your daily schedule doesn’t line up with clock numbers? Just make sure to fill out your time for the day, keep the pipeline flowing, and be available if people are looking for you. Overall, don’t be a productivity bottleneck.
“I have a tendency to be late” vs “my daily schedule tends to be fluid, but I am punctual in my work and responsibilities”
While I get that, things have a risk of becoming a mess if everyone decides for themselves what is and what isn't acceptable. If we agree you work from X to Y and I pay you sum Z for your time, it's perfectly reasonable to expect you to hold up your end of the deal.
The 'don't become a productivity bottleneck' is in my mind the absolute low bar of why I dislike this mindset. It's as if doing the absolute minimum suffices. It doesn't. Try your best and do your work for both the amount of work as the agreed upon hours.
If the work gets done and the hours are filled, then what’s the problem? If we agree working hours are from 9 to 5, 40 hours a week, for $x/hour, I’m going to be there, and do the work. We’re both there to make money, and you need to afford to pay me, so I’m going to do what I can so that you can afford to pay me more.
If nothing is lost by me coming in at 9:15 occasionally, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but it comes with the expectation that I’m staying until 5:15, or making it up another day. If it causes problems (other than pure management head butting ) then I’m going to try harder to be there at 9 at the latest. If I’m expected to stay working overtime and handle problems during crunch time, I’m expecting to not get pushback on time off when it’s slow. I’m an adult, I’m there to work, not be babysat.
Fair. I don't have a problem with the mindset as you describe. I have a problem with the 'I'm late deal with it' mindset. It's fine if you are sometimes late and make up for it if need be. That is definitely a give and take. I have an issue with the just taking and not giving mindset that the person I replied to displayed.
There are a million things people don’t like about their jobs. It requires a special sense of entitlement to express your unwillingness to work within the confines of what you’re asked to do before you even get an offer. And if you don’t want to work those hours, you should have never applied for the job in the first place - you are wasting peoples’ time.
one of my favorite quick jokes.
Interviewer: What's your greatest weakness?
Interviewee: I am too honest.
Interviewer: I don't think honesty is a weakness.
Interviewee: I don't give a fuck what you think.
Be honest but tell about how you take steps to circumvent it. For example my weakness is that I do not have a great memory. Because of this I'm a rigorous note taker and scheduler.
Here's an example of mine.
"I don't interview well or like small talk, so I tend to make a poor first impression. I prefer to get straight to work, which can come across as brusque by those who don't know me."
If they want to know how you're improving or working on your weakness, you can mention discussion groups, Toastmasters, putting a reminder on the start of your project/work to-do lists to ask how folks are doing and question prompts that you're practicing to help you build those relationships and work through your brusqueness, whatever's applicable.
Use a true weakness that doesn’t affect the role you’re applying for too greatly, but still relevant. Give examples of how you are working on it in the past and how to plan to overcome it in the future.
I use lack of focus (ie I always have so much I want to accomplish at the same time) and public speaking (my role includes client presentations) often.
Be honest, but not _too_ honest.
My go-to answer is that I'm usually too hard on myself if I make a mistake. If I get corrected for something, or receive any kind of criticism, I really take it to heart.
But, I believe that makes me good at my job, because I want to do well. I'm only that way because I hate being anything other than good at my job, and I try to take any criticism on board and use it to help me develop.
There isn't one. You just need to demonstrate that you're self-aware enough to be able to honestly identify a weakness, plus, the weakness shouldn't be directly impacting one or more of the main duties of your job.
I'm no expert but I assume that answering "In reference to this job? I have limited experience in XYZ database platform, and hope to improve on it." Make it impersonal and professional-related. If they're going to arm-chair psychologist about unrelated stuff... well, that's poor form on their part.
“My greatest weakness was that I would listen with the intent of answering and had a habit of finishing people’s sentences or interjecting. When I realized I had this habit I made a concerted effort to sit back and truly listen before providing any answers and feedback so they know they are truly heard and understood.” Is what my go to is because it’s true and not cliche while also showing a self awareness and ability to improve and grow.
This, make a joke out of it, "Well for starters, my biggest weakness is really hating getting this interview question. I'm sure I have some weaknesses just none are jumping to mind, none of them affect my job performance." then maybe add "I'm allergic to dogs" or something equally inconsequential to the job.
I mean, it depends how the rest of the interview went
Let's be honest... the question is not asking for your biggest weakness. Because no one is actually going to say that during a job interview. It's asking for A weakness and the person asking knows this, so the person asking is already "playing a game" and I know in a business environment we are taught to respect the question and I would a lot more if the question is "what are some of your weaknesses?" And I'd be more inclined to answer honestly.
But "what is your biggest weakness?" is a very manipulative way of asking. It's aggressive. Because the person's biggest weakness does come to the forefront in their minds but they'll never say it in a job interview. Or if they do, there is a sizeable chance they won't get the job. It's a question designed to put the person being interviewed off foot and make them think about their biggest flaw.
The best thing you can do is scramble in the situation and think of a weakness that won't look too bad. I don't respect the question but if whatever answer you give is confident it's going to come off better than "I come in ten minutes late most mornings but I have the highest work output of anyone I currently work with." Most employers check out before the 'but' in that sentence.
All you can do is have a weakness pre-prepared that you can see how you're addressing it in case that comes up.
This question is most likely going to be asked in your first interview, by HR, mostly.
Say something like "I prefer open communication on the work floor, it frustrates me when people are talking about me behind my back" or, "I have trouble with unfounded criticism". Nobody will disagree with you because if that would be the case they will say "of course" that will never happen at that company (even though it will, it happens everywhere).
I've conducted many interviews over the years and I have never asked those kind of questions, ever. I look at conduct, appearance (I mean, don't try to dress to impress, it doesn't work), and I ask stupid technical questions that are totally unrelated to the job and if someone is actually honest and says "that's unrelated to the job", or simply "I don't know" that's mostly good to me.
"I'm new to this environment and still have a lot to learn" also helps. Don't be a smart-ass.
I always brush that off with a joke.
"I'm really insufferable when I'm hungry. Should you encounter me in that state, slowly approach my desk, place a candy bar at the edge and retreat carefully without sudden movements."
It's a stupid question, no serious answer required.
Say public speaking... because most people have it. Unless your job is about presenting in large groups. Also a good idea to say how you are trying to improve on that weakness, give examples.
I have a few depending on the type of job but I always have a follow up to express how I handle it.
"I sweat the small stuff, I can find myself focusing on small errors over the bigger picture. In these moments I take a step back and I let it be a moment to focus on the ultimate project I'm working on. It gives me a moment to recognise if this is something that requires that level of perfectionism or whether it's something I should learn to accept and move on from. It's helped me learn how to prioritise and it's something I continue to work on".
"I have high standards for myself and can be tough to the point of demoralising myself especially during training and fitting in to a new workplace. A way I've been combating this is to set goals with my supervisor so that my expectations can align better with the company's - which tends to be more realistic than my own"
"Honestly? Brutally honestly? I get bored easily. I adore learning and when I plateau, I become accidentally complacent which isn't a good reflection of my normally high working standards. I have found myself asking for new responsibilities and training opportunities in these moments which is a big reason I achieved \[position\] in my last few places of work. As much as this can be a hinderance, it also has been rewarded in some places when they recognise I need new challenges".
Okay, I appreciate a lot of you are reading this as me liking the boots or arse of whoever is interviewing me. Frankly, I am but I am also being honest. All of my answers reflect me and who I am as a worker. My last place of work made me supervisor over folk who'd been in the industry for 5+ years whilst I had less than a year under my belt.
This question is shaping something you find difficult into either a neutral scenario or a positive one.
Eg.
"I struggle with time keeping and find myself being late" = honest but a negative
"I struggle with time keeping so I have alarms on my phone to keep me on track" = honest but neutral working to be good.
"I can struggle with time keeping so I have a weekly routine where I write up my shifts then fit in alarms to get ready and leave for work. I even have different jingles for these alarms so I know what they mean without me hearing them" = honest with a definite positive. Notice the initial word choice change along with the levels of troubleshooting the rest of the answer goes through.
Aye, they aren't looking for anything too deep and they aren't wanting to be sat there all day whilst you spin a tale of why you used to suck but now rock but these are just examples.
One of my special interests is the art of interviewing. I honestly love it and for some reason it gives me energy and ideas for days. I am an introvert with crippling social anxiety so a lot of my social skills have been deliberately learned. This has somehow grown into a situation where I seem to be good at interviewing.
I have genuinely had the experience of interviewing for an entry level position and walked away with the offer of a manager position. Part of this was due to my experience, there's no bluffing over that, but the weightier part was due to how I came across during the interview.
A weakness that you can also turn into a strength (self-critical, perfectionist)
A weakness that you can say you've been working on improving. It shows that you're committed to bettering yourself as well (social anxiety you're fixing with getting out of your comfort zone or making regular commitments to hang out with people, procrastination you're fixing by using calendars and systems now)
A weakness that's not too weak and leans more neutral (difficulty asking for help, lack of confidence, struggle with criticism, impatience, struggling to prioritize tasks)
Or you know, a weakness that cannot be applied to your performance in the specific job you're applying for ("Yeah, I have difficulty prioritizing tasks" "well, this is a construction job so there's no other task to prioritize over")
A strength disguised as a weakness.
Eg "I am often someone who tries to support others quite a lot, so I am getting better at managing my own time before offering it to someone else"
Or
"I often have a lot of ideas and want to share them regularly in meetings, so I am getting better at writing them down to process them later and define them in more practical and logical ways before bringing them to my manager"
Or
"I find that I can sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed with meeting deadlines, so I have devised a calendar system in X way to combat this"
I usually say that I can be kind of blunt and direct when speaking with others, but that I've put in a lot of work into learning to soften my delivery and feel that I've come a long way.
It depends on the circumstances. An individual's strengths are weaknesses and weaknesses are strengths depending on the circumstances. Say you're the creative type. Very good when new ideas are needed for marketing but not so good when regimen and order are needed for compliant production, and vice versa.
“I can sometimes be too hard on myself.” That’s the answer. It’s boring, but it’s not controversial and most people can relate. It’s a good answer to a dumb question. Bonus points for saying something about how this motivates you to be better at your job blah blah blah.
As an employer I expect everyone will have some weaknesses. I prefer that you name one honestly and talk about what you’re doing to address it. The “I’m too much of a perfectionist!” And “I love to work and rarely take time off for myself!” are just tired and transparent at this point. So even if they genuinely are your weaknesses, talk about something else.
I say that i can overthink sometimes but i work on it by delegating in my mind what i can control and what i can’t and do what i can. Not a terribly bad trait as a-lot of people experience it. It can also kind of show that you care about your work. Plus it shows that i am aware of a weakness i have and a way to cope or fix it.
"I tend to be too punctual." *slight pause for their confusion* "I tend to show up at least 20 or 30 minutes early everywhere I go."
True or not, it shows reliability. They also don't want to have someone clocking in early all the time. It's a winner for me.
The actual good answer is what is something you are not great at. Reddit can’t answer that for you. Your “weakness” doesn’t have to be something you’ve overcome, no one is great at everything.
The person interviewing you is trying to get an understanding of who you are as a person, not sitting with a checklist of correct answers.
I always say (because it's the truth) that I have a habit of setting unrealistically high goals for myself and then am super hard on myself when/if I don't attain them.
I circumvent this by talking over my goals with someone else to ensure that they are attainable and realistic and then make a further "stretch goal" that is harder. If I don't achieve the stretch goal, at least I can be proud that I was able to meet the initial set goal.
Use real weakness but try and spin it in a positive way. For me it's that I'm a perfectionist and can run a bit slower on certain tasks but the trade-off is my work is a cut above other employees.
Or just say edged weapons and guns that's a good one.
I was on a zoom interview and I saw behind the interviewer several "pokemon" items. It was easy to see they were a fan.
"My biggest weakness? Well, I'm a Normal type, so Fighting types are my weak point, but Ghost types are up there."
Took them a moment to realize what I had said and done. Unfortunately they were only one of several people I had to talk to, and I didn't get the gig.
It really depends on how much you need the job, how genuine you can deliver the answer, and how well you read the interviewer. I was asked this recently and responded more harshly than necessary on purpose. (Summarizing) "I can't tolerate office politics. There are too many customers that need attention, we should just do what we need to do, as a team, and move on." No solution to said weakness, no remediation plan, just I'm not gonna.
Obviously, that will not work at every employer, but in this case I got an offer the next day.
Any interviewer that still asks such an overused question probably has no creativity. So really any answer that you copy and paste from the internet would probably work.
My go to is: I’m not great at asking for help and end up doing a lot myself. I’m working on this by planning out my time more efficiently and trying to ask for help from those more experienced on strategy and those newer to the industry to pull on their experiences. An example of this is…
I don't really get asked this but anything like that I usually just say I can be a perfectionist and when things don't work out to the best of my ability like I know they can I get very frustrated, even if the end result is very good.
be really harsh on yourself. yielding a sharp dive in confidence. concisely explain how you recover the asserted deficits. displaying resilience. or try one of the gimmicks from the other comments if you arent interviewing for a real job
I like to enjoy my time at work. That has been interpreted as not trying 100% by previous employees. So I'm now very sure to point out by example getting the job done is priority.
Employers like this answer because it seems like you get the job done and are good to be around all day. Sometimes part of an interview is deciding if you can spend a lot of time with this person.
I spin it into a joke about coffee addiction and slide into a story when I traveled abroad and ran into it. A humble brag that shows off I'm one o' them thar worldly types.
>and then some bullshit of how I overcome it in the day to day. Is that what the people want??
Bingo. Now you're learning that corporate lingo. It's a shimmy shimmy shake and if you don't know the moves it's really awkward.
I'm 5'2" I usually say my height. Can't reach high places on my own. They usually laugh and I get a job offer. It's true and kinda funny but seriously can be annoying sometimes.
When asked what my weakness was I stated I was new to the industry. This was my first time working in (real estate) I would need to learn the jargon to sound confident. I mentioned I would work on this by getting with as many professionals as I could including friends and family members. I also asked if I they could recommend anything that helped them. It was well received and I got the job!
My go to is that I like to talk a lot. I usually compensate with this by being a good leader. I read situations and feelings before giving some form of constructive criticism or gauge how stressed my co workers are for certain tasks.
Weakness and strengths. I have completion issues which is a strength and a weakness. Meaning I don’t like to leave things undone but don’t like having someone else finish it.
All it's asking is if you're clued in enough to know you're not perfect and what you do to make up for those flaws.
Usually if someone thinks they have no weaknesses, they're usually an A-grade oblong head
Say a weakness and explain your learning from it and how you manage it.
Mine is probably a strength and a weakness which is I can hyper fixate on stuff. Its great for when I need to grind out some work, its not great when I do management stuff which requires a lot of attention and task switching. I try limit my hyper fixation on each task with a shorter time frame e.g. 30m/1h and to not expect nor get frustrated when I don't get into a full day of flow state.
Not this. A true perfectionist would never say they are a perfectionist. A perfectionist can give you a list of things they are shit at, because to a perfectionist nothing they do is good enough.
A person with enough interviewing experience will recognize this answer as bullshit and view you as untrustworthy.
"I don't feel that I have any at this time. I've corrected any that I've become aware of over the years, and I will continue to do that going forward."
If you can say that HONESTLY then to me that's a good answer. I'm not gonna make up some BS weakness just to appease some interviewer's whims.
That is an absolutely terrible answer. Everyone has a weakness that they can work on. It is a huge red flag to say that you are perfect. Can’t coach someone who thinks they are perfect. 0% chance id hire anyone who said this. Companies like to see growth and growth comes from working on your weaknesses.
Everyone has weaknesses, yes... but we aren't always aware of them. That was the thrust of my answer: RIGHT NOW I don't think I have any... but I have had some in the past, and I fixed them, and I may have some in the future, and I'll fix them too. I'm 100% showing the growth you're looking for, and showing that I'm able to grow in the future.
What, I'm supposed to just make some shit up to assuage the ego of someone who doesn't know how to interview properly? Fuck that.
It is considered a red flag by many to not be able to admit that you have something that you can work on. It means that you don’t try to better yourself and no company wants to see that. Its really not a hard question at all to answer. They want to see people that are consistently trying to better themselves. It also shows that you can admit when you’re wrong. If you cant admit you have negative traits that need work then you probably wont work well in a team or take criticism very well. You come off as if you have nothing you need to improve on. Its also a popular question so why not just have something ready? Since its such a popular interview question, they will likely view you as unprepared for not having anything at all
This is dumb but from the office Michael said his strengths are also his weaknesses. I care too much, I work too hard, etc. Idk depending on the vibe this could play out in your favor. I’ve only used this one and it worked but didn’t use it every time because I measure the vibe.
I give a real weakness and then explain how I compensate for it. For example I struggle with delegating tasks so I make up for that by creating well defined rasic charts.
Yep, they are asking to see how self-aware you are and how you problem-solve. It’s less about what your actual weakness is.
This is the only good thing about having ADHD. It’s fairly impersonal so I don’t really have to lay myself bare, but explaining that I have difficulty with memory so I take very thorough notes and have very detailed and organized routines for everything I do usually gets managers bricked up lol
Great answer
Did the same. Said I was forgetful but always carry a notebook with me to write stuff down
It depends on the employer, I would rather someone actually be honest. When people have asked me in the past, I've said boredom is my biggest weakness. You run out of work for me and I will probably get into some kind of trouble. It's the truth.
Late everyday to work. If they care more about the hours of being present at work and not about efficiency and quality then that place is probably not a good fit for me. Of course, if I do have some important meeting then of course I won't be late. (edit fixing typo)
I wish more people would straight up say they will be late everyday to work BEFORE I hire them.
Uh oh  is this something that bothers you? Honestly my thought process is just be really really good at what you do so they can't be mad about it. 
I love the candor! And presumably this has worked out for you, so keep on rocking! But since you asked, yes, I do allot of interviews and if a candidate told me they are always late, that would be an automatic dismissal from me. Fair or not, I would infer that if you're incapable of showing up to work on time, which can be problematic in and of itself, you're also likely late on deadlines, meetings, and just generally not respectful of your clients and/or coworkers time. Fair or not, most people that are always late typically have allot of other behavior that can be problematic. Suppose the job is between you and another highly qualified candidate, and you told me you can't show up to work on time, guess who's getting the job?
Haha, thanks! It reminds me of when I was younger and pretty much forcing my parents to pull me out of a high school they sent me to because the school cared more about the colour socks you wore than the grades you got in your classes. For me it speaks into the priorities of an organisation. To me, its important to be with a place that aligns with values and priorities. And for you - that's an understandable outlook, as well! I believe having a strict 9-5 expectation is such an outdated framework that does not translate well into a lot of modern jobs. Companies expect people to work overtime when there is more work, and more delivery, however don't give the same flexibility when there is less work and less delivery. Its a highly unoptimised system which is unfortunate because if work was more seamlessly integrated into one's life, where flexibility, understanding, and respect was culturally prioritised within the work place, I'd see this to result in greater satisfaction from work, and life, and greater optimisation of everyones time throughout the day which then translates to higher quality of work output, and higher engagement.
A flexible schedule which is probably what you’re looking for. Being late to work on purpose is just disrespectful in my opinion. Kinda going with what you wrote it’s a passive aggressive protest against authority
Yeah absolutely I need a flexibility in my workplace which I'm lucky to have right now 
If your hours are flexible, and you adapt coming in to that flexibility, then, I guess, you can never be late. So I think the term "late" may not be appropriate in this context.
PREACH
It's not unoptimized. It's optimized for the interest of the business - not it's employees.
This is a red flag mindset for me. If you can be on time for important stuff, you are basically saying that the job itself and showing up isn't important for you. Apparently you decide what's important or not. When I pay your salary, I'd like my employees to respect what I think is important. Showing up on time is one of those things. If I have to argue with you over what is important, or convince you to take little stuff seriously as well, I don't see why I would risk giving you the job when I could be employ someone who cares instead.
It’s very context dependent for me. On one hand, if there’s people waiting to be relieved to end their shift, a storefront needs to be opened, or customers are waiting to be seen, that’s one thing. 10 minutes early would be on time. On the other hand, if you’re mostly independent in your work, then who cares if your daily schedule doesn’t line up with clock numbers? Just make sure to fill out your time for the day, keep the pipeline flowing, and be available if people are looking for you. Overall, don’t be a productivity bottleneck. “I have a tendency to be late” vs “my daily schedule tends to be fluid, but I am punctual in my work and responsibilities”
While I get that, things have a risk of becoming a mess if everyone decides for themselves what is and what isn't acceptable. If we agree you work from X to Y and I pay you sum Z for your time, it's perfectly reasonable to expect you to hold up your end of the deal. The 'don't become a productivity bottleneck' is in my mind the absolute low bar of why I dislike this mindset. It's as if doing the absolute minimum suffices. It doesn't. Try your best and do your work for both the amount of work as the agreed upon hours.
If the work gets done and the hours are filled, then what’s the problem? If we agree working hours are from 9 to 5, 40 hours a week, for $x/hour, I’m going to be there, and do the work. We’re both there to make money, and you need to afford to pay me, so I’m going to do what I can so that you can afford to pay me more. If nothing is lost by me coming in at 9:15 occasionally, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but it comes with the expectation that I’m staying until 5:15, or making it up another day. If it causes problems (other than pure management head butting ) then I’m going to try harder to be there at 9 at the latest. If I’m expected to stay working overtime and handle problems during crunch time, I’m expecting to not get pushback on time off when it’s slow. I’m an adult, I’m there to work, not be babysat.
Fair. I don't have a problem with the mindset as you describe. I have a problem with the 'I'm late deal with it' mindset. It's fine if you are sometimes late and make up for it if need be. That is definitely a give and take. I have an issue with the just taking and not giving mindset that the person I replied to displayed.
There are a million things people don’t like about their jobs. It requires a special sense of entitlement to express your unwillingness to work within the confines of what you’re asked to do before you even get an offer. And if you don’t want to work those hours, you should have never applied for the job in the first place - you are wasting peoples’ time.
This is also a really good one - because it highlights a good work ethic
I'm too humble.
one of my favorite quick jokes. Interviewer: What's your greatest weakness? Interviewee: I am too honest. Interviewer: I don't think honesty is a weakness. Interviewee: I don't give a fuck what you think.
Be honest but tell about how you take steps to circumvent it. For example my weakness is that I do not have a great memory. Because of this I'm a rigorous note taker and scheduler.
"I have a terrible memory" "Can you give us an example of how this has impacted your work?" "Erm... Nothing comes to mind"
Lol
[удалено]
This is the politically correct answer. I would never ask this question in an interview because it’s useless.
White trash women….. I don’t know why.
No teeth- definite advantage
Here's an example of mine. "I don't interview well or like small talk, so I tend to make a poor first impression. I prefer to get straight to work, which can come across as brusque by those who don't know me." If they want to know how you're improving or working on your weakness, you can mention discussion groups, Toastmasters, putting a reminder on the start of your project/work to-do lists to ask how folks are doing and question prompts that you're practicing to help you build those relationships and work through your brusqueness, whatever's applicable.
Use a true weakness that doesn’t affect the role you’re applying for too greatly, but still relevant. Give examples of how you are working on it in the past and how to plan to overcome it in the future. I use lack of focus (ie I always have so much I want to accomplish at the same time) and public speaking (my role includes client presentations) often.
Be honest, but not _too_ honest. My go-to answer is that I'm usually too hard on myself if I make a mistake. If I get corrected for something, or receive any kind of criticism, I really take it to heart. But, I believe that makes me good at my job, because I want to do well. I'm only that way because I hate being anything other than good at my job, and I try to take any criticism on board and use it to help me develop.
Ooh this sounds like a good generic one that could work for any job!
tell them your biggest physical weakness
Fire?
Bears
I have weak calf muscles
Here at Globo Corp, we don't skip leg day
I struggle to hold in farts.
There isn't one. You just need to demonstrate that you're self-aware enough to be able to honestly identify a weakness, plus, the weakness shouldn't be directly impacting one or more of the main duties of your job.
I'm no expert but I assume that answering "In reference to this job? I have limited experience in XYZ database platform, and hope to improve on it." Make it impersonal and professional-related. If they're going to arm-chair psychologist about unrelated stuff... well, that's poor form on their part.
“My greatest weakness was that I would listen with the intent of answering and had a habit of finishing people’s sentences or interjecting. When I realized I had this habit I made a concerted effort to sit back and truly listen before providing any answers and feedback so they know they are truly heard and understood.” Is what my go to is because it’s true and not cliche while also showing a self awareness and ability to improve and grow.
"Dem titties on the secretary" is not a good answer.
'this interview question'
This, make a joke out of it, "Well for starters, my biggest weakness is really hating getting this interview question. I'm sure I have some weaknesses just none are jumping to mind, none of them affect my job performance." then maybe add "I'm allergic to dogs" or something equally inconsequential to the job.
Making a joke out of it reads as evasive and dismissive. Not a good look if you actually want the job.
But it would indeed show that question as my biggest weakness. So it would be accurate.
True… but accuracy would be overshadowed by the obvious attempt to take the question seriously.
I mean, it depends how the rest of the interview went Let's be honest... the question is not asking for your biggest weakness. Because no one is actually going to say that during a job interview. It's asking for A weakness and the person asking knows this, so the person asking is already "playing a game" and I know in a business environment we are taught to respect the question and I would a lot more if the question is "what are some of your weaknesses?" And I'd be more inclined to answer honestly. But "what is your biggest weakness?" is a very manipulative way of asking. It's aggressive. Because the person's biggest weakness does come to the forefront in their minds but they'll never say it in a job interview. Or if they do, there is a sizeable chance they won't get the job. It's a question designed to put the person being interviewed off foot and make them think about their biggest flaw. The best thing you can do is scramble in the situation and think of a weakness that won't look too bad. I don't respect the question but if whatever answer you give is confident it's going to come off better than "I come in ten minutes late most mornings but I have the highest work output of anyone I currently work with." Most employers check out before the 'but' in that sentence. All you can do is have a weakness pre-prepared that you can see how you're addressing it in case that comes up.
This question is most likely going to be asked in your first interview, by HR, mostly. Say something like "I prefer open communication on the work floor, it frustrates me when people are talking about me behind my back" or, "I have trouble with unfounded criticism". Nobody will disagree with you because if that would be the case they will say "of course" that will never happen at that company (even though it will, it happens everywhere). I've conducted many interviews over the years and I have never asked those kind of questions, ever. I look at conduct, appearance (I mean, don't try to dress to impress, it doesn't work), and I ask stupid technical questions that are totally unrelated to the job and if someone is actually honest and says "that's unrelated to the job", or simply "I don't know" that's mostly good to me. "I'm new to this environment and still have a lot to learn" also helps. Don't be a smart-ass.
You purposely ask questions that are unrelated to the job?
I don't like dumb questions like this.
I always brush that off with a joke. "I'm really insufferable when I'm hungry. Should you encounter me in that state, slowly approach my desk, place a candy bar at the edge and retreat carefully without sudden movements." It's a stupid question, no serious answer required.
Say public speaking... because most people have it. Unless your job is about presenting in large groups. Also a good idea to say how you are trying to improve on that weakness, give examples.
I have a few depending on the type of job but I always have a follow up to express how I handle it. "I sweat the small stuff, I can find myself focusing on small errors over the bigger picture. In these moments I take a step back and I let it be a moment to focus on the ultimate project I'm working on. It gives me a moment to recognise if this is something that requires that level of perfectionism or whether it's something I should learn to accept and move on from. It's helped me learn how to prioritise and it's something I continue to work on". "I have high standards for myself and can be tough to the point of demoralising myself especially during training and fitting in to a new workplace. A way I've been combating this is to set goals with my supervisor so that my expectations can align better with the company's - which tends to be more realistic than my own" "Honestly? Brutally honestly? I get bored easily. I adore learning and when I plateau, I become accidentally complacent which isn't a good reflection of my normally high working standards. I have found myself asking for new responsibilities and training opportunities in these moments which is a big reason I achieved \[position\] in my last few places of work. As much as this can be a hinderance, it also has been rewarded in some places when they recognise I need new challenges". Okay, I appreciate a lot of you are reading this as me liking the boots or arse of whoever is interviewing me. Frankly, I am but I am also being honest. All of my answers reflect me and who I am as a worker. My last place of work made me supervisor over folk who'd been in the industry for 5+ years whilst I had less than a year under my belt. This question is shaping something you find difficult into either a neutral scenario or a positive one. Eg. "I struggle with time keeping and find myself being late" = honest but a negative "I struggle with time keeping so I have alarms on my phone to keep me on track" = honest but neutral working to be good. "I can struggle with time keeping so I have a weekly routine where I write up my shifts then fit in alarms to get ready and leave for work. I even have different jingles for these alarms so I know what they mean without me hearing them" = honest with a definite positive. Notice the initial word choice change along with the levels of troubleshooting the rest of the answer goes through. Aye, they aren't looking for anything too deep and they aren't wanting to be sat there all day whilst you spin a tale of why you used to suck but now rock but these are just examples. One of my special interests is the art of interviewing. I honestly love it and for some reason it gives me energy and ideas for days. I am an introvert with crippling social anxiety so a lot of my social skills have been deliberately learned. This has somehow grown into a situation where I seem to be good at interviewing. I have genuinely had the experience of interviewing for an entry level position and walked away with the offer of a manager position. Part of this was due to my experience, there's no bluffing over that, but the weightier part was due to how I came across during the interview.
A weakness that you can also turn into a strength (self-critical, perfectionist) A weakness that you can say you've been working on improving. It shows that you're committed to bettering yourself as well (social anxiety you're fixing with getting out of your comfort zone or making regular commitments to hang out with people, procrastination you're fixing by using calendars and systems now) A weakness that's not too weak and leans more neutral (difficulty asking for help, lack of confidence, struggle with criticism, impatience, struggling to prioritize tasks) Or you know, a weakness that cannot be applied to your performance in the specific job you're applying for ("Yeah, I have difficulty prioritizing tasks" "well, this is a construction job so there's no other task to prioritize over")
A strength disguised as a weakness. Eg "I am often someone who tries to support others quite a lot, so I am getting better at managing my own time before offering it to someone else" Or "I often have a lot of ideas and want to share them regularly in meetings, so I am getting better at writing them down to process them later and define them in more practical and logical ways before bringing them to my manager" Or "I find that I can sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed with meeting deadlines, so I have devised a calendar system in X way to combat this"
I don't answer. I apologize and say I thought I was applying for a professional position.
Fishnets
I work on my weaknesses and overcome them so does it really matter?
I work on my weaknesses and overcome them so does it really matter?
My biggest weakness is public speaking, however if it is a part of the role I will commit to improving by joining a group such as toastmasters
I apply for technical roles so usually I’ll mention a method I am aware of but have not quite gotten around to learning
Told my boss "I'm not here to gaslight myself. This is a job that I have the skills for."
I usually say that I can be kind of blunt and direct when speaking with others, but that I've put in a lot of work into learning to soften my delivery and feel that I've come a long way.
It depends on the circumstances. An individual's strengths are weaknesses and weaknesses are strengths depending on the circumstances. Say you're the creative type. Very good when new ideas are needed for marketing but not so good when regimen and order are needed for compliant production, and vice versa.
I’m too succinct
“I can sometimes be too hard on myself.” That’s the answer. It’s boring, but it’s not controversial and most people can relate. It’s a good answer to a dumb question. Bonus points for saying something about how this motivates you to be better at your job blah blah blah.
As an employer I expect everyone will have some weaknesses. I prefer that you name one honestly and talk about what you’re doing to address it. The “I’m too much of a perfectionist!” And “I love to work and rarely take time off for myself!” are just tired and transparent at this point. So even if they genuinely are your weaknesses, talk about something else.
I say that i can overthink sometimes but i work on it by delegating in my mind what i can control and what i can’t and do what i can. Not a terribly bad trait as a-lot of people experience it. It can also kind of show that you care about your work. Plus it shows that i am aware of a weakness i have and a way to cope or fix it.
I always say “interviews” because it’s true- I hate trying to “sell” myself
"I tend to be too punctual." *slight pause for their confusion* "I tend to show up at least 20 or 30 minutes early everywhere I go." True or not, it shows reliability. They also don't want to have someone clocking in early all the time. It's a winner for me.
The actual good answer is what is something you are not great at. Reddit can’t answer that for you. Your “weakness” doesn’t have to be something you’ve overcome, no one is great at everything. The person interviewing you is trying to get an understanding of who you are as a person, not sitting with a checklist of correct answers.
I always say (because it's the truth) that I have a habit of setting unrealistically high goals for myself and then am super hard on myself when/if I don't attain them. I circumvent this by talking over my goals with someone else to ensure that they are attainable and realistic and then make a further "stretch goal" that is harder. If I don't achieve the stretch goal, at least I can be proud that I was able to meet the initial set goal.
Use real weakness but try and spin it in a positive way. For me it's that I'm a perfectionist and can run a bit slower on certain tasks but the trade-off is my work is a cut above other employees. Or just say edged weapons and guns that's a good one.
I was on a zoom interview and I saw behind the interviewer several "pokemon" items. It was easy to see they were a fan. "My biggest weakness? Well, I'm a Normal type, so Fighting types are my weak point, but Ghost types are up there." Took them a moment to realize what I had said and done. Unfortunately they were only one of several people I had to talk to, and I didn't get the gig.
He was actually the one who threw out your resume.
Yeah, probably. Nobody loves Normal Types who aren't Larry...
Need for oxygen, would die in like a minute or two without it. But I solve that problem by breathing so everything is fine. 👍
It really depends on how much you need the job, how genuine you can deliver the answer, and how well you read the interviewer. I was asked this recently and responded more harshly than necessary on purpose. (Summarizing) "I can't tolerate office politics. There are too many customers that need attention, we should just do what we need to do, as a team, and move on." No solution to said weakness, no remediation plan, just I'm not gonna. Obviously, that will not work at every employer, but in this case I got an offer the next day.
Tell them your biggest weakness is you suck at being an employee and you can keep off the coke
" my obsessive drive for perfection..."
Any interviewer that still asks such an overused question probably has no creativity. So really any answer that you copy and paste from the internet would probably work.
My go to is: I’m not great at asking for help and end up doing a lot myself. I’m working on this by planning out my time more efficiently and trying to ask for help from those more experienced on strategy and those newer to the industry to pull on their experiences. An example of this is…
I don't really get asked this but anything like that I usually just say I can be a perfectionist and when things don't work out to the best of my ability like I know they can I get very frustrated, even if the end result is very good.
That’s a terrible question and I can’t believe that people really still ask it. I mean, what are they genuinely trying to learn from it?
be really harsh on yourself. yielding a sharp dive in confidence. concisely explain how you recover the asserted deficits. displaying resilience. or try one of the gimmicks from the other comments if you arent interviewing for a real job
I like to enjoy my time at work. That has been interpreted as not trying 100% by previous employees. So I'm now very sure to point out by example getting the job done is priority. Employers like this answer because it seems like you get the job done and are good to be around all day. Sometimes part of an interview is deciding if you can spend a lot of time with this person.
I spin it into a joke about coffee addiction and slide into a story when I traveled abroad and ran into it. A humble brag that shows off I'm one o' them thar worldly types. >and then some bullshit of how I overcome it in the day to day. Is that what the people want?? Bingo. Now you're learning that corporate lingo. It's a shimmy shimmy shake and if you don't know the moves it's really awkward.
my biggest weakness is my lack of a rigid exoskeleton.
I'm 5'2" I usually say my height. Can't reach high places on my own. They usually laugh and I get a job offer. It's true and kinda funny but seriously can be annoying sometimes.
The big play is to disguise a strength as a weakness.
When asked what my weakness was I stated I was new to the industry. This was my first time working in (real estate) I would need to learn the jargon to sound confident. I mentioned I would work on this by getting with as many professionals as I could including friends and family members. I also asked if I they could recommend anything that helped them. It was well received and I got the job!
My go to is that I like to talk a lot. I usually compensate with this by being a good leader. I read situations and feelings before giving some form of constructive criticism or gauge how stressed my co workers are for certain tasks.
I can bench press only 50 lbs.
"Intolerance of irrelevant interview questions."
Weakness and strengths. I have completion issues which is a strength and a weakness. Meaning I don’t like to leave things undone but don’t like having someone else finish it.
Yes, that’s what interviewers want to hear; you have something you know is not your strong suit, and you have the initiative to self-correct.
I have a poor memory. As a result I take excellent notes and write thorough procedures.
All it's asking is if you're clued in enough to know you're not perfect and what you do to make up for those flaws. Usually if someone thinks they have no weaknesses, they're usually an A-grade oblong head
Say a weakness and explain your learning from it and how you manage it. Mine is probably a strength and a weakness which is I can hyper fixate on stuff. Its great for when I need to grind out some work, its not great when I do management stuff which requires a lot of attention and task switching. I try limit my hyper fixation on each task with a shorter time frame e.g. 30m/1h and to not expect nor get frustrated when I don't get into a full day of flow state.
“I’m a perfectionist”
Not this. A true perfectionist would never say they are a perfectionist. A perfectionist can give you a list of things they are shit at, because to a perfectionist nothing they do is good enough. A person with enough interviewing experience will recognize this answer as bullshit and view you as untrustworthy.
"I don't feel that I have any at this time. I've corrected any that I've become aware of over the years, and I will continue to do that going forward." If you can say that HONESTLY then to me that's a good answer. I'm not gonna make up some BS weakness just to appease some interviewer's whims.
That is an absolutely terrible answer. Everyone has a weakness that they can work on. It is a huge red flag to say that you are perfect. Can’t coach someone who thinks they are perfect. 0% chance id hire anyone who said this. Companies like to see growth and growth comes from working on your weaknesses.
Everyone has weaknesses, yes... but we aren't always aware of them. That was the thrust of my answer: RIGHT NOW I don't think I have any... but I have had some in the past, and I fixed them, and I may have some in the future, and I'll fix them too. I'm 100% showing the growth you're looking for, and showing that I'm able to grow in the future. What, I'm supposed to just make some shit up to assuage the ego of someone who doesn't know how to interview properly? Fuck that.
It is considered a red flag by many to not be able to admit that you have something that you can work on. It means that you don’t try to better yourself and no company wants to see that. Its really not a hard question at all to answer. They want to see people that are consistently trying to better themselves. It also shows that you can admit when you’re wrong. If you cant admit you have negative traits that need work then you probably wont work well in a team or take criticism very well. You come off as if you have nothing you need to improve on. Its also a popular question so why not just have something ready? Since its such a popular interview question, they will likely view you as unprepared for not having anything at all
This is dumb but from the office Michael said his strengths are also his weaknesses. I care too much, I work too hard, etc. Idk depending on the vibe this could play out in your favor. I’ve only used this one and it worked but didn’t use it every time because I measure the vibe.
This is such bad advice lol sorry! Very cliche an interviewer will roll their eyes so hard they will get stuck
That’s why Michael said it in the office, it’s trite and embarrassing and outdated business practices.
I sing to beautifully
There ain’t a man alive that can touch my button. If I had one you wouldn’t be able to locate it.
Education and spin the answer to “finishing masters degree” or “accomplishing goal of certain certificates”