Arguably, questions about one's weakness are the most dreaded ones during job interviews - although, that doesn't make them inevitable. Interviewers seem to get a kick out of asking those questions for some reasons. Well, as an unemployed person looking for a spot in the corporate world, you are, without a doubt, required to answer them. Here are Forbes' tips for talking about your biggest weakness, or weaknesses, during job interviews.
1. Know your weaknesses and acknowledge them
If you can, work on them. "If you don't know your weakness, take a personality type quiz and the results will show you. Everyone has specific strengths and everyone has specific weaknesses. It's pretty certain that if you are not clear on your weaknesses then you are not clear on your strengths, and your value at the office will be questionable," says Penelope Trunk - a career coach and author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success.
2. Be honest
Before deciding on just winging an interview, review the job description and review what the employer is looking for exactly. Don't mention being weak at a finance when you're actually applying for a job in that department.
3. Be confident to talk about how you've conquered the weakness
Don't be ashamed or scared to share an example wherein you were able to turn a weakness into strength. One of the many examples would be that you used to always come to work late, but have figured your own tweaks and ways on how to actually arrive on or before the start of shift. Showing your potential future employers that you are willing to change for the better can be your strongest factor to getting hired.
4. Don't rehearse an exact response
You need to think about your weaknesses ahead of time and analyse how it affects you and how you could grow as an employee by learning from them. A rehearsed response would not sound genuine or convincing.
5. Discuss work-related weaknesses only.
You might only be on the initial process on your way to becoming a hired employee, but being professional is something you could show to your potential bosses from day one. Personal weaknesses are different from professional weaknesses.
6. Don't mention that you're a perfectionist and an over-worker
Those can be weaknesses, yes, but depending on the work that you're applying for, you can come out as annoying. Take for example, detailed works and perfectionists don't usually go along well. Your bosses will have an impression that the work progress will be slow since you're a "perfectionist".
