What Are Your Weaknesses The Most Common Interview Questions, #1

What Are Your Weaknesses The Most Common Interview Questions, #1 TweetThis post is the first in a series of excerpts from my book, Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview, about giving effective answers to the most common interview questions. How do you answer the interview question Whats your biggest weakness? In most cases, the interviewer isnt just asking this to find out if theres a weakness that would disqualify you. Theyre even more interested in finding out whether youre self-aware and willing to openly discuss your shortcomings, which would indicate that you probably take feedback well. And they want to hear that you are committed to continually improving your skills. With that in mind, try talking about a weakness thats closely connected to one of your greatest strengths. For example, if youre great at relationship-building and thats crucial to the job youre applying for, you might mention that you sometimes spend more time listening to a client or co-worker than you intended to. (But if it really isnt a weakness at all, it will sound evasive and insincere, so pick something else.) an elephant in the room weakness thats already very noticeable to the employer such as having less experience than they would prefer so you have nothing to lose by bringing it up. a weakness you have largely overcome or that you compensate for very successfully. No matter what weakness you bring up, keep it brief and spend more time talking about how youre overcoming it than about what a problem it is. And avoid words like weakness and problem in your answer. Use more positive words like challenge, growing edge and area where Im growing. Of course, dont bring up a weakness that would cause them to seriously doubt you can do the job. Realize that certain answers especially Im a perfectionist and I work too hard have been used so often theyve become clichs and should be avoided, unless you can put a fresh spin on them. The next installment of The Most Common Interview Questions will help you with the question Where do you see yourself in five years? What Are Your Weaknesses The Most Common Interview Questions, #1 TweetThis post is the first in a series of excerpts from my book, Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview, about giving effective answers to the most common interview questions. How do you answer the interview question Whats your biggest weakness? In most cases, the interviewer isnt just asking this to find out if theres a weakness that would disqualify you. Theyre even more interested in finding out whether youre self-aware and willing to openly discuss your shortcomings, which would indicate that you probably take feedback well. And they want to hear that you are committed to continually improving your skills. With that in mind, try talking about a weakness thats closely connected to one of your greatest strengths. For example, if youre great at relationship-building and thats crucial to the job youre applying for, you might mention that you sometimes spend more time listening to a client or co-worker than you intended to. (But if it really isnt a weakness at all, it will sound evasive and insincere, so pick something else.) an elephant in the room weakness thats already very noticeable to the employer such as having less experience than they would prefer so you have nothing to lose by bringing it up. a weakness you have largely overcome or that you compensate for very successfully. No matter what weakness you bring up, keep it brief and spend more time talking about how youre overcoming it than about what a problem it is. And avoid words like weakness and problem in your answer. Use more positive words like challenge, growing edge and area where Im growing. Of course, dont bring up a weakness that would cause them to seriously doubt you can do the job. Realize that certain answers especially Im a perfectionist and I work too hard have been used so often theyve become clichs and should be avoided, unless you can put a fresh spin on them. The next installment of The Most Common Interview Questions will help you with the question Where do you see yourself in five years?