In a job interview, one of the most commonly
asked questions is, what's one of your greatest weaknesses?
It could also be phrased as, what's
one thing that you would change about yourself if you could,
or, what feedback has a previous manager given you on something
that you need to work on?
Talking about these things can feel very vulnerable and risky.
The last thing that you want to do
is present yourself as an unqualified fit
for this new role.
So what I'm going to do for you today
is offer you four different example answers
to this question that are going to allow you to feel infinitely
more confident in an interview.
Now, it can feel awkward to discuss things
like this when you're trying to put your best foot forward
in an interview.
But that's OK, because self-awareness
is a beautiful thing, and it's a trait that a lot of employers
look for in prospective candidates.
And it may set you apart from everyone else
that they're talking to.
At the end of the video, stick around,
because I'm going to share with you a helpful tip on what
to avoid saying.
This is going to help you feel more confident
in your presentation as well.
The first weakness that I'm going to talk about
is, I focus too much on the details.
Being detail-oriented is often viewed as a really good thing.
If you do overuse this skill, though, it
could be seen as a weakness.
So what you can do is leverage this point
by telling your interviewer that by focusing a little bit too
much on the details, you're also capable of helping
the organization avoid even minor mistakes.
Now after saying to them that focusing too much
on the details is a weakness of yours,
just indicate to them how you're making improvements.
Maybe it's simply slowing down to stop and take
a look at the bigger picture.
A candidate who assures quality and strives for balance
is going to be viewed as a really wonderful thing.
I recommend sharing weaknesses by using
the formula weakness plus context and improvement
measurements.
This is going to allow you to craft a really compelling story
that demonstrates self-awareness while also citing
specific examples in the workplace of your improvement
measures.
So first, describe your weakness and its context at work.
So, my greatest weakness is that I
can spend too much time analyzing
the finer points of a project.
So then share with them what you are doing to improve.
So, I'm striving to improve myself
by slowing down, taking a look at the bigger picture,
and this personal strategy helps me
to ensure quality and keep timelines on track for everyone
on the team.
The next example weakness that I want to offer you
is, I have trouble saying no sometimes.
It can take a lot of self-discipline
to balance meeting the needs of the team,
but also respecting your own bandwidth.
So if you are someone that finds yourself to be really eager
and accepts all project limits, it
might indicate to your interviewer or to your employer
that you're just unaware of your own limits.
So being aware of this is going to be key for you,
and it's going to really demonstrate that it's something
that you're focused on.
If you have found that your eagerness is prohibiting you
from saying no in the times that you need to,
something that you might do is indicate to your recruiter
that you're working on this by better managing your time,
organizing yourself differently, and setting better expectations
for yourself, for both the benefit of those
around you and yourself.
A great example could look like, my greatest weakness
is that sometimes I have trouble saying no to requests,
and I can end up taking on more than I can handle.
Now in the past, this has led me to feel stressed or burned out,
but to help myself improve in this area,
I now use a project management spreadsheet
so I can see whether I have the bandwidth to take on more.
Here's a pro tip.
Stay positive.
Even though your hiring manager is asking you about one
of your greatest weaknesses, presenting it with optimism
and an uplifted tone can actually really
present yourself in the way that you want to.
It's a powerful step forward, and self-improvement,
like I said earlier, is something
that a lot of hiring managers and recruiters and leaders
really admire in candidates.
Before I move on, let me know if you're
enjoying this video by liking and subscribing
for more career advice videos.
The next example weakness that I want to talk about
is, in the past, I've had trouble asking for help.
Asking for help is a necessary skill, and in my opinion,
it's actually not a weakness, it's a strength.
So if you are feeling burned out,
or if your workload is becoming too much,
or you're simply just running low on bandwidth,
knowing when to ask for help is going
to benefit not just yourself, but your entire team.
Now if it's been difficult for you to ask for help
in the past, all you really need to do in your interview
is showcase why you know it's important
and all the ways that you've been
working to improve upon it.
For example, you could say something like this.
Because I'm independent and I enjoy working quickly,
I sometimes find it difficult to ask for help when I really
need it.
I've learned that it's more beneficial for me
and the business to reach out when
I don't understand something or when
I begin to feel burned out.
I've also learned to reach out to experts around me that
have specific knowledge and skills that can really
just make my work better, and as a result,
I've really been able to produce higher quality work.
So here's a pro tip.
Answer as truthfully as you possibly can.
Sincerity lets your interviewer know that you are authentic
and that you're presenting yourself in a genuine way.
And stating that you are aware that this is something
that you need to work on or that it's an important quality
to have in the workplace, it really
just indicates that you value trust
and that you value building strong professional
relationships.
So weakness number four--
I have a hard time letting go of a project.
Now this is one that I have personally
had to work through myself.
If you've worked a great deal of time
on something, particularly if it's something
that you're really proud of, it can simply
be hard to pass it off or to even just turn it in.
So while there's always room for improvement, overcriticizing
your work, all it's going to do is create stress for yourself,
and it's going to threaten the project's timeline.
And that's something that we don't want to do.
So if this sounds like something that you have personally
struggled with in the past, something that's really
helped me is by creating a deadline for all revisions
that I make myself stick to.
And this allows me to be proactive
and it allows me to not wait until the last minute,
and most importantly, it allows me to give myself
a little bit of grace.
Here's an example.
My greatest weakness is that sometimes,
I just have a hard time letting go of a project.
I'm the biggest critic of my own work,
and I can always find something that needs
to be improved or changed.
But to improve in this area, I give myself
deadlines for all revisions, and what this does
is it helps me ensure that I'm not
spending too much time on making changes
before I need to move on.
So a pro tip--
include specific details.
Dive deep into your own experiences
and describe how you've overcome a situation or maybe
an obstacle.
It's going to illustrate how you have motivation to achieve
your professional goals.
And now for your bonus tip.
The one thing that I never want you
to say when an interviewer asks you,
what's your greatest weakness, is that you don't have one.
Everyone, CEOs, celebrities, people that you look up to,
everyone has something that they need to work on.
If you come to the table at an interview
and you don't have a sufficient answer for this question,
it might seem like you're either unprepared or, even worse,
that you aren't self-aware enough
to know that you have something to work on
or that you have areas for personal growth.
Now if you find that you are drawing
a blank in this situation or maybe that it's
an uncomfortable question for you,
it's completely appropriate to take a minute
and collect your thoughts.
So take that therapeutic pause and maybe say
to your interviewer, you know, that's a really great question,
do you mind if I just take a quick minute
to think about that?
So when you're pausing to think about this,
maybe just consider something that you're
working on professionally.
It could be something as simple as that you're
wanting to better your pivot tables in Excel
or that you're working on your math skills
or your public speaking skills.
In any event, the idea here is that you're just
showcasing to your interviewer that you are self-aware,
you know how to persevere, and that you're
willing to work on yourself.
So one last pro tip.
Don't say that one of your weaknesses
is an essential trait or characteristic required
for the role that you're applying for.
So for example, if you are working on your public speaking
skills, that's great.
But if the role calls for speaking
in front of large groups of people often,
that's not going to bode well for you.
Again, the idea here is just to indicate
that you are self-aware, that you're willing to self improve,
but what we don't want to do is position yourself as less
than an ideal candidate.
Now for more recommendations on things
that you should avoid saying in an interview,
please click on the link up here, on the career guide,
and we'll offer additional tips.
So there you have it.
So as a recap, the four answers that you
can give when being asked, what are your greatest weaknesses,
are, I focus too much on the details,
I've got a hard time saying no sometimes,
I've had trouble asking for help in the past,
and I have a hard time letting go of a project.
And the one thing that I want you to avoid
is saying that you don't have any weaknesses at all.
If you do find that it's hard to answer this question
and you do need to take a pause, feel
free to ask your interviewer for that time.
It's completely reasonable to collect yourself, think
of a sufficient answer, and then provide
one that really showcases that you are genuine, authentic,
and willing to improve.
For a more robust list of examples
of weaknesses that you can provide in an interview,
click on this career guide link up here for more.
All right, my friends, thank you for tuning in.
That's it for now.
I really hope that this formula of weakness plus context
and improvement measures is helpful for you,
but most importantly, I hope that you're
able to lean into the idea of self-improvement
over negativity when being asked the question, what's
your greatest weakness?
Because at the end of the day, we're all human,
and humanity is what the world needs.
Now, if you liked this video and found it helpful,
I invite you to like and subscribe to our channel.
We would love to have you back.
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for you.
But other than that, happy interviewing.
You got this.