
How to answer "What is your greatest weakness?" - ashleymoran
http://blog.patchspace.co.uk/what-is-your-greatest-weakness
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JackWebbHeller
Before the interview, write on a small card, "My habit of over-preparation
sometimes comes across as arrogance".

When asked the question, hand them the card...

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simonsarris
I kind of like this question because it fairly allows me to ask something just
as difficult back. For instance when it is my turn to ask them questions I
could say, "Since I have answered my greatest weakness, I think it only fair
to ask: _What is the worst part about working here?_ "

Hopefully one would be comfortable enough to ask that question anyway. And
hopefully their answer will be just as thoughtful.

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gm
And why not? It's a fair question. A seasoned manager will be able to answer
that without blinking. "Some people think cubicles suck". "Open environment
does not work for all". "This is not the place for someone that does not want
to be under pressure to deliver". Easy to answer.

Why would it be uncomfortable to ask? It's dangerous to ask, though. If you
ask it in a way that you come through as a smug, wanna-be-clever son of a
bitch then the job interview is over.

So it's more of a danger to the one doing the asking unless he/she has good
emotional intelligence. It's a fair question to ask.

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loup-vaillant
What my brain actually understands: _"Please try and fail to tell us why we
should not hire you, in such a way that we can pretend to be fooled."_

My greatest weakness? I hesitate between the temptation to spell out this
translation to the face of my potential employer, and not having the balls to
actually do so.

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btilly
People hate this question, and they should love it. This question is your
opportunity to bring out whatever you most want to be accommodated on. That
way if you get the job, you are in a good position to negotiate what you need
for your life.

Here are some examples that apply to various people I know (I actually have
used one of these in interviews, but I won't say which one):

\- I have considerable child-rearing duties, and my schedule has to revolve
around that. I have little scheduling flexibility if you need me at odd hours.

\- I am a very social person, I need to spend a certain amount of time every
day actually talking with people or I'll go crazy.

\- I am an orthodox Jew, so I have to leave early on Friday night.

etc

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olalonde
My line would be (and I suspect many HNers):

\- I need to be intellectually challenged or else I get bored.

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spenceyboi
Yeah, but that line is used so often. Same with "I am a workaholic" which many
people I know use.

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polshaw
> _I haven’t actually described how you should answer the question What is
> your greatest weakness?_

I can know yours; misleading blog post titles, and not answering the question.

If you wish to talk about 'what i think about stupid interview question X'
then call it that.

But you don't get to choose your interview questions, and others here have
actually given some insight into answering this question (use it to bring up
your needs, to ask them tough questions, etc).

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growt
"What's your greatest weakness?"

"Sometimes I mix reality and imagination."

"And what's your greatest strenght?"

"I am batman!"

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wisty
The whole point of this question is to see if you are looking to improve
things. It's not (or shouldn't be) a trap. It's to see if the candidate says
"I'm not happy with my X skills, and I'm trying to get better".

It's also a good honesty test.

The thing is, it only works when the interviewer knows it, and candidate
doesn't.

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joering2
I agree its a stupid question. Someone that has 30 years experience as CTO
being asked that question I think it would be an insult. But it happens.

If I really like the job and this may be a problematic question, I usually say
this (which in most part is true): "I think my weakness is my personal
attention to all possible details at work. Yes, I have to admit I am a
workaholic. I don't look at clock when working even if its very late evening I
need to make sure my projects are top notch buttoned up!"

I know employers love that answers. They dont really care how screwed up your
personal life or family relations are, whether you see your kids or not. They
care if you are willing to let them squeeze last inch out of you for a
paycheck or not. And my answer always work.

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abuzzooz
Unfortunately, I can't detect sarcasm over the internet.

But, your answer (along the lines of "I'm a perfectionist and a workaholic")
is the most cliche answer possible. As an interviewer, I never ask this
question to begin with. But whenever someone claims they are a perfectionist,
then my bullshit meter goes crazy.

Trust me, employers do NOT love this answer.

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Pobe
"Girls are my greatest weakness. So am I for them. _wink_ "

Be honest, that's it. They will figure out if you are a fit in the team sooner
or later anyway.

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bhousel
Playing the brogrammer card might work to your advantage, depending on the
interviewer.

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jgw
I've never been asked that in an interview - and I've been through a few in my
time - but I'd probably say something like, "I'm not the kind of person who
could be bothered to come up with pat answers to goofy questions".

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hessenwolf
I have the rather normal tendency, for a mathematician, to be a perfectionist,
but I have been aware of this for a long time and accept that sacrifices must
be made to deliver projects on time.

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crististm
The point is to never give an honest answer. They _say_ they want to know how
hear how weak you are but they _don't_ want to find out.

A person who reveals his weaknesses to anyone will be perceived as not
dependable.

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pedalpete
I often response with 'my greatest weakness is finding my weaknesses'.

Though I also regularly answer the 'what will you be doing in 5 years' with
'in 5 years I plan to know what I'll be doing in 5 years'.

~~~
Lost_BiomedE
Your often response is what I think mine is for real. Until I am challenged, I
have blind-spots. All the ones that I think would be truthful come off as a
canned response, and all the thoughtful responses I think of would be
considered long-winded babbling.

I wish the article would go into how to shift the question/answer to make it
meaningful. I don't think I will read a book on the off-chance it satisfies
this.

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rokhayakebe
Answer "Sometimes I work so hard that I forget everything else, including my
life outside of the workplace, and I understand that is not always a good
thing.". Of course it's BS, but.

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snowwrestler
I think the best approach is to answer the question honestly. No good manager
is under the illusion that they are getting Superman when they are
interviewing you. They know that everyone has strong and weak points, and
being honest about what you are and are not good at helps ensure that the
position will be a good match.

If you don't know what your weaknesses are, ask your current and past
supervisors and coworkers. You should probably do this anyway from time to
time.

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a2tech
I see my greatest weakness as my temper. This isn't to say I allow my temper
to interfere with my dealings at work, but I see it as a great personal
weakness.

If I answer the question truthfully in an interview I can see the interviewers
immediately lose all interest in me as a candidate. This means I can't answer
the question-I have to lie and answer it with interview-speak which I hate.

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twelvechairs
'in the past I have had problems with ???, however I have recognised that and
am working hard to overcome it'

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dazzawazza
To Quote David Mitchell:

"I'm a terrible thief, I just love other peoples things"

I'm not sure you'd get the job though :)

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SonicSoul
one time at an interview when asked about what my "typical day looks like", i
couldn't help it and went with office space quote: "i get in 15 minutes late..
space out for an hour... i'd say in any given week i do about 15 min of actual
work..." it was a bit of rough landing, and he sort of, but not entirely, got
it.. but this was while talking to the hiring manager after passing all
technical rounds (2 days of interviewing) so i was pretty confident i'd be ok.
it made for a good story around the office months after getting the job..

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jalopezp
Job interviews are my greatest weakness. I never seem to do well at them.

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levigross
I always answer "bullets" and get a blank stare in response.

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damoncali
"I get irritated when people ask me stupid questions."

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hsmyers
If I'm feeling lucky, I point out that my nick name in prep school was
'hubris' and that I earned it :)

