What is your greatest weakness?
For many of us, answering this question is up there among our greatness weaknesses. Nothing puts our “humblebrag” skills to the test nearly as much as these five words. It is a delicate procedure where we must provide an honest answer that also lets our potential employer know about a hidden strength. You don’t want to say that you are “too devastatingly handsome,” but you also don’t want to say that you are unable to be on time. The trick is to confess something honestly, but to be able to turn it into a strength
Your answer to this question should always come in two parts. First off you cop to your weakness, then you recover- and point out the positives of this “weakness.” If you are straight out of college, you might use your lack of experience as your greatest weakness. This is perfectly fine, but you want to recover with noting your ability to learn new skills and your lack of pre-conceived notions. This way you explain your weakness, but you let your employer know how they can turn that weakness into a strength.
You also want to be careful in how your word your weaknesses. You don’t want to call yourself by your weakness. That is to say, you don’t want to say you are a “perfectionist”- you want to say “I often focus too intently on little details.” This makes it so your weakness is an attribute that you have, instead of a defining characteristic. It is important to phrase it this way because it lets your interviewer know (even if only on a subconscious level) that you can work on this weakness.
From here it is good to talk about what this means to you as an employee, and to speak from personal experience in the form of anecdotes. Before your interview you should prepare a story about a time that your weakness has manifested, and (more importantly) how you dealt with it manifesting. If your weakness is with public speaking talk about how it is difficult for you to talk to a large group of people, but then follow up with a story of how you have done that with some success. This doesn’t even have to be a work related story. Maybe you gave a toast at your brother’s wedding, or gave a graduation speech. The point is to talk about the fear, and how you moved through it. This works for all “greatest weaknesses.” Tell a story that starts with your weakness hindering your life, but moves through to you managing that weakness, and getting something positive out of it. This describes your weakness, shows it as a strength, and makes it so you are easy to relate to.
Answering this question can be extremely difficult, but if done well can also launch you to the front of the pack. If you prepare a solid answer to this question before your interview, you will be amazed at how much it can do for you!