How to Answer the Common Job Interview Question of “What is Your Greatest Weakness?”

Summary: Many people do not know how to answer one of the most common job interview questions out there; “What is your greatest weakness?” We will tackle that for you in this post.

Job interviews can be stressful, especially if you have trouble with even the most common questions asked. They can be tricky questions for some, but should not stump you in an effort to secure an offer of employment. One of the most difficult questions to ask is that of “what is your greatest weakness?” You do not want to answer using a cliche or made-up weaknesses, which is why we recommend the tips outlined in this post.

Pick a Work-Related Answer

One of the best ways to answer this question is to pick a weakness that is work-related. Never mention weaknesses from your personal life such as having too much road rage or a fear of commitment with your significant other. You need to focus on something from your professional life. Pick something that was a weakness in the past, but has been rectified so you can explain how you fixed the weakness.

Stay Away from Fake Weaknesses

Some people might suggest that you turn a strength into a weakness, such as working too hard that you become exhausted. Employers are not interested in hearing a strength that you have somehow spun into a weakness for this answer. You need to use a genuine weakness and show how you have overcome it in your professional career.

Avoid Essential Skills

You absolutely must stay away from naming an essential skill as a weakness in your professional career. The reason for this is that it could be a required skill to work the job. If this is the case, you might want to consider whether or not you are the right person for the job. You need to pick something you have already begun working on to rectify as part of your answer.

Use STAR Method

If you are having trouble preparing an answer for this question, you should consider answering using the STAR method. This method has three elements; Situation, Actions or Task.

Come up with a situation where you have struggled in the past. Describe the situation and why you think you have issues with it.

Then, talk about the actions you have taken to improve your troubles with the issue and rectify the situation.

If you have already seen results of your actions, you can discuss them with the hiring manager or recruiter when providing the answer to this question.