What is your biggest weakness?

What is your biggest weakness?

Most people hate this question during an interview.

“How do I know what to share and what not to share? What if I say the wrong thing?

Candidates that I work with have had all types of doubts around this question.

Let me simplify the answer for you and take some pressure off.

The interviewer doesn’t actually care which weakness you share.

“What? Really? What do you mean?”

Look. The reason why interviewers ask this question is because they know that no one is perfect. Everyone has weaknesses.

They aren’t expecting perfection, so stop being afraid to talk about things you suck at or have sucked at.

When interviewers ask this question, what they’re actually looking for are two things:

1. A high level of awareness around your weaknesses

2. Your approach or plan to improve

Let’s break this down:

Awareness of your weaknesses

Some people just aren't in-tune with their weaknesses. They’re not sure what their limitations are and haven’t identified areas to improve.

These people usually answer the “weakness” question in an interview with a very vague, generic answer.

Answers like, “My weakness is I work too hard and don’t know when to stop.”

These types of answers get an eye roll from the interviewer.

If you answer this question with a vague answer or one that doesn’t make sense, the interviewer is going to assume that you don’t know your weaknesses.

Companies don’t want to hire people like this because someone who doesn’t understand their limitations is a risk. That person could try to take on tasks that they’re not good at and cause mistakes or poor performance.

Have you ever tried to cook a new dinner recipe and screw it up?

Companies don’t want you overcooking their turkey.

A person who is well in-tune with their limitations will usually understand what to delegate. They won’t get into situations where they’re in over their head on something and cause major issues.

That’s why demonstrating that you are highly aware of your weaknesses is important.

A plan to improve

Some people have no intention to improve on their weaknesses.

“Welp, I’ve never been good at that and I never will be good at that so it is what it is.”

Companies don’t want to hire someone with this mindset because their growth is capped.

When you’re answering this question, tell a story that demonstrates a time you identified a weakness and took action to improve. Then, at the end of your story, be sure to demonstrate how you’ve improved in that area.

The interviewer wants to see that you’ve already taken action steps to improve on the weakness or that you’re actively working to improve right now.

For example, let’s say a candidate’s biggest weakness is public speaking.

They could share a story of a time where they noticed how this weakness was negatively affecting their work performance and decided to enroll in public speaking courses to improve.

As a result, perhaps this candidate began speaking up more on projects and that led to better ideas being implemented and the company hitting their goals faster.

This is how you want to answer the question about your biggest weakness.

So, remember.

Tell a story that includes the two important keys to your answer: high awareness and a plan to improve.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Schedule a free call with me. If you’re looking for more guidance on your job search or more options for help, let’s talk.

2. Check out my additional courses and downloadable resources. Use the systems I’ve used to help 1500+ candidates land jobs in the past 5 years.