Interview Questions - What are your weaknesses?

[wasim]

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I will have an interview at IT company. If the manager asks me about my weakness, so how should i answer him? so that it make positive impact.

[Career-Minded]

Most career books tell you to select a strength and present it as a weakness. Such as: “I work too much. I just work and work and work.” Wrong. First of all, using a strength and presenting it as a weakness is deceiving. Second, it misses the point of the question.

You should select a weakness that you have been actively working to overcome. For example: “I have had trouble in the past with planning and prioritization. However, I’m now taking steps to correct this. I just started using a pocket planner . . .” then show them your planner and how you are using it.

Talk about a true weakness and show what you are doing to overcome it.

[Masters]

Here are some guidelines for responding when an interviewer asks what about your biggest weakness:

• Answer the question honestly. It’s always best to answer any interview question honestly (obviously) but this is an especially important one. Making up a weakness that isn’t really a weakness will most likely be very noticeable to the interviewer. If they think you are lying, they may ask you for another weakness which will cause you even more trouble trying to think of one off the top of your head.
  
• Don’t mention a big weakness that could cost you the job. Your goal here isn’t to lie of course, it’s simply to present yourself as best you can. We all have weaknesses but it doesn’t mean we tell an interviewer everything that we do wrong. If for example you are interviewing for a project manager job, it’s probably best not to mention that you have trouble getting along with people since you’re going to be constantly working with others.
  
• Don’t evade the question. Don’t try to avoid answering the question. Also be careful about giving a clichéd weakness (ie. I work too hard) and then quickly stating how you deal with it. That looks too scripted and the interviewer has probably heard it one million times before. Admitting a real weakness but then stating what you are doing to improve yourself is preferable ie. “My presentation skills are not as strong as I’d like so I signed up for weekend presentation skills classes and also joined a Toastmasters club.” Remember that the specific job you are interviewing for will help to determine how you answer the question.
  
• Keep your answer factual and brief. Typically, stress questions such as these that put us on the spot tend to cause us to ramble on and speak for longer than we should especially if we’re nervous. The best way to answer the question is to be well prepared and to know how you are going to answer the question before the interview. This will avoid you trying to think off the top of your head and saying more than you need to which could hurt your chances of getting the job.
  
• Be careful about using “my biggest weakness is my biggest strength” as your response. Saying that “I’m a perfectionist” or something like that is another of those clichéd answers that people often give to this question. It will probably come across as being scripted and the interviewer will most likely determine that you got the answer from an interview tips book.

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.

Thanks to all... Nice Answers..

[rocksamuel]

Thank you very much... Its really usefull...

[mayur99]

"sir,my weekness is that i cant says no when someone ask me for help..from ur point of view u beliefe that it is not weekness but it is positive,,,,but because of this weekness many times i put in trouble....because i am always being ready to help needy people ,,,, i cant says "NO"."


this is my opinion ,u can use it ..it may be ur opinion too which u dont knew.

m i right??

[GracieSingh]

This is trick question most asked! Show that you have enough about yourself to discern your shortcomings and your areas for improvement. The recruiter wants to know the risks he took in hiring you: Describe your weaknesses and what steps you have taken to correct these defects, so your weak point will be erased by your plan of action to eradicate it. Define yourself in six adjectives (positive and negative). If I spoke with your former employer, how you would define your basic qualities and your major weaknesses? What do you bring that makes the difference with the other candidates?

Apart from that, this link below may be useful: Weakness interview question

[celia19O5]

When I came to an interview last year, I was asked this question. And I answered that I had a weakness, that is being late sometimes because I often worked hard in the previous night but now I am changing myself cuz I know it is not good for my job and for my health as well...
I did not know what he thought but I was accepted
Lucky me !!!

[chu082011]

Originally Posted by celia19O5

When I came to an interview last year, I was asked this question. And I answered that I had a weakness, that is being late sometimes because I often worked hard in the previous night but now I am changing myself cuz I know it is not good for my job and for my health as well...
I did not know what he thought but I was accepted
Lucky me !!!

Thank very much for your comment. It make me to think about for my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.