Is this a good weakness to say in an interview?

In job interviews, one of the questions they could ask is 'what is your weakness?'. I have an answer for this, but I'm not sure if it sounds right:

When I'm assigned a task that's initially intended for me to do on my own, I feel a little embarassed when someone is later told to help me, but I understand the work needs to be done by a deadline.

How does that sound? I can't think of another weakness. Should I add more to it?

No, that just shows that you don't work fast enough.

Tell them you work too hard and care too much.

Tell them you work too hard and care too much.

Suzy_Q_Kazoo

Tell them that your too perfect and it tends to make coworkers jealous.

you say you're an impenetrable fortress with no known weaknesses

No, that just shows that you don't work fast enough.

bloodling

Tell them your Chuck Norris, you will get the job.

I just tell them that my weakness is I don't speak Spanish well.

"I'm a perfectionist", which is true

You have to say something that is true about yourself though, because it will show once you are at the job eventually

[QUOTE="bloodling"]

No, that just shows that you don't work fast enough.

mfp16

They don't say it, but they don't call you back.

In job interviews, one of the questions they could ask is 'what is your weakness?'. I have an answer for this, but I'm not sure if it sounds right:

When I'm assigned a task that's initially intended for me to do on my own, I feel a little embarassed when someone is later told to help me, but I understand the work needs to be done by a deadline.

How does that sound? I can't think of another weakness. Should I add more to it?

I just tell them that my weakness is I don't speak Spanish well.

AHUGECAT

I don't think that it would be a good idea to basically admit not only that you've worked so slowly in the past that they needed to assign someone to help you, but also that this apparently happens often enough for you to consider it a general weakness.

Whenever I get this question, I always just answer honestly, and then follow it up with a description of how I'm trying to mitigate that weakness. Employers value honesty and they don't expect you to be perfect; the standard non-answer of "I work too hard" or such like is just going to make them think that you are incapable of recognizing a genuine weakness.

Kryptonite.

Wouldn't employers see through all these BS answers?NoobisMaxcimus

[QUOTE="NoobisMaxcimus"]Wouldn't employers see through all these BS answers?cybrcatter

Then just say "I always tell the truth, and this question is BS".

[QUOTE="NoobisMaxcimus"]Wouldn't employers see through all these BS answers?cybrcatter

Slam the palm of your hand on the table and say you dont have any weaknesses. I hate interview questions like that.Big_Bad_Sad

It's a perfectly valid question to ask, for the reason I said. The ability to improve oneself by identifying and fixing one's weaknesses is one of the single most important qualities an employee can possess. No employee is perfectly tailored to a position after having been freshly hired, so the next best question to ask is, "Can this employee grow in this job and learn from his/her inevitable mistakes after having been hired?" And that ability is impossible without first having the ability to identify one's weaknesses. You can't fix what you don't recognize as existing in the first place. A proper answer to the question will demonstrate both the ability to identify a personal weakness and the ability to make progress towards fixing it. And that will go a long way towards making you come across as a quality candidate in the eyes of the interviewer(s).

[QUOTE="Big_Bad_Sad"]Slam the palm of your hand on the table and say you dont have any weaknesses. I hate interview questions like that.GabuEx

It's a perfectly valid question to ask, for the reason I said. The ability to improve oneself by identifying and fixing one's weaknesses is one of the single most important qualities an employee can possess. And that ability is impossible without first having the ability to identify one's weaknesses. You can't fix what you don't recognize as existing in the first place. A proper answer to the question will demonstrate both the ability to identify a personal weakness and the ability to make progress towards fixing it. And that will go a long way towards making you come across as a quality candidate in the eyes of the interviewer(s).

Yeah but you don't want to tell them your biggest weakness, so you're telling them BS basically.

[QUOTE="cybrcatter"][QUOTE="NoobisMaxcimus"]Wouldn't employers see through all these BS answers?Tylendal

I usually use this one.

One perceived weakness of mine is that when I am trying to explain a certain task, sometimes I am too thorough in making sure every step is clearly understood. I have been accused of treating people like idiots or children because of this.

[QUOTE="cybrcatter"][QUOTE="NoobisMaxcimus"]Wouldn't employers see through all these BS answers?bloodling

Then just say "I always tell the truth, and this question is BS".

Yeah but you don't want to tell them your biggest weakness, so you're telling them BS basically.

bloodling

It's not BS if what you tell them is genuine weakness that is relevant to the job in question. And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

Bottom line, I don't believe there is anything gained from being dishonest in a job interview. If you give them a genuine weakness and that causes them not to hire you, and if they instead hire someone who feeds them a total BS answer like "I work too hard", then frankly they were probably a ****ty employer, anyway. And if you have to lie by not telling them about a fatal weakness, then they're going to find out about it if you get the job.

I usually use this one.

One perceived weakness of mine is that when I am trying to explain a certain task, sometimes I am too thorough in making sure every step is clearly understood.

Plzhelpmelearn

Me too, that's what happens when you want something done right.

It's not BS if what you tell them is genuine weakness that is relevant to the job in question. And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

Bottom line, I don't believe there is anything gained from being dishonest in a job interview. If you give them a genuine weakness and that causes them not to hire you, and if they instead hire someone who feeds them a total BS answer like "I work too hard", then frankly they were probably a ****ty employer, anyway. And if you have to lie by not telling them about a fatal weakness, then they're going to find out about it if you get the job.

GabuEx

But that's the problem, some job interviewers aren't very smart so you need to convince them you're the right man for the job without telling them that, for example, you had punctuality problems in the past, if you think you can fix that problem. Besides, some people really don't have big weaknesses.

[QUOTE="bloodling"]

Yeah but you don't want to tell them your biggest weakness, so you're telling them BS basically.

GabuEx

It's not BS if what you tell them is genuine weakness that is relevant to the job in question. And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

Bottom line, I don't believe there is anything gained from being dishonest in a job interview. If you give them a genuine weakness and that causes them not to hire you, and if they instead hire someone who feeds them a total BS answer like "I work too hard", then frankly they were probably a ****ty employer, anyway. And if you have to lie by not telling them about a fatal weakness, then they're going to find out about it if you get the job.

[QUOTE="Big_Bad_Sad"]Slam the palm of your hand on the table and say you dont have any weaknesses. I hate interview questions like that.GabuEx

It's a perfectly valid question to ask, for the reason I said. .

But that's the problem, some job interviewers aren't very smart so you need to convince them you're the right man for the job without telling them that, for example, you had punctuality problems in the past, if you think you can fix that problem. Besides, some people really don't have big weaknesses.

bloodling

Well, all right, yes, if your truly biggest weakness is something like "I didn't show up for work because I was lazy", or "I stole money from my last place of employment because I needed cash", then yeah, you might want to work on fixing that weakness without telling your employer about it. Still, I really feel that you'll want to make your answer to the question a genuine weakness. It doesn't have to be a huge weakness; what they're really looking for when they ask that question (if they're remotely competent at their job, at least) is to see whether or not you're capable of autonomous self-improvement.

Well, all right, yes, if your truly biggest weakness is something like "I didn't show up for work because I was lazy", or "I stole money from my last place of employment because I needed cash", then yeah, you might want to work on fixing that weakness without telling your employer about it. Still, I really feel that you'll want to make your answer to the question a genuine weakness. It doesn't have to be a huge weakness; what they're really looking for when they ask that question (if they're remotely competent at their job, at least) is to see whether or not you're capable of autonomous self-improvement.

GabuEx

I'd like to hear your answers then, because I don't know what my weaknesses are besides what I said previously, which is not a true weakness but more like a quality. I need to make mistakes to improve.

'I work too hard' would be an obvious BS answer that most employers will see through. However they are looking for a weakness that is usually a positive in excess or could be perceived as some kind of positive regardless. Telling them that you have a tendency to be a couple minutes late on occasion because you are not a morning person in the interview is usually not a good path to go down no matter how honest it is. Plzhelpmelearn

I'm not sure I agree with that. A weakness that is basically a positive, except that you take it to excess, strikes me as just as big a BS answer as "I work too hard".

I'll give you an example of a way in which I answered that question: I told the interviewer that I had, in the past, had some organizational issues, and I gave as an example a past job position in which I ran into some difficulties in the form of changing one thing and accidentally breaking something elsewhere. I then followed that up by describing the way in which I started to fix that weakness, by creating a spreadsheet that identifies all of the interdependencies in what I was working on, and which I used as a checklist whenever changing something to make sure that I had covered all my bases. And I got the job.

That's the sort of answer that I feel is ideal: a genuine weakness that could potentially impact your ability to do the job, followed by a description regarding how you're working to overcome it. This sort of answer shows both that you are capable of recognizing a weakness within yourself and that you are capable of fixing that weakness. I believe that any decent interviewer (i.e., at a serious job, not at a job like McDonald's) will appreciate such an answer, and will see through an answer that basically just says "I'm so awesome at my job that it causes problems, and I need to scale back."

Bottom line, interviewers appreciate honesty. I had this one job interview in which they asked all sorts of detailed technical questions, and I could only answer maybe a third of them, and the rest I just had no idea. I got an email asking me to say how I thought the interview went as a standard followup. I replied bluntly, that it went terribly, that I would do my utmost to learn what was needed for the position if I was hired, but that I would not hire me if I were in the position of the interviewer. A couple days later, I got that job too. I almost certainly would not have gotten it had I lied and said I thought the interview went great.

In job interviews, one of the questions they could ask is 'what is your weakness?'. I have an answer for this, but I'm not sure if it sounds right:

When I'm assigned a task that's initially intended for me to do on my own, I feel a little embarassed when someone is later told to help me, but I understand the work needs to be done by a deadline.

How does that sound? I can't think of another weakness. Should I add more to it?

action1234

That's not a good answer. It makes it sound like you consistantly cannot complete your own work on time, and have to be bailed out by co-workers.

This is another of those interview questions where they want answers like "I'm a massive work-aholic" or"I constantly strive toover-achieve".

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

Well, all right, yes, if your truly biggest weakness is something like "I didn't show up for work because I was lazy", or "I stole money from my last place of employment because I needed cash", then yeah, you might want to work on fixing that weakness without telling your employer about it. Still, I really feel that you'll want to make your answer to the question a genuine weakness. It doesn't have to be a huge weakness; what they're really looking for when they ask that question (if they're remotely competent at their job, at least) is to see whether or not you're capable of autonomous self-improvement.

bloodling

I'd like to hear your answers then, because I don't know what my weaknesses are besides what I said previously, which is not a true weakness but more like a quality. I need to make mistakes to improve.

See my above post; I gave an example answer I gave in an interview once.

And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

GabuEx

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

cybrcatter

If it's not detrimental to your performance, then it wouldn't jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, no?

Never say anything too predicable, e.g. 'I'm a perfectionist'. Always be honest with your weaknesses, or if you repackage it 'area's of development and training'. Don't be afraid to express you strengths and admit where you could improve.

weakness that could potentially impact your ability to do the job

Bottom line, interviewers appreciate honesty.

GabuEx

Allright, but they also appreciate honesty when they throw your CV in the garbage.

[QUOTE="cybrcatter"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

And, frankly, if you have a weakness that is so severe that it would jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, such that you have to lie by omission when asked what your biggest weakness is, then maybe that job position is not the right one for you.

GabuEx

If it's not detrimental to your performance, then it wouldn't jeopardize your ability to function within that job position, no?

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"]'I work too hard' would be an obvious BS answer that most employers will see through. However they are looking for a weakness that is usually a positive in excess or could be perceived as some kind of positive regardless. Telling them that you have a tendency to be a couple minutes late on occasion because you are not a morning person in the interview is usually not a good path to go down no matter how honest it is. GabuEx

I'm not sure I agree with that. A weakness that is basically a positive, except that you take it to excess, strikes me as just as big a BS answer as "I work too hard".

I'll give you an example of a way in which I answered that question: I told the interviewer that I had, in the past, had some organizational issues, and I gave as an example a past job position in which I ran into some difficulties in the form of changing one thing and accidentally breaking something elsewhere. I then followed that up by describing the way in which I started to fix that weakness, by creating a spreadsheet that identifies all of the interdependencies in what I was working on, and which I used as a checklist whenever changing something to make sure that I had covered all my bases. And I got the job.

That's the sort of answer that I feel is ideal: a genuine weakness that could potentially impact your ability to do the job, followed by a description regarding how you're working to overcome it. This sort of answer shows both that you are capable of recognizing a weakness within yourself and that you are capable of fixing that weakness. I believe that any decent interviewer (i.e., at a serious job, not at a job like McDonald's) will appreciate such an answer, and will see through an answer that basically just says "I'm so awesome at my job that it causes problems, and I need to scale back."

Bottom line, interviewers appreciate honesty. I had this one job interview in which they asked all sorts of detailed technical questions, and I could only answer maybe a third of them, and the rest I just had no idea. I got an email asking me to say how I thought the interview went as a standard followup. I replied bluntly, that it went terribly, that I would do my utmost to learn what was needed for the position if I was hired, but that I would not hire me if I were in the position of the interviewer. A couple days later, I got that job too. I almost certainly would not have gotten it had I lied and said I thought the interview went great.

Okay then. I thought I had a good answer in my initial post but thought it over with what you guys said. Another weakness I can think of is how I'm working on being less shy. I've had family members speak to me about my shyness in public, which made me open up more and that's it's pretty mandatory if I'm going to work in a job that has even a little customer service involved. Obviously, I can't tell the interviewer that I'm still shy and I can show this by the way I talk and present myself in the interview. Would my past shyness be a better answer for the weakness question?

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"]'I work too hard' would be an obvious BS answer that most employers will see through. However they are looking for a weakness that is usually a positive in excess or could be perceived as some kind of positive regardless. Telling them that you have a tendency to be a couple minutes late on occasion because you are not a morning person in the interview is usually not a good path to go down no matter how honest it is. GabuEx

I'm not sure I agree with that. A weakness that is basically a positive, except that you take it to excess, strikes me as just as big a BS answer as "I work too hard".

I'll give you an example of a way in which I answered that question: I told the interviewer that I had, in the past, had some organizational issues, and I gave as an example a past job position in which I ran into some difficulties in the form of changing one thing and accidentally breaking something elsewhere. I then followed that up by describing the way in which I started to fix that weakness, by creating a spreadsheet that identifies all of the interdependencies in what I was working on, and which I used as a checklist whenever changing something to make sure that I had covered all my bases. And I got the job.

That's the sort of answer that I feel is ideal: a genuine weakness that could potentially impact your ability to do the job, followed by a description regarding how you're working to overcome it. This sort of answer shows both that you are capable of recognizing a weakness within yourself and that you are capable of fixing that weakness. I believe that any decent interviewer (i.e., at a serious job, not at a job like McDonald's) will appreciate such an answer, and will see through an answer that basically just says "I'm so awesome at my job that it causes problems, and I need to scale back."

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

weakness that could potentially impact your ability to do the job

Bottom line, interviewers appreciate honesty.

bloodling

Allright, but they also appreciate honesty when they throw your CV in the garbage.

Like I said, I will grant there is a limit and that there are certain things you should not talk about, but if asked what your weakness is, I still maintain that you should give them a genuine weakness, not a stock answer that says nothing whatsoever, and that you should follow that up with an explanation regarding how you are overcoming that weakness. The second part is key: don't just tell them your weakness, tell them how you are overcoming it as well. A competent interviewer does not ask that question hoping to receive a silly "I work too hard" answer.

much of the business world runs on B.S..

cybrcatter

:lol: