How to Answer “What is Your Biggest Weakness”?
What is your biggest weakness? This is the question I get asked by most of my clients when they are prepping for an interview. My clients tell me this is a tough interview question and they need an answer.
You have all been asked the “weakness question” before and sure enough, you have over-thought your answer long after the interview finished. It doesn’t need to be like that.
The reality is that this question is still asked a lot by hiring leaders, so it's important to go into your interview prepared for what you would say.
I highly discourage you from using the common answers like "I work too hard"... "I have a hard time leaving work at the office"... "I am a perfectionist".
You know what….? As the hiring person on the other end, we know that this is a “cop out answer”. It’s what you’ve perceived to be a “safe” answer that will tick the box so the interviewer can move on to the next question.
My recommendation is to skip the predictability and do something different in your answer.
An interviewer is expecting you to be honest. This question is an easy way to identify who is going to be up front and who is just going to tell you what they think you want to hear.
3 Steps to answer “What is your Biggest Weakness” with confidence
Share a Real Weakness
Really? A real weakness? Doesn’t it leave me in a vulnerable state where the interviewer may decide not to hire me? No, it makes you human. The interviewer is not expecting you to be perfect.
You would be surprised at how many times people try to avoid this question altogether. I've heard people respond with “their leader really never mentioned a weakness in performance conversions”. This is not the approach to take.
Instead, share some insight about an area that you are actively working on. It does not need to be a weakness that a manager formally addressed with you in a work setting.
The trick is to pick a weakness that isn’t essential to the job you are applying for. (Are you going to be public speaking in your role? Yes? Then don’t use this answer).Example: “I get really nervous speaking in front of large audiences.”
Share what you are doing to improve on your the weakness:
The point of this interview answer is less about the area of weakness and more about how mindful you are when faced with an area of development. The interview wants to see that you are actively trying to better yourself.
Example: “I recently signed up for public speaking courses to help me build my confidence and I’ve joined ToastMasters as a way to continue to practice”.
Share the impact of your efforts to improve on your weakness
Here's the so what! By acknowledging your weakness and putting specific efforts towards getting better, what have you been able to overcome and accomplish?
Example: Since doing these additional public speaking courses, I have recently presented to a larger audience and was starting to feel less anxious.
As an interviewer, I can confirm, it’s less about what you say your weakness is and more about what you are doing to be mindful of your shortcomings and showing your ability to adapt. We are all a work in progress - no one expects you to be perfect… but we expect that you are willing to be self-aware and open to developing.
My mom is going to love this part – My Mom is a wise woman who always reminded me that “the truth is easier to remember than a lie”. I share this as a reminder to use an honest weakness in your interview answer (and make it a weakness that will not directly hinder your ability to do the role you’re interviewing for). If you make up a far-from-the-truth answer of what you think the hiring leader wants to hear, they are going to catch on to the vibe that you may not be telling the truth. The longer and more you fumbled your answer is, the interviewer will question your honesty.
So when prepping, focus on a real weakness, what you are doing to improve on it and the improved impacts you are seeing.
See not that scary or intimidating when you have a structure to follow!
You have this! Own that interview and show them why you are the one they need to hire.
