Do you dread questions about your weaknesses in job interviews? Many job seekers find these questions tough, but addressing them honestly can actually work in your favor. It shows how you handle difficulties and your commitment to self-awareness.
Rather than shying away from or minimizing your weaknesses, you can use them to showcase your growth and problem-solving abilities, leaving a lasting impression on hiring managers. Here’s how:
Why Do Employers Ask About Your Weaknesses?
It can be stressful when a potential employer asks you to identify traits that may make you appear less hirable, but it’s an important question that helps them learn more about who you are:
- Self-awareness: Knowing your weaknesses shows you’ve thought about your skills and where you can improve.
- Stress management: How you handle this question reflects your overall emotional intelligence. Staying calm and collected is a good sign.
- Honesty: Being truthful about your weaknesses shows integrity. Employers like candidates who are open and honest.
- Problem-solving skills: Admitting your weaknesses lets you show how you solve problems and handle challenges.
- Adaptability: Talking about weaknesses shows you’re ready to learn and improve. Employers want to see if you can adapt and grow.
- Team dynamics: Understanding your weaknesses helps employers see how you might fit into a team and handle any issues.
In short, employers ask about weaknesses to find self-aware candidates for self-improvement. It’s your chance to show how you’re actively working to improve. You need to prepare for this question to prove you have these qualities.
Tips on How to Present Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview
How you frame your weaknesses is arguably more important than the weaknesses themselves. Here are some tips on how to present your weaknesses:
- Be honest about your weaknesses. Don't try to hide them or pretend they're strengths. Instead, admit them and explain what you're doing to get better.
- Show your progress. Talk about how you know your limits and are working on improving them.
- Give specific examples. Share stories about times you faced challenges and how you dealt with them or fixed a weak spot.
- Prepare in advance. Think of some weaknesses you can discuss and practice your answers. This will help you feel confident and answer calmly during the job interview.
- Discuss your solutions. Explain what steps you're taking to improve, like taking courses or working with mentors.
- Make sure it's relevant. Choose weaknesses to mention in an interview that aren't essential to the job you're applying for. This shows an awareness of the core job requirements and ensures you aren’t disqualifying yourself from the position.
Top 12 Common Weaknesses in Job Interviews and How to Answer Them
Answering the question, “What are your major weaknesses?” is always challenging. Here are some tried and true examples of weaknesses that demonstrate your self-awareness and honesty while setting up an opportunity to demonstrate your drive and proactive problem-solving skills.
1. Public Speaking
Public speaking is one of the most common examples people cite when discussing their professional weaknesses — probably because it’s a soft skill with many opportunities to improve. An example might be:
“I have had some challenges with public speaking in the past, but I've been researching strategies for overcoming nervousness and communicating my ideas effectively.”
2. Perfectionism
Perfectionism can be both positive and negative. It can yield high-quality work but causes inefficiency and delays if taken to the extreme. Recognize this weakness and highlight how you are learning to balance quality with productivity. You could frame it this way:
"I tend to be a perfectionist, which sometimes leads me to focus too much on smaller details. I'm learning to balance quality and efficiency by setting clear project timelines for myself and keeping high-level goals in mind for all tasks."
3. Delegation
In many roles, the ability to delegate is key to success. Admitting that you struggle with delegation can show self-awareness and a commitment to growth. For example, you could say:
"In important projects, I sometimes struggle to share responsibilities with my team because I want to ensure the best possible outcomes. But lately, I have been learning to trust my team and recognize that the best work comes from everyone using their unique skill sets.
4. Impatience
Having a sense of urgency can demonstrate your dedication to meeting deadlines and achieving results. However, it's important to balance that drive by managing impatience effectively. You could say:
"I become very intolerant of projects running past deadlines, but I am learning to manage my expectations and improve my time management skills."
5. Overcommitting
This is a common challenge for people who enjoy being helpful and involved in everything. Address this by offering specific examples of times you set boundaries for yourself and prioritized tasks more realistically:
"I sometimes overcommit myself as someone who wants to contribute as much as possible. I'm working on setting more realistic boundaries and prioritizing tasks to manage my workload better."
6. Technical skills
If you are genuinely deficient in technical skills, show your commitment to improving by highlighting current or future coursework or practice to expand your capabilities. You could say:
"I feel everyone working in the [industry] space benefits from ongoing training and knowledge of [software/technical skill]. I am taking courses and practicing to enhance my skills and stay on top of the latest developments.”
7. Giving & Soliciting Feedback
Giving constructive feedback can be very hard, but it is one of the most valued skills in any collaborative work environment. Describe something you are doing to build, develop strategies, and improve the skill of giving helpful feedback that comes across as positive and practical:
“I sometimes hesitate to give constructive feedback because I don't want to come off as critical. But I'm working on seeing feedback as a crucial part of helping teammates be successful, as well as also encouraging those around me to offer ongoing feedback in order to be a more effective and skilled team member.”
8. Asking for Help
Many employees worry that asking for help may make them appear incapable, but not seeking clarification or asking questions can lead to incorrect work, delays, and burnout. You might say:
"I sometimes don’t ask for help or clarification right away because I enjoy problem-solving challenges. However, I realize the importance of collaboration and am practicing reaching out immediately when I need clarification on tasks or projects."
9. Experience Working Remotely
Suppose it's your first time working remotely. In that case, you need to point out how flexible and quick you are in learning new tools and techniques to run remote collaboration successfully:
"I have minimal experience with telecommuting, but I'm a fast learner with great time management skills. I adapt easily to new tools and methodologies that enable remote collaboration, so I don’t have any concerns about my ability to work remotely.”
10. Networking
If you’re intimidated by networking and nervous about the social expectations of a role, you could address it proactively by saying:
"Networking doesn't come naturally to me, but I am making an effort to build my professional circle and engage in industry conversations online and in-person."
Find a Job in Just a Swipe and Apply These Tips Right Away!
When done correctly, it really is possible to turn your weaknesses into one of your greatest strengths. Being honest about your weaknesses and highlighting the steps you've taken to improve shows self-awareness and a commitment to growth — two very desirable traits in employees. This can set you apart and boost your chances of landing the job.
At Swob, we make it easy to find and apply for jobs quickly, giving you the time to use tips like these to ace your interviews and secure the job you deserve.
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