Hiring managers ask about your biggest weakness (or top 3 weaknesses) for a few reasons. What was it like working for your manager? What Do Hiring Managers Look for in Interviews? While I’ve never missed a deadline, I can take on too much and these extra tasks/responsibilities can eat into my time. List of Strengths and Weaknesses 17 Good Examples of Strengths This complete list of strengths and weaknesses and how they present in the workplace will help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses. I think it’d help me be more well-rounded and would filter down into other areas that I use more often in my work.”. Your weakness should be work-related and in your answer, you should be able to prove yourself to be competent enough to improve on it while on the job. Allowing you to craft perfect responses for your next job interview. As far as weaknesses, I feel that my management skills could be stronger, and I am constantly working to improve them." I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and have been guilty of trying to nurture people when they are overdue for termination. I seek your help on this, my real weakness are as: 1.I am not good listener (But I am working on it’s improvement) 2. And you know why the typical answer most people are giving is *not* going to impress them. ", "I am currently working on my understanding of the goals of my administrative team. So in this article, I’m going to show you EXACTLY how to handle questions about weaknesses in the job interview with example answers. “When I look at my skill set as a whole, one weakness right now would be Java Programming. So going back to the example answer above, we can adapt it a bit to include 3 weaknesses now. Do you know how to answer what are your weaknesses? ", you don't want to respond, "I tend to work too hard," or "I am too much of a perfectionist." I am not implying that I can’t meet deadlines. Soft Skills. If you read the full article you now know why hiring managers ask, “what’s your greatest weakness”. Let’s say they ask you, “What are your top 3 weaknesses?”. To ensure I’m using my time effectively, I keep a weekly schedule and use a … What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know Join 10,000+ job seekers in our email newsletter and we'll send you the 30 must-know questions, plus our best insider tips for turning interviews into job offers. That means you have to keep a few things in mind and avoid a couple of potential traps. So I understand the fundamentals, but I’m pretty rusty in terms of working hands-on with them. I’d highly recommend going into each interview prepared to share at least one detailed example of a weakness using this two-step method. Interview weaknesses is a common type of interview question whereby a candidate is asked to list a weakness. They want a real weakness; They want to learn something about you and your background. I focus too much on the details. The following article will cover a list of strengths and weaknesses you can mention in the job interview to stand out and the best answers that will impress the interviewer. “One of my greatest weaknesses is effective time management. How to Tailor Your Resume to a Specific Job Description, Answering “What is your greatest strength?”, Exact two-step formula for answering “what is your weakness” or “what are 3 weaknesses” in the interview to impress employers, The one answer you absolutely should NOT give, Word-for-word example answers for your greatest weakness. I know that I need to improve on delegating appropriate tasks to employees that show promise and a desire to grow. While it is part of my job to help them grow and improve, it is not my responsibility to want it more for them than they do for themselves. Consider this a “good weakness.” A poor weakness that does not do this is: What They Want to Know: This question isn’t a query … The strategy: Turn a strength into a weakness. They won’t be thrilled with interview answers like this because it doesn’t really tell them anything about you, other than the fact that you read a few interview tricks before coming in. You'll notice straight away that some of the weaknesses were also in the list of strengths. ", "As far as management is concerned, I'd say my greatest weakness is probably taking too much interest in my employees' growth, even if they don't demonstrate the interest in growth themselves. 25 Examples of Weaknesses to Use at a Job Interview [List of ‘Good' Weaknesses] What are ‘good' weaknesses for a job interview? I want to gain confidence in my ability to go-with-the-flow, and I know that will come as my teaching career continues. One of the most important things to get right when talking about your strengths and weaknesses in an interview setting is honesty. I just take it upon myself and finish the job. Look at the job description and you’ll get a sense of this before the interview. Or another way to phrase it is to use a weakness that can be easily controlled or utilized in certain situations. In the event that you are asked about strengths and weaknesses at the same time, discuss your weakness first so that you can end on a positive note. I have no weakness.” Because nobody’s amazing at everything! I know that once I better understand what is driving them in the workplace, I can teach each of them a few tasks that will help develop their careers. Self-awareness is a critical trait for all product managers to have. When an interviewer asks you, "What is your greatest weakness? Instead, use this question to deliver information that helps the interviewer get to know you better — warts and all. Maybe you’ve found a way around it with other tools/skills, etc. Believe it or not, they don’t want someone to say, “I’m great at everything. When confronted with this interview question, remember the interviewer is looking for a fit. Hiring managers love to ask questions about your greatest weakness in a job interview. If you missed that, make sure to go back up and get familiar with the two-step answer formula for giving a real weakness and then explaining how you’ve overcome it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Here are the most common mistakes candidates typically make (you may be able to relate): 1. So part of the reason they’re asking is to measure your character and personality. ", "Since all of my team members work remotely, I tend not to delegate simple tasks that they could complete from home. But with soft skills, you have to tell them the story. Here are a few examples of the best weaknesses to mention in an interview: 1. Show ongoing and conscious effort to mitigate key weaknesses. They’ll expect detailed examples in your answer, and they want to hear a unique weakness. The best strategy for answering this interview question is to answer with weaknesses that can also be considered strengths. I am accustomed to doing all of the managerial tasks myself, as I don't have an assistant manager or sometimes even a shift leader. This is a good answer as long as you’re not interviewing for a job where they expect you to start using this skill (Java programming) every day. ", "I tend to think and act quickly which can sometimes cause strain on the teams that I lead. It's wonderful that you were able to leverage 365 in such an impactful way. You also know the two-step formula to come up with a great answer that WILL stand out and make them want to offer you the job. Answer: One of my greatest weaknesses is time management. Questions about strengths and weaknesses can provide an opportunity to show how your skills are a perfect match for the job—or they can be a trap. Addressing weaknesses in your Project Management Interview November 14, 2012 Nicola Caswell-Thorp 2 Comments One question burning on the lips of most interviewers is “what is your weakness” – time and time again I have asked this question and been met with a variety of responses, the worst response to date was “I do not have any”. Related: Interview Question: “How Do You Handle Stress?” As you prepare for an interview, it’s helpful to think about questions you might face that relate to how you manage your time. That’ll keep you in the clear. I feel scary for this question and sort out my real weakness to answer in the interview. I put a sample answer below to show you how this might sound in the interview. We strive to match our experts' background and expertise with the appropriate question sets found on our website. Select one or two weaknesses from this list of 5 common workplace weaknesses. Now that you know what not to do when naming your weaknesses in a job interview, let’s look at what you *should* do to “wow” the hiring manager. "As a manager, I feel that my greatest weakness is in terminating employees at the first sign that they are not going to work out. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and have been guilty of trying to nurture people when they are overdue for termination. You may wonder why. Everyone has their weaknesses -- and that is okay! As an educator newer to my career, I am very comfortable abiding by 'the book' so to speak. You’ll find many books and articles that advise you to “turn a negative into a positive” by sharing a supposed weakness that is actually a desirable quality in an employee. Get our free PDF with the top 30 interview questions to practice. Give the interviewer an example of how you stay mindful and the steps you take to … Keep them all related. When you pick something skill-based, you want it to be relevant to your work, but not a primary focus of the job you’re applying for. Don’t pick one personality trait, one hard-skill like Java programming, and one area like leadership or delegation. Generally, you’ll focus on your soft skills as strengths — there are other ways for interviewers and recruiters to glean hard skills, whether it’s through take-home assignments, a coding interview or examples of your past work. To make things even tougher, some employers are now asking for 3 weaknesses. It might sound trite, but it’s also true. I have worked on this and am becoming much better at ", "I believe my greatest weakness as a manager is my ability to delegate. So now let’s look at how to plan out a great answer to your greatest weakness, or top 3 weaknesses… plus what NOT to do. Give the wrong answer, and the interview might go south in a hurry. ", "I strongly believe in my agency's 'up or out' theory, which means that if you are not continually challenging your team, they will leave. We asked human resources experts for their insights on handling the weakness question, and they offered advice on how to address the question and come away unscathed. I know that I need to improve on delegating appropriate tasks to the appropriate employees. When they ask “what’s your greatest weakness?”, I recommend you be straight-forward and give a candid answer to the hiring manager, they’ll appreciate it IF you do it right…. That’s by far the BEST way to answer “what is your greatest weakness?” or “what are your weaknesses?” in the interview. They do not necessarily have experience interviewing or working with the companies, careers or schools they may write for on MockQuestions.com. When were you able to resolve a problem within work. If you’re looking to become an accountant, don’t say your weakness is working with numbers or being detail oriented. The challenging job interview question, “What are your weaknesses?” needs a realistic answer that doesn’t show your job will be negatively affected in any way by it. And whether you’re upfront/comfortable talking about a weakness in general. So, this question is an opportunity to show that you’ve got the right assets for the job. If you do have a weakness that’s going to hurt your performance in their company, they want to know and avoid hiring you! This is a bit tougher… not only because you have to think of 3 different things while making sure it’s not going to scare the employer off, but you also have to keep your answer organized. …whether you’re self-aware and able to identify a weak spot and be honest about it. With that said, I may spend too much time on the up when it's clear that this employee is more of an 'out. However, you could say your weakness is a certain type of tool or software, or an entire area of accounting that you haven’t worked particularly closely with recently. Maybe you studied it in school but haven’t had a chance to use it hands-on since then and you’d require some time to brush up. Try: Mentioning a non-essential … Copyright © 2020 Career Sidekick, LLC | Privacy | Disclaimer, How to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” (Interview Question). After giving a real weakness in your answer, you want to show how you’re stopping this weakness from being an issue, or how you’re making sure it doesn’t affect your overall work. Trying to turn a negative into a positive. Let's find your TOP 3 WEAKNESSES together below! I think it’d help me be more well-rounded and would filter down into other areas that I use more often in my work.”. Avoid discussing a weakness that could be detrimental to you securing the position. What the hiring manager … 28 Common Second Round Interview Questions, 11 Final Interview Questions to Prepare For, How to Answer “Are You a Leader or Follower?” (Interview Question). '", "I believe my greatest weakness as a manager to be my delegating. Never name a weakness that’s a core part of the job you’re interviewing for! You better pick a different weakness to share, because no hiring manager wants to hear this type of thing. The example is based on somebody in the software/programming field, but you should be able to understand this no matter what. Our interview questions are created by writers, most of whom have a long history of recruiting and interviewing candidates. "As a manager, I feel that my greatest weakness is in terminating employees at the first sign that they are not going to work out. Speaking about weaknesses, you should pick something that is not essential for the job. Instead of saying: I want to perfect my ability to build relationships. Talk to the hiring manager about what you feel you could work on the most, and what you are doing about it. This approach will also allow me to delegate more confidently. Fortunately, if you’re going to go into the interview room with a game-plan for this specific question, so you’ll feel a lot less pressure than most candidates! Nice Article, I have an interview next week for the manager position (Procurement). Any time you can avoid giving a cookie-cutter, common interview answer and say something unique is good. Don’t go overboard with the weaknesses, though. Those are just not programming languages I’ve been asked to use or be involved in since school. ", "As a manager, I feel that my greatest weakness is in terminating employees at the first sign that they are not going to work out. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and have been guilty of trying to nurture people when they are overdue for termination. It’s okay, but not great…. This would be a challenge for sure, delegating when your team is remote. For example, maybe you’re rapidly improving in the area. Showing weakness in critical performance or interpersonal skill areas can lead to internal discourse, decreased productivity and higher-than-average turnover. In the last year, we have gotten Microsoft office 365, and this has made it much easier for me to delegate some of these tasks that I would have not in the past and allow my team more opportunity to grow.". Having problems in asking for help and time management are other common weaknesses. Being over-friendly to guests, or having bad computer skills or management skills is a great choice, unless you apply for a position of a restaurant manager. Soft skills are important for almost every job. Explore expert tips and resources to be more confident in your next interview. Being detail-oriented is typically a good thing, but if you’re someone who tends to spend too much time on the specifics of a project, it could also be considered a weakness. It’s just not something that I’ve been asked to do since school so I understand the fundamentals but I’m pretty rusty in terms of working hands-on with it. Employers want to know how you manage the weakness and recognizing the weakness is the first essential step to managing it properly. So for this reason, I’d recommend picking 3 closely-related topics that are weaknesses. I was planning on brushing up in the next few months to broaden my skill set, though. If you give this type of answer instead of the typical “fake” weakness (a strength disguised as a weakness), you’re going to build a much better connection with the hiring manager and they’ll really appreciate the thoughtful, genuine answer you came up with. When you’re asked about your weaknesses, the employer wants to know whether you are qualified to do the job. Unlike hard skills, these are skills that are … If you’ve ever looked for help answering this question in the past, you were probably told to do something like this. “I’m not the best public speaker.” “I tend to get very nervous if I have to get up in front of people and … Therefore, before the interview have at least three or four examples of your strengths and a couple of weaknesses ready to share when asked. (Trait Weakness) Question: Tell Me About Your Greatest Weakness? “Well, sometimes I’m too detail-oriented and thorough, so I have to remember to hit my deadlines and balance speed too.”, “I’m really passionate about this industry and the work I’m doing, so sometimes I need to remind myself to relax and not get over-excited in the moment.”. In the event that you are asked about strengths and weaknesses at the same time, discuss your weakness first so that you can end on a positive note. So I’ll talk about what weaknesses not to share in the next section. Examples include: Trouble following instructions, trouble communicating, being prone to arguments and disagreements, etc. This is how you stand out in the interview and make yourself memorable (so you can get more job offers!). Here’s how it’d look…, “When I look at my skill set as a whole, I think three weaknesses are Java, Ruby, and CSS. I think with this question it makes sense to spend a minute understanding why hiring managers ask. Undoubtedly, these answers will come across as both insincere, and lacking true self-awareness. Now, sometimes employers will ask for 3 weaknesses in a job interview, so let’s look at examples of how to answer that now. First, don’t name a weakness related to how you work with others or how you get along with management. Our interviewing professionals will gladly review and revise any answer you send us. When addressing your weaknesses, draw upon examples relating to either skills, habits or personality traits. The key to successfully handling the weakness question in an interview is to identify the weakness, explain what this looks like in the workplace and then, most importantly, what steps you are taking to minimize the impact of the weakness and improve. Clement Kao Updated on August 15th, 2020 . An answer that sounds genuine and authentic will impress, while one that sounds generic, calculated, exaggerated, or humblebraggy will do the opposite. One of the most common interview questions that most of us experienced or will experience at some point is “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”.. She is forming a picture of you based on your answers. List of Strengths & Weaknesses + Professional Answers. “What is Your Biggest Weakness?” is only a minor part of the interviewers’ plan to test your self-confidence and crisis management during an interview. If you want to master all of the tips and tricks to build up your confidence , make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel now to stay up-to-date with our interview videos. Product Manager Interview: The Weakness Question. Related article: Answering “What is your greatest strength?”. I have worked on this and am becoming much better at 'ripping off the band-aid' so to speak. Gain the confidence you need by asking our professionals any interview scenario, question, or answer you are unsure about. Some common weaknesses in a job interview are lack of confidence, impatience, difficulty in public speaking, lack of socializing skills, and maintaining a work-life balance. I was planning on brushing up in the next few months to broaden my skill set, though, even if they’re not required in this role. That part of the strengths and weaknesses question is to see how realistic you are. We all have strengths and areas we’re not so great at. You do not need a long list of weaknesses. In fact, to play it even safer I recommend you pick something skill-based, not personality-based. These 3 weaknesses job interview examples all contain those key elements. ", "I am currently working on spending less time focusing on the worksheets and more time with hands-on learning opportunities. When addressing your weaknesses, draw upon examples relating to either skills/habits or personality traits. Classic examples include “I’m a … Example #1. I am constantly reminded to slow down and walk with my team along the way. Hiring managers have heard it so many times and it’s lost its magic. Consider how you can incorporate your own examples and experiences to emphasize your time management skills and productivity at work. Hiring managers are also wise to responses that attempt to frame a positive trait as weaknesses in a job interview. I am accustomed to doing all of the managerial tasks myself, as I don't have an assistant manager or sometimes even a shift leader. So here’s how to give a much better answer when they ask you about weaknesses in an interview…. This is probably what you’ve been told to do when asked about weaknesses in the interview. This is done to see how a candidate handles a stressful question or to see if they have a realistic view of themselves such that they are able to identify weaknesses and self-improve. All interview questions are created by MockQuestions.com and are not official interview questions for any organization listed on MockQuestions.com. The hiring manager is also looking for indicators that show you’ve been able to learn new tasks and handle new challenges. Interviewers are pretty tired of hearing answers like this, though. So, it makes sense for companies to test for self-awareness as part of the interview process. That's because sometimes there's a fine line between strengths and weaknesses. What is your greatest strength? ” and that is okay and handle new challenges weaknesses... ' background and expertise with the companies, careers or schools they may write on! To share, because no management weaknesses interview manager about what you feel you could work the. Strain on the teams that I need to improve them. test for self-awareness as part the... An impactful way it upon myself and finish the job go overboard with the top 30 questions... My management skills and productivity at work you ’ re upfront/comfortable talking a... 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Of this before the interview and make yourself memorable ( so you can avoid giving a cookie-cutter, interview! Be honest about it away that some of the job weakness to share, because hiring. Sense of this before the interview of thing weaknesses in a job interview see how realistic you are doing it. Field, but it management weaknesses interview s a core part of the interview make... Related to how you stand out in the interview implying that I need to management weaknesses interview on delegating tasks...