So many interview candidates flinch and cringe at the sound of the word weakness, to some it sets chill to their spill accompanied by trickles of sweats.
Laughable huh? Not exactly you might just be like them if you don’t read on to find out the tacit way to answer the question “what is your weakness”.
Paradoxically, it is the ultimate question that the interviewer leverage to feel funky and sieve out candidates. It’s the last magic trick an interviewer pulls out of his sleeve.
Since weaknesses are hotspots we are not proud of, they can be tactically used to your advantage.
What An Interviewer Wants From Every Candidate
The majority of the time this question is asked, it is tweaked in several ways to handicap the candidate. For example;
“What did your previous employers and colleagues say was your biggest weakness?”
“Which kind of task, duty or role challenges you the most?”
“Which of this role’s tasks or duties would you struggle with the most?”
“How did you handle difficulties that cropped up in your previous job and role?”
“Are there any part of your skillset that needs polishing?”
DISCLAIMER! All these questions have the same answers as the question “what is your weakness?” DO NOT! FRET.
However the question is phrased, there about four qualities the interviewer is looking for;
Personal Responsibility(Self Awareness)
Character and Personality
Honesty
Accountability
How To Answer The Million Dollar Question
Pheew! Before we delve into answering the big question, there are a couple of things you should not do.
Do not sound perfect, hence not having a weakness.
Do not choose a weakness that is detrimental to the role except( you have exponentially improved, and you must make it clear to me interviewer)
Do not make a strength a weakness example I work too hard, my boss has to practically chase me out of the office late in the evening.
So here are some examples of harmless weaknesses you can choose and tweak in your favour, these weaknesses are kit detrimental to the job, they are fixable, they are also applicable to the role you are applying for.
Teamwork
Time management
Sharing responsibility
Focus
Organization skills
Writing skills
Delegating tasks
Humour
Presenting to public
Public speaking
Speaking too honestly
Spontaneity (you don’t like to work unprepared)
Multitasking
Command of a particular foreign language.
I would personally recommend that you choose from the above list because I’ll be giving examples of how to tweak the answers in your favour.
Hint 1:
Remember to add the measures you are taking or have taken to be better at your weakness. For example, “I don’t have an excellent public speaking skill, however, I have enrolled in a couple of public speaking courses and there have been significant improvements.”
Don’t! just say “I don’t have an excel public speaking skill”.
Hint 2:
Use light euphemisms while emphasising your weakness for example instead of saying I don’t do well in a team.
Say ” I don’t have an optimum team performance”. . .then add the measures you are taking to ensure personal improvement.
Bonus: talk about the weakness in a passive voice, that way it would not sound like a real problem.
The same technique goes for any other weakness you choose. I hope you get to apply this and bag the job with a smile. Good luck!
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