What are your weaknesses?
A question that often comes up in job interviews, and one that can be difficult to answer. Most candidates know that they shouldn’t mention any weaknesses that would directly affect their ability to do the job, but finding a suitable answer can still be challenging. Common answers such as “I work too hard” or “I’m a perfectionist” are often seen as clichéd and can create a risk for the candidate without any reward.
In today’s job market, it’s essential to understand that you’re not just being hired for your skills and experiences. Hiring managers are evaluating your humanity first, assessing whether you’re an honest person and if you’re someone they could work with and trust. A person behind the CV is just as important as the CV itself, and the hiring manager needs to feel confident that they could work with you, that you’ll fit in with the team and that you won’t bring any unnecessary drama to the workplace.
An excellent way to answer the question of what your weaknesses are is to be honest and then follow up with how you’ve found ways to mitigate the impact of those weaknesses. For example, let’s say that you’re not a native English speaker, and it takes you longer to explain a concept than it would a native speaker. Instead of trying to hide this, you can be honest about it and then mention the steps you’ve taken to overcome the challenge, such as working with a junior consultant who is a native English speaker and who proofreads your work. By being honest about your weakness, you’re showing that you’re self-aware and that you’re taking steps to improve.
Conclusion
When answering the question of what your weaknesses are in a job interview, it’s essential to be honest, self-aware, and to show that you’re taking steps to improve. It’s also important to understand that you’re not just being hired for your skills and experiences, but for your humanity as well. Hiring managers want to know that they’re hiring a colleague and not just a CV, and that you’re someone who they could work with and trust. By being honest about your weaknesses, you’ll not only demonstrate your self-awareness but also show that you’re taking steps to improve, which can help you stand out from the competition.
The key to answering the question “What are your weaknesses?” in a job interview is to be honest, but also to show how you are actively working to improve in those areas and that they are not a hindrance to your job performance. Additionally, it’s important to focus on weaknesses that are not critical to the job you’re applying for and to demonstrate that you have strategies in place to minimize the impact of your weaknesses.
