Interview what is your weakness answer

If you use this strategy, be sure not to mention anything that you improved upon that would be critical to the position for which you are interviewing, as you don't want your qualifications for the job to be questioned. One area I improved on in the past is my salesmanship skills. However, since I do communicate quite frequently with the sales team, I felt it might benefit me to have a greater understanding of their strategies and tactics.

I took a sales skills course online. This course also helped me build upon the skills I use to "sell" my vision for the product internally. Why It Works: This response works well because it clearly shows how the candidate has improved upon the skills needed to do the job effectively. Another option for answering is to turn a negative into a positive.

For example, a sense of urgency to complete projects can be turned into a positive; e. Or perhaps you find yourself with an attention to detail that leads you to triple-check every item on a spreadsheet and proofread every email you send twice. Regardless of what you say, it is critical to indicate that you are mindful of this trait and capable of preventing it from interfering with your productivity.

I have a very strong attention to detail. Sometimes, this can turn into a tendency to perfectionism. Why It Works: The candidate is showing the interviewer that she has the time management skills to focus on a detail-oriented project. Review more examples of answers to help you frame your own response.

Why It Works: The candidate is mentioning a weakness and showing how he solved the problem. When I'm working on a project, I don't just want to meet deadlines. Rather, I prefer to complete the project well ahead of its due date. Why It Works: This response shows that meeting deadlines and getting the work done accurately are both important.

I used to wait until the last minute to set appointments for the coming week, but I realized that scheduling in advance makes much more sense. Sometimes I spend more time than necessary on a task or take on tasks that could easily be delegated to someone else. Although I've never missed a deadline, it is still an effort for me to know when to move on to the next task and to be confident when assigning others work.

In my recent position, I implemented a project management tool that allowed me to easily oversee the progress of all the tasks I assigned. This helped me feel much more comfortable about delegating work. Why It Works: This response shows that the candidate can handle delegating work and managing a project, which are required skills for leadership and management roles. I used to like to work on one project to its completion before starting on another, but I've learned to work on many projects at the same time, and I think doing so allows me to be more creative and effective in each one.

Prepare a response. It can be easier to respond when you have an idea of what you want to say. Finally, you're going to showcase the results you've gotten from your hard work as well as any recognition you received from others. After speaking in front of your team several times, you felt ready to take it to the big stage. You raised your hand to co-lead a pitch to one of the largest prospects in the company's pipeline.

On the big day, you completely nailed it. That answer shows your interviewer that you have enough awareness to recognize your weaknesses, but you're also committed to improving.

It also shows that you're not afraid to step out of your comfort zone in order to grow. What company wouldn't want to hire someone like that? Check out these 3 keys to highly effective communication that most people ignore! Now let's take that bulleted formula from the section above and turn it into a template that you can rehearse and repeat in your next interview:. In the past, [ Weakness ] was a huge challenge for me.

I'd get incredibly nervous when I knew I had to [ Weakness ]. I realized this was hindering my progress and an individual and a professional so I decided to [ Action You Took To Improve ]. After several months of working through it, I can honestly say that [ Weakness ] is something I'm starting to enjoy. In the past, public speaking was a huge challenge for me. I'd get incredibly nervous when I knew I had to get up and speak in front of a crowd.

I realized this was hindering my progress as an individual and a professional so I decided to take action. I hired a speaking coach and I asked my manager to allocate 10 minutes in our team meeting each month where I could present on something. After a few months of working through my speaking issues, I can honestly say it's something I'm starting to enjoy. Most recently, I co-led a pitch to one of our biggest potential prospects in the past 5 years.

After the deal was signed, our senior salesperson came up to me and told me that my narrative on X topic was what really sealed the deal. We wouldn't have closed them without it. My current company recently expanded their focus from US-only markets into Japan. As you probably know, Japan's professional culture is very different from what we're used to here in the US and I had a hard time adjusting. During the early months of the expansion, I was sent to Japan to meet with prospective clients.

I didn't do much reading beforehand since I'm typically good with our domestic clients and proceeded to botch the first two meetings. Those companies stopped all communication after my visit. I couldn't understand what I did wrong. To help me better understand, I hired a Japanese business coach who taught me the key differences between American and Japanese culture.

I also picked up Duolingo to learn some of the language and found a local group dedicated to practicing each week. After months of hard work, I rewarded myself with a two week personal trip to Japan and used Couchsurfing. After months of not communicating with the two companies I mentioned before, I was able to get a hold of someone and persuade them to let me come back.

At the end of the meeting, we signed them on as clients and they eventually became critical to our expansion within the country. In the past, my biggest weakness has been not having a traditional background in development and computer science. I was a sociology major in college and I've been working as an account manager for the past 3 years.

I knew it wouldn't be an easy path, but front end development is what I'm passionate about. Twelve months ago, I began teaching myself how to code. Next, I began creating apps that solved personal problems and forced me to expand into new languages and APIs.

Most recently, I launched an app called Forest which aims to help people maintain a healthy relationship with their phone. The app allows them to plant a tree a let it grow for a certain period of time, during which their phone is completely locked. If they unlock their phone, the tree dies. I marketed it via Medium, several major publications, and Reddit and it currently has 10, monthly active users. While my background and experience isn't traditional, I know this is what I'm meant to do and I'd love to have the opportunity to learn from the amazing developers at your company.

See how well that flows from admitting your weakness to showcasing how you conquered your fear and turned it into tangible results for the company? That's what we're aiming for. Thus far, we've flesh out answers for a few topics that you can use as your to answer the dreaded weakness interview question.

If you've been reading this and a weakness hasn't popped into your head, I've listed dozens of examples below that you can plug into the template above:. For more ways to ace your interview, you can start with this comprehensive guide on preparing for the big day. And don't forget to follow up with a post-interview thank you email! It's an overlooked, yet effective tactic to stand out from the other applicants! Austin is the founder of Cultivated Culture where he helps people land jobs without connections, without traditional experience, and without applying online.

Great article Austin. I am absolutely loving the info I am getting at Cultivated Culture. I would highly recommend your website for anyone like me who is making a change in the workforce and getting back out there. You must be logged in to post a comment.

I learned practical skills around leading discussions and sharing diverse perspectives. Now, in group settings, I always start conversations with the quieter folks. I know exactly how they feel, and people can be amazing once they start talking. This works well in some situations, but in many cases, I need the help of others to overcome factors beyond my control. In one instance last year, I was spearheading a client event that had a lot of moving parts. I was trying to manage everything from the strategic plan down to the tiniest details, like table settings.

I did a lot of self-reflection afterward. But when I was working for XYZ Company several years ago, I was on a group project where I could see how my putting things off to the last minute created stress for everyone else.

It was a wake-up call. I started creating daily schedules that hold me accountable to my team, and I broke the habit. It was hard at first, but using the Agile process was a real breakthrough in my workflow and mindset. I was laboring over the details and in turn, caused my manager to be stressed when I almost missed the deadline on my deliverables.

I learned the hard way back then, but I did learn. Within a few years of being in the working world, though, I realized that I wanted to take my career in a more analytical direction. In my most recent job, this new foundation has enabled me to do my own goal setting and tracking. Actually, getting over the math anxiety I had when I was younger has been incredibly empowering. Use the job description as your guide as you select your strengths.

When providing context for your strengths, address the specific qualities that qualify you for the job and distinguish you as a candidate. In one memorable instance from earlier this year, I was on a support call with a customer whose contract we had terminated. Reinstating the service agreement would have increased her rates dramatically.

I talked her through some of her other options, even letting her know of other providers who might be able to offer her a lower rate so she could avoid a lapse in coverage. In the feedback survey from that interaction, she specifically mentioned that she would still be recommending our services to others.

I started pushing the boundaries of what it could do as soon as it was released. Because I have a comprehensive understanding of the components, I can spot the essentials and rigorously advocate for them to meet deadlines.