What are your weaknesses?
This is a question that many job seekers struggle with.
It’s totally understandable because this is a legitimately difficult and tricky question.
I mean, most of us may know what our weaknesses are but we don’t want to share them with others people right? And we definitely do not want to reveal all of our shortcomings with the potential employer for sure. So how am I supposed to respond to this question?
If you ever felt this way, you’re absolutely right. This is NOT the time to divulge our darkest secrets. There are clear strategies as to what you should and should not mention. And by the end of this post, you will know exactly how to tackle this question.
Let’s start by analyzing why employers like to ask this question in the first place.
First, they want to know how self-aware you are. Let’s be real. Everyone has weaknesses. The real question is whether we recognize what they are and what we are doing to improve.
Many people are not aware of where they need to grow and therefore are not doing anything about it. Unless we understand our weaknesses and take action, we are not going to see any growth.
This is the reason why saying “I have no weaknesses” doesn’t cut it because it’ll only show one’s lack of self-awareness.
Another reason why interviewers like to ask this question is to check if the candidate has any critical weaknesses that will impact their ability to perform in the job (and screen them out). Therefore, you have to be intentional and careful about what you choose to mention as your weakness because a wrong response can derail the interview entirely.
So, with this in mind, how should we tackle this question?
#1. Strategy One: Stay away from any qualities or skills that are critical to the role.
As mentioned, this is exactly the kind of response that will get you rejected. If you mention anything that the employer deems necessary or crucial as your weakness, naturally they will not have confidence in your profile.
For example, if you’re applying for an accounting position in which the majority of bookkeeping needs to be done on Excel, you don’t want to say that your weakness is your lack of advanced Excel knowledge.
If you’re applying for a Customer Success manager position and you know that you’ll need to do a lot of customer data analysis using SQL, for example, you do not want to mention SQL as your weakness.
And it doesn’t have to be technical skills either.
If you’re applying for a project management position, you cannot say time management is your weakness. Or if you’re applying for a manager role, your leadership skills would be considered critical.
Lastly, a position that requires you to give regular presentations to senior managers, choosing to mention public speaking as your weakness obviously will not help your case.
Even remotely referring to such central qualities or skills will only negatively impact your interview. So stay well away from them.
#2. Number Two: Focus on non-essential, preferred skills or experiences.
Instead, choose something that is NOT a must for the position – some skills or knowledge that is good to have but not required.
A great place to find such information is from the job description. Most JDs include a set of skills that are required as well as preferred. Choose something from the preferred list that you know isn’t essential (maybe at the bottom of the JD) and it will usually be a safe bet.
For example, let’s say the position you’re interviewing for is primarily focused on Hong Kong and the JD mentions that other Asia market knowledge would be preferred. In such a case, you may want to tell the employer that, even though you’re intimately familiar with the HK market, your lack of familiarity with certain other Asia markets would be your weakness.
Does this make sense?
You can use language abilities, technical skills, business knowledge, experience, and etc. As long as it is only a preferred qualification that is non-essential, it’ll usually be a safe choice.
Again, picking a weakness that is relevant but not crucial is the key here.
#3. Number Three: Clearly explain what you’re currently doing to improve.
As I mentioned in the beginning of the video, a big motivation for this question is to see if the candidate is doing anything to improve or grow. Therefore, if you just mention the weakness and leave it at that, you will be seen as lacking self-motivation or not serious about progress.
Thus, your response is not complete unless you describe the concrete actions you’re taking to grow in these areas.
For example, if you mentioned a particular language as your weakness, explain the courses you’re currently enrolled in to learn and improve. If it’s a technical skill, tell them the books you’re reading or how you’re working on pet projects to familiarize yourself with the tools. If it’s a business domain, you may want to tell them some of the industry concepts you’re learning now.
Whatever shortcoming you choose to point out, the most important part of your answer is to inform the employer what you’re doing about your weaknesses.
This is infinitely more convincing than telling the employer that you’re a fast learner so you’ll be able to pick them up quickly and just take your word for it.
#Bonus tip: Avoid cliches or fake weaknesses.
Avoid cliches such as “I am a perfectionist,” “I work too hard,” or “I am too honest, etc. which are not really weaknesses. These answers have been way overused, and most interviewers will see right through them. It will basically have the same effect as saying, “I don’t have any weaknesses: which will make you come across as not self-aware.
Again, the strategy is choosing a relevant but non-essential skills/knowledge/experience from the JD as your weakness and then providing real examples or evidence of your effort to improve and grow in them.