How do you answer...

[*Luna*]

The interview question:

"What are your weaknesses" or "What do you need to improve on"

I'm not looking for a job or anything but the post below got me thinking about interviews and new jobs. I am always asked this question and never quite know how to respond. You never want to say anything negative about yourself, of course, but you have to answer!!! Sooo... What do you say when asked a question along those lines? Maybe next time I am job hunting I can be better prepaired

 

[Willa]

I always respond something like :
I just started a new way to remind myself my schedule, I take a lot of notes and read them often.

It works everytime

 

[franimal]

I'm a perfectionist is the classic safe answer

 

[amoona]

Well when I interviewed with MAC I was very very honest about what my weaknesses are. I told them as far as artistically my weaknesses are that I have only had 1 years worth of experience freelancing and I don't feel like I've yet been exposed to enough of a variety of make-up artistry. Then I told them my other weakness was when speaking to people I tend to talk really fast, especially with stuff that I love (like MAC) and I stutter so talking fast+stuttering is interesting lol.

The second weakness usually gets everyone laughing haha but I never knew how to answer that so I was always honest and I always felt in every job my speed talking/stuttering was something I need to slow down on so I don't lose customers.

 

[MiCHiE]

In my experience, I've found that it is important to list at least one weakness and be honest about it. Everybody has something that they want to improve on. You should also explain what steps you're taking to overcome it. You have to have a plan of action.

 

[Urbana]

it hasnt happened to me, thank god
i would be kind of shocked in that case, i could say... im prefectionist and i like to work alone better than with more people doing the same job

 

[user79]

Quote:

Originally Posted by franimal I'm a perfectionist is the classic safe answer

That's the worst answer because that's what EVERYONE says, and shows that you're just trying to make yourself look good.

 

[MiCHiE]

^Not only that, "Perfectionist" is most times taken as "Obsessive Compulsive". You also wouldn't want to say, "I prefer to work alone/work better alone" because many jobs call for a "team effort" and if a team distracts you, you won't get the job.

 

[salvador4dali]

I've done some research bout how to answer interview questions, and found one that I think is applicable to the 'whats your weakness'. This is a bit of an open-ended question and doesn't really serve much purpose to you or the interviewer. But i normally say 'I'm a stickler for detail - which can lead to time management problems, but I combat this by ensuring that I allocate my time efficiently so that I can get my work done promptly'. So your saying your weakness (which can also be seen as a strength) and showed a plan to counteract it (ie allocating time efficiently). So you have to say your weakness and then put a spin onto it and make it positive. It seemed to work coz I got the job!

They might also ask what are you 3 weaknesses - this is a bit of a problem because you don't really want to say 3 weaknesses but you could say something along the lines of 'I studied french to so-and-so level and my weakness is that i didn't keep up with the practice so I plan on having a refresher course and actively take time out to keep practising' You could do that with a sport, art, anything. And I can't think of a 3rd one coz I'm very sleepy and attempting to revise.....

HTH