Your Weakness Might Be a Good Thing … No, Really

For job candidates, it is one of the most dreaded questions – What is your greatest weakness or tell me about a weakness you have.

The obvious problem is that at a job interview you want to focus on how good you are, what you can do as opposed to what you cannot do. So, how do you go about answering this vexing question?

The first thing you need to do is prepare for the question beforehand. This is one of the most common questions interviewers ask, so you know it is probably coming during the interview, and you should be ready for it.

You need to take some time and really think about what weaknesses you have. It is not the easiest thing to do, granted. No one likes to think about his or her flaws. But the purpose of doing this is to take that weakness and turn it into a strength by showing the hiring manager how you are overcoming that weakness.

Has anyone ever mentioned a perceived weakness about you? For example, are you not open enough, not good at taking criticism, do you find it hard to move on from failure?

After identifying your weakness, it is also important to think about what you are doing to improve on that weakness, on eliminating it. What have you learned from your weakness, and how have you addressed it? This is how you can really impress the hiring manager.

Also, think about how your weakness relates to the job you want. And, when thinking about your weaknesses, you need to be careful – your weakness should not be something so egregious that it alarms the hiring manager, nor should it be something so trivial that the hiring manager would doubt your honesty. It should be something that can be eliminated with practice.

After you have worked all this out, you can begin to formulate an answer.

For example, a weakness might be an attitude that you can do everything yourself. You have a hard time asking for help because you believe people would then doubt your ability. So, sometimes you get overwhelmed by projects because you try to do it all on your own.

Now, you turn that weakness into a strength by showing what you are doing to overcome it. This shows the hiring manager several things – that you understand what your weaknesses are and that you are proactive in trying to eliminate them.

If you are looking for work, the people at Arrow Staffing can help you. We have the experience and the expertise to find the right job for you. Give Arrow a call today.

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