What are your greatest weaknesses?, How to Answer Tricky Interview Questions, Part 4

Here's part 4 of a piece from CareerBuilder that offers advice on how to answer tricky interview questions. Here's today's question and their response:

What are your greatest weaknesses?

The secret to answering this question is being honest about a weakness, but demonstrating how you have turned it into a strength. For example, if you had a problem with organization in the past, demonstrate the steps you took to more effectively keep yourself on track. This will show that you have the ability to recognize aspects of yourself that need improvement, and the initiative to make yourself better.

Let me get this off your chest: whoever asks this question is a weak interviewer. It's that simple. If this is the best they can come up with, asking a question that was standard in 1954, then they're lame.

That said, you still need to have a good answer. The suggestion above is a good option -- especially if the interviewer accepts as lame answers as the questions he asks.

But there is another option that's just as good: the "weakness as a strength" answer that was the standard 15 years ago. Something like, "My greatest weakness is that I'm too driven -- I'm always pushing to be better, get more results, etc." Ha! Take that for asking me such a bad question. (BTW, most people who ask this question will be satisfied with this sort of answer.)

Here's a suggested answer that has worked for me in the past:

My main weaknesses are related: a lack of patience and expectation of excellence from employees.  I tend to want everything done now and done with excellence and expect as much dedication from employees as I have.  These aren’t always realistic expectations.

So, what do you think? Any recommended changes?

Click here to read part 5 of this series.

Click here to read part 1 of this series.

Comments

[Kira]

I've said that I don't have as much patience as I should for people who aren't reliable, because I always will be and I expect it of them too.

[GHoosdum]

For some reason, every job I've ever applied for has led to this interview question. I've always been flat-out honest with this question. I usually name something that is a weakness that I am currently working to improve, not something that was a weakness I've made good on, or something that isn't actually a weakness. It tends to work out pretty well for me.

[Trent]

Usually I hit them with humor first: "I have a weakness for chocolate."

Then I will go to something that they are looking for and say that my weakness at a previous job was their strength. Say they want somebody with people skills. I will say my weakness at a previous job was being too outgoing when they wanted somebody who would stay in the office and pore over spreadsheets.

[Jared Rice]

Here's a question to someone who's interviewed people before: What about ADD?

I've had ADD from way before it became the popular disability to have. I've never been treated with drugs, and spent a lot of time learning to manage it. It can be a weakness, because I do have trouble staying on task some times (lookie here, posting while at work on a friday afternoon ^_^), but it is generally a strength, because I can juggle more tasks than most of my contemporaries.

Despite the fact that I've turned it into a strength in my life, do you think this comes across poorly, or has a chance of creating a bias in the interviewer's mind?

[FMF]

Jared --

My take is that it could be perceived either way -- positive or negative -- depending on the interviewer's own biases. As such, I wouldn't share it.

In my experience, you want to share only things that you KNOW will be positively received. And since ADD is a roll of the dice, I wouldn't tell them about it (especially since it doesn't impact your work).

[Paco]

I usually say that I like to see projects through to their completion, so if they are put on hold or cancelled, that is frustating to me. However, my desire to see the project through motivates me to get as much done as possible.

[Dunstan]

The last time I had that question, I said "Well, the first thing that goes with Old Age is ... what was the question?"

I was 32 at the time :)

[Anonymous]

I'm very demanding of myself. While I hold high standards for the people I work with, I hold even higher standards for myself. Of course, I have gravitated to a job where safety is a very serious issue. I respect the dedication of the people around me. When I describe people as being extremely picky about quality issues, I make it entirely clear that I mean it as a compliment.