More on the "Weakness" Question

I've talked a few times about the "weakness" question in an interview (for reference, see What are your greatest weaknesses?, How to Answer Tricky Interview Questions, Part 4 and How to Handle the "Weakness" Question in a Job Interview). You know, it's when the interviewer asks, "What's your biggest weakness?" Yahoo recently asked several recruiters about their take on the question and here's what the four recruiters had to say:

• I recommend that job candidates be upfront during interviews. Don't say you have "no weaknesses" or "work too hard." Instead, tell hiring managers what you are working on improving and what you've done to build your skills in these areas.

• First, make sure you truly understand the job duties before the interview starts. Match the job duties with your strengths. What is a strength you have that someone may consider as a weakness?

• The importance of this question is often not the candidate's answer per se, but whether or not the candidate's references respond in a similar manner. In short, it is a way for employers to assess the candidate's awareness of his or her own strengths and weaknesses.

• We advise our candidates to be honest and focus on a weakness that is not one of the top three qualities required for the job. Also, be sure to describe how you've already taken steps and made strides in strengthening this skill, showing your ability and desire to constantly learn and grow.

Bing, bing, bing -- we have a winner! Response #2 is the one I like best and the strategy I use personally. It seems to work -- no one's ever "called" me on it. Of course I word it in a way not to be blatant about what I'm doing (which is a combination of side-stepping the question and not really answering it.) How do I deliver such an answer smoothly? I prepare for it in advance and practice my response.

I could also go for #4 and agree that it can be useful as well.

#3 is a waste, really. Who's going to give a reference that will name any major weakness anyway? Not me.

What's your take on this question?

Comments

[randomjohn]

Ugh. I hate #2. I've interviewed hundreds of candidates for law-firm and inhouse-counsel positions. IMHO, people who give answer #2 are the same people who say they "enjoy travel" on their resume. Just awful.

I prefer #1 and #4.

[FMF]

John --

Ha! If you read my past posts, you'll see that my reaction to the interviewer who even asks the question is similar to yours regarding question #2. ;-)

[LotharBot]

One of my biggest weaknesses is that I stutter and don't make eye contact unless I concentrate on it. It's something that I've worked on, but it's definitely a weakness that's directly relevant to my job (teaching) and that I have to work to overcome. I also think it speaks well of me that I'm willing to take on a position where that weakness presents a definite challenge.

I don't like the weakness-as-strength "I'm a perfectionist" type responses, and I don't like evasive responses like "I have this weakness that in no way relates to this particular job". And I don't think employers like that either. They're looking to evaluate your fitness for the position. Meeting their question head-on and acknowledging areas where you'll have to grow (and have been growing) is MUCH better than evading their question through a faux-weakness or an unrelated one.