Answer “What are your weaknesses “Interview Question.

“What are your weaknesses” is one annoying interview question there is. I still do not understand why interviewers ask this question but what I know is that they are not really interested in knowing about your weaknesses but are keen on your progression and the tone of your voice and body language than on the actual content.

How you answer this question really matters. Present your weakness with reluctance or hesitance and you are likely to make a bad impression and magnify the importance of the weakness. It is therefore important, to show that you can cope with difficult questions.

The interviewer may wonder-if you have trouble coping with a question in an interview, how will you face difficulties and challenges at work? And that’s why interview questions are so rhetorical, to test your intelligence.

Weaknesses in an interview are not the bad habits you have like losing your temper every other minute, getting irritated by inquisitive clients and failing to meet deadlines. All these can be explained in a positive way. This question begs for a challenge you constantly face at work or in an assignment but the important part, and the one the interviewer is interested in is how you overcome this challenge.

Therefore, expose real weaknesses you have but be selective, and choose those that are less likely to affect your ability to succeed on the job. You may also wish to demonstrate how you are striving to improve those qualities. Here are some suitable answers that will get you called for the job;

In an interview for a Sales manager position the Interviewer asks Susan who has been in the same position but at a different company, “what are your weaknesses?”

Susan knows that she is impulsive, sometimes even aggressive and a little hard on others. She is too self-critical and demanding- a tough and demanding Sales Manager. In response to the question, Susan chooses to disclose only some of these weaknesses – those that do not affect her likelihood of success in the job in this manner;”I am too self-critical and quite demanding at times” but I always make sure that my team understands the nature of the job and it’s demands so well such that even when asking for more sales and higher targets from them, they know it’s all about the job.” Susan’s response is sincere and direct, yet the qualities she chose to present do not affect her ability to perform and therefore they are unlikely to affect her chances of passing the interview – on the contrary.

The same interviewer asks Peter, who’s been in sales for a long time the same question and this is how Peter responds, “ I like working as an individual, I find team work time consuming and too restricting but I just have to work with it because the Sales field demands team work” Peter is as sincere as he can get but reading his answer again, one is left doubting if such a person can really perform and true that his field demands team work but his answer just ruins his chances of getting the job.

Write down at least three weaknesses you have when it comes to work, ones that you are comfortable explaining and ones that will not ruin your chances of passing an interview…and for a mention, avoid as much as possible the “I am a Perfectionist answer” It’s just and too common in interviews. If you must say it, make sure the perfect side really comes out professionally and then explain how that is a weakness and what you have done about it with a practical example.

Just stay relevant to that specific job. Here are more answers you may use;

“I have to work on having more patient and giving myself a break because I want everything done at once and again I realized that things do not just happen overnight so there’s need to make slow but sure moves”.

“My biggest weakness that people have taken note of is that I can be too overfriendly, e.g. a customer my feel too comfortable but then I always make sure it’s within business and that the deal is closed at the end” This answer is suitable for a customer service, sales and marketing interview, it shows your ability to build rapport with the client while still doing business.

All in all, it is important you remember that a weakness is a virtue in disguise. Someone who is “talkative” may be “good at negotiation”, someone who is “unfriendly” may have a “long concentration span.” Someone who has a “lack of eye for details” may have the ability to “strategically manage multiple projects – see the bigger picture”. Someone who is “routine averse” may be “creative” and so on

All the best as you prepare for future interviews! www.careerpointkenya.com

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