Advice from anyone who regularly interviews people

[CAG12]

I have a job interview soon. I know im likely to be asked what my biggest weakness is. I feel like its such a terrible question as surely they never get an honest answer. My honest answer would be 'im always looking for a shortcut for things because im lazy' but clearly that doesnt come across well in an interview.

So whats a good answer to this question?

I was thrown at a recent interview by the question “give me an example of a time when something has gone wrong with a project you were working on. What happened and what did you do to fix it?” I know that’s not what you asked but it’s a good one to think up an answer to! Doesn’t need to be a project - could be as generic as “something that’s gone wrong in a previous job”.

(I managed to waffle an answer and got the job, but I think my strengths were in the rest of the interview and not that question!)

My biggest weakness is punctuality. If there’s a meeting/an actual reason to be in on time, then I always make it, but general everyday punctuality - not my thing. Is it an absolute no no to say this in an interview? I am good at my job and am quite willing to stay late to catch up, but I am and have always been crap at getting up early.

I regularly interview and we never ask that. It tells us nothing useful about you or your skills. I would generally prefer to ask for work based examples to our questions, and chat about your experience and the role we are interviewing you for. We try to make candidates feel as comfortable as possible and are not looking to ‘catch people out.’
That question is a sign of poor interview practices on behalf of the employer.

You could also give a real example of a weakness / something that you found difficult earlier in your career and explain how you have overcome it.

As a PP said, it’s showing some self awareness and how you tackle problems.

I’ve never used it but did say “parallel parking” when asked once which made them laugh and they didn’t press further
Got the job

Should add I was 21 and full of confidence, I’d not dare now but sometimes being very likeable helps.
I should add we’d been laughing and joking all interview

My dad once replied by banging on the table and almost shouting, ‘I’m too bloody aggressive!’ I wouldn’t recommend it, but he did get the job!

The usual answer is "I'm a perfectionist" as I really focus on attention to detail, to always produce high quality work....

My biggest weakness is I may under sell myself when in reality I believe I am lots of transferable skills

Just have thought through what these skills are in case they ask.

Such a stupid question and stupid answers expected which obviously the interviewer knows are bullshit.

90% of the time. Which makes the people who are actually reflective about their weaknesses and who have worked to turn them around stand out.

In a choice between a person who can answer with a glib stock response but who shows no evidence of honest self-reflection about their performance and one who does, I’ll take the second every time as long as they’re pretty evenly matched in other ways. They will almost always be a better hire in the long run.

That said I prefer a question that probes into when the candidate has been involved in work that didn’t go well / where they messed up / failed.

Again provides a good opportunity to demonstrate self-reflection but less likelihood of having to sit through the ‘perfectionist life answers.

I'm lazy. If i do the same task 3 times in a row I automate it. I automate a LOT of things.

I've also come from a very rigid environment - directive not consultative - so have done a lot of training and personal development to change my approach. Feedback I get indicates I'm doing well.

I tend to be honest (I have a tendency to be too honest!) and tell them that I am not a natural multi-tasker. But that I have researched and use project management tools to help improve this. Also that I attended a leadership and management course which gave me further ideas and skills. Something like that, anyway. It’s true, so doesn’t sound fake, and gives me a chance to outline both my working methods and give examples of how I am self-motivated.

Or something. It’s late!

I think the best answers involve you telling them about a weakness that you have overcome.

For instance I might tell them that being organised was always a challenge for me, but that I have done x y and z to find out what works best for me, and now I have strategies in place that ensure I stay organised both at home and at work. For example setting reminders or keeping a to do list. That people often ask me how I do it, and the best advice I can give them is to find what works for you rather than trying to copy someone else's system.

The perfectionist one is utterly lame and should never be used - except as an illustration that your biggest weakness is thinking you can bullshjt the interviewers with a contrived answer!

@CAG12

It's a rubbish interview question. I have done a lot of interviewing and it's one I'll never ask.

I do have stock answers to this question if I have an interview (haven't for 9 years now) and my opening line is "well one of my biggest strengths is understanding the fact that I do have weaknesses like everyone else and ensure I do everything I can to work on them."

I think the best thing to do is not make it a long answer and focus on where you have had a weakness in the past and turned it around.

When I am interviewing, I normally ask questions around giving examples of how the candidate can demonstrate the skills needed for the job. I suggest looking at the job spec and making sure you have prepared answers about what they are looking for.

For example, if it says “works well in a team”, make sure you are ready to talk about this, including any challenges you have faced (tricky team mates) and how you dealt with them.

One of our departments asks “If you were a biscuit what sort of biscuit would you be?” I have begged them not to, makes the company look ludicrous in my opinion!

@BillywilliamV

I think my answer would be, "one that didn't want to be dunked in any coffee provided by this company" and then leave.

What a bonkers question.

I interview people and I never ask this - it's a terrible question! Are you sure it's going to be an old-school sort of interview and not competency-based?

We used values-based recruitment, so we're looking at how well the way you'd behave in a given situation fits with our company values. Then for technical roles we test those skills separately.

Whatever you do, don't say you're a perfectionists as used by a PP - that is so cringey!

If you do get asked I'd go with turning you're honest answer into a positive as others have suggested.

If I have to ask that question, I appreciate a candidate who links it to something from the job description.

‘I currently have limited experience in insert here but am a fast learner/willing to learn/have experience in this similar thing..’

My greatest weaknesses are cake and Tom Hardy....

Saying that, I did once get asked this and answered with the whole "I used to really struggle with blah and I did X,Y,Z", so basically identifying a weakness and how I overcame it, and the interviewer just went "uh-huh that's great, but then it's not a weakness any more IS IT?". Twat.

It’s not a question I ask anymore. I’ve replaced it with ‘talk about a mistake you made at work and how you sorted it out’

I’m looking for honesty and the ability for self awareness/reflection.

Jumping on because I have an interview on Thursday hopefully. Would appreciate if anyone could help.

My biggest weakness is that I really slack off if it's not busy, I have no idea how to spin that one positively! If I have a million things to do and an hour to do them they get done. If I have one or two things and three hours, I will still get it done but only by the skin of my teeth

Former recruiter with 10+ years experience here.

I would say you are always looking for the most efficient way of working but because you have so much focus on that, you might overlook details.
Be prepared that they will ask you for an example of this from a previous job.
Make sure you thought about it.

Good luck!

As pp have said, that's a very old fashioned interview question. However I do remember asking it some years ago. The successful candidate laughed and said she didn't share Maltesers! Made me smile and I needed the new recruit to have confidence and personality.
I think you need to judge your answer on the tone of the interview, the role, and how well you know the interviewer.