That horrible interview question - strengths and weaknesses

[BornToFolk]

I have an interview tomorrow so am doing some preparation and thinking about potential questions.
The worst one for me is about weaknesses. For the job I'm applying for I have all of the "essential" skills and attributes but am missing a few of the "desirable" ones. Is it OK to highlight this as a weakness? For example, can I say "I've never used XYZ system but I have used a similar one and I'm very quick to pick up new IT systems"...or does that sound like it's not really a weakness at all...

It's a tricky one to get right!

Yes, I think that's a good one.
IMO there are 3 options:

• the one you say. I've never used Excel (if that's a minor requireemtn) but I have used Access and I'm quick to pick up new skills.
• A weakness you had that you have addressed. "In a job a looong looong time ago I used to find that I would put off doing tasks I hated until the last minute. Now I keep a list of what I need to do, I break the tasks down into manageable pieces, I go through scenarios of what could happen and how I would handle it"

or (and I don't recommend this one unless you have nerves of steel)

• I have no weaknesses (actually that just makes you sound not very self aware)

It needs to be something personal - so for instance I can struggle to say no to anyone, so I deal with that by asking for prioritys when I am busy

Good luck btw!

Yes another good one! For that one you could say you make sure you consider each new piece of work in light of your overall priorities

I always say something like - " My natural tendancy is leave things to the last minute - extremely pressure prompted - BUT have trained myself to organise work during less busy times, using X,Y and Z techniques. The other side of this of course is that I work well under pressure! "

Don't say you are a perfectionist. Yawn.

I always think find an area of your skills/experience/knowledge that you previously felt you could do with improving, then highlight what you did about it, how this area has now improved and give examples of the positive impact it's had on your work.

Ta da! Then you are using a stupid question as an opportunity to use a non-weakness to highlight your self-awareness, initiative and commitment to continuous improvement.

DH has had lots of interview coaching recently as he was made redundant and was advised to give an example of something fairly insignificant and that is in the past (ie he has dealt with it and improved) Must have worked - he got 4 job offers!

Yes you can't say "I'm a bit of a perfectionist" in anything other than the accent of the Trainspotting guy
Which would make them look at you like this unless you are actually scottish

Thanks everyone! Interview preparation is going well so far I think....

I always mention something about hating it when people don't do something correctly - and then spending time fixing it as I don't like something to be half completed. for eg: filing incorrectly - how hard is the alphabet?

This puts across that you like a job to be done properly and you are a little bit of a perfectionist!