The dreaded "what are your weaknesses?" Interview question. Help!

[Zoeee88]

Hi,
I'm starting a round of job hunting and hopeful will get some interviews. What are good answers to this question?!
My honest answer would be that I'm not very punctual, really dislike making phone calls, and am really unconfident at first in a new situation so that I don't dare take initiative.
How can you put a good spin on that?!?

(I'm looking at customer service/ data analyst jobs btw)

I read that making your weakness into a positive is the way to go if they ask you that question.
Why exactly, if you don't mind me asking, are you applying for customer service jobs if you really dislike making phone calls? Or will it be a person to person thing rather than phone based?

Not taking the initiative = you like to work collaboratively and are at your best when you have others to bounce ideas off. That's what I'd say about myself in the same situation - I'm a worker bee who likes to have a project to work on, I hate the idea of 'blue sky thinking' and having to come up with ideas on my own. So I always try to sell myself as a 'team player' who likes to keep the show on the road.

I wouldn't be truthful in that case as they are all really off-putting for potential employers. Say that you have on occasion got caught up in details and lost track of time on a task but that you are now very aware of this trait and always work hard to ensure it doesn't happen at work.