20+ Ways To Answer Your Weaknesses For Interview Questions

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Preparing for a job interview can be daunting, there are so many things you need to be ready for. 

Not just your appearance should be presentable, but you need to be confident, smart, and fun at the same time. 

Also one of the common yet important questions – what’s your greatest weakness? 

Even though it’s challenging as there are high chances that what you say might sound dishonest. In order to crack the right way to answer this, here is what will help. 

Why do Interviewers ask About Your Weakness? 

Understanding the purpose behind why interviewers ask the question can help you in giving better and more suitable answers. 

So why do they ask such a question? Well, they can’t get the complete picture if they only talk about strength. In order to understand if a candidate is a fit or not, they need to know their weaknesses too. 

Also learning about what you can do and what you can’t or find difficulty in helps in understanding if you are able to handle the role. 

The way you are responding also affects the understanding as it shows how you know well about your weakness. 

How You Should Answer The Question About The Weakness

When you have been asked a question regarding a weakness, it can be tricky to answer and talk about it. 

Also, you need to share some examples where you should be careful.  Here you don’t want to knock out of contention as job interviews find you not qualified enough. 

You don’t want to sound too arrogant or perfect. 

Here are some of the pointers you should be following when you are answering about the weakness: 

  •  So the answer you say should be honest but keep it as positive as you can.
  • Be careful when you talk about your weakness as you want to show that you are capable of handling the job and fit for it. 
  • Focus on steps that you take to improve the weakness
  • Also, make sure to avoid mentioning weaknesses regarding skills that are not important or related to the job. 
answering your weakness in interview tips

What Can Help In Answering During An Interview? 

When you are answering the question regarding the weakness, you need to play smart. 

Answering too negatively will impact bad or too positive will show you are arrogant. 

Showing you are a perfect human with no flaws is not the solution. So what can help? for that here are some of the things you should say : 

Focus On Related Quality Only 

When you are answering the question, make sure you are telling what’s related to the job, professional, and the company. 

Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if you are not good at cooking if you are applying for the manager job. 

Telling about unrelated skills you are not good at is a waste of time and also holds no value. 

Your Weakness Should Not Be Central Of Requirements 

Next, you need to be careful when you are answering related skills that should not be central to requirements. 

For example, if the job is in an accounting position, don’t say you are not good at math. This will end all the chances you have of getting the job. 

Find The Balance When You Speak 

As mentioned before, answering such questions can be tricky as being too positive or negative won’t do you any favor. 

So try and remain positive, you might also see your weakness as something positive for the job. 

For example, you can say that being very detail-oriented can be an asset for the position. 

Also avoid using the work which is negative, for example, failure or weakness. 

Have Your Plan Of Action Ready 

When you are talking about the weakness, make sure you are offering a plan of action. 

Having weakness is okay, but not having a plan of action shows you have no idea of how to handle it. 

It’s particularly useful when your weakness is a hard skill as it can be easily learned. 

You might even phrase an answer like the skill you are currently on something.

Share The Strength 

You need to mention the weakness but also discuss the strength to find the qualifications for the job during the interview. 

Here you need to show that you are qualified and suited for the job. 

Make Sure You Are Being Honest 

You want to be positive when you are answering, but you need to be honest. 

Also, you should be truthful instead of showing any flaws that will come across as very insincere. 

What Are The Right Ways To Answering The Questions?

Well, understanding the right way that you can use it while you are answering the question of what is your greatest weakness?

To start with this, here are some ways to use it: 

Choose Weakness That does Not Prevent Succeeding 

When the interviewers ask you about talking about the greatest weakness, they are looking for the answers to help: 

  • Whether you have self-awareness on a healthy level.
  • Whether you are being open and honest, especially when it comes to the shortcomings.
  • If you pursue the growth and self-improvement opportunities for combating such issues as your weakness hold you back.

In the end, you want to use this question to answer how you are going to weakness as motivation to learn something new or grow professionally. 

Everyone comes with weakness, your interviewers doest expect that you are going to be perfect. 

So if you are applying for copywriting,  it has little to do with how good you are at math skills. 

What You Should Focus: An answer shows that hiring managers that have an understanding of the area of growth are able to act without telling you to do it. 

This kind of attitude can help you virtually to the team. 

Choose The Real Weakness And Be Honest 

The answer to showing yourself as perfect won’t be cut when it comes to talking about the biggest weakness is not actually the weakness. 

Perfectionism can never be something attained, it can be the fear-based pattern that leads to the rewards in the short term. 

However, if it’s long-term, this can be a burnout and end up causing low quality and missed deadlines. 

What To Focus on: Focus on choosing the real weakness, and underneath that desire to be perfect may lie on the weakness of the truth. 

Provide an Example Of How You Are Going To Improve 

Hiring managers don’t expect you to overcome the weakness overnight. 

Everyone has something they need to work on constantly in order to get better. 

Consider it this way,  if you have six months for working out, you won’t stop one day and maintain the process. 

Also, it’s an ongoing process that you are working on. 

Think About The Weakness From Personal Life 

If you are humanizing yourself during #the interview, It will help the interview to connect as well as work with you. 

It’s not just about the weakness that pertains to the job. For example, if you are an introvert, you might notice that you prefer to quote time stops from taking risks and this is something called retable weakness. 

When you demonstrate self-awareness, this helps in understanding the self-improvement correlating to the work performed. 

Think Where You Like To Be And Support You Need 

Growth is the part of your life, think about people who will look up to you and relate to the field you are in. 

So ask yourself what traits you want to have, what you need, and what support you need to have to get there. 

So when you are providing examples of how you are going or already working to make your weak side better, this gives a glimpse of the positive attributes of awareness. It includes : 

  • The interviewers get to know that you know how to identify as well as mitigate the issues that come up. 
  • You also find the solution to help yourself and also help the team who might need it. 
  • You also demonstrate self-awareness and the ability for taking feedback from others. 

Don’t Underestimate And Stop Being Arrogant 

The most important thing you should remember while answering such a question is that it shows your confidence. 

Even if you are not a confident person, at least be honest. Also if you denied an area but are not sure about it, let assurance shine through the answer. 

There is no need to feel embarrassed, especially when you don’t feel good and want to make it better. 

10 Examples Of Weakness You Can Consider For Job Interview 

Also before you start giving genuine answers, get comfortable with the answer type that will help the interviewer to choose you. 

list of weakness for your interview

Here is the list that can help : 

Having a Lack Of Patience 

You can state that you have a lack of patience when you are working with some other team. Since you are self-sufficient, it makes it difficult to rely on others completely. 

Due to this, you need to work on indefinite terms. But you have started to make this side of you strong by enrolling in workshops for team building.  Even though working independently is what you prefer, learning how to trust and ask for help is important. 

Why This Works : 

Well, the answer works because the inability of being not patient when you are with a team is not hindering the ability to perform well. 

Also, the job is not dependent on teamwork and you are showing the situation to combat the situation which is an important part of the workplace. 

Not Being Good At Organizing 

The next weakness you can consider is having lack of organization. 

You can say that you are struggling when it comes to organization. Even though it doesn’t affect the performance, it makes the desk messy and the inbox cluttered which nonetheless affects the efficiency. 

You have started to set some time aside to organize the digital and physical space, and it helps in improving the efficiency level. 

Why It Works : 

Well, there are plenty of people who have the same issue and have their desks messy. 

This answer works as it is relatable and also fixable. You note that not having organization is not affecting your performance ability. However, you acknowledge that it might make the process less efficient. 

To make sure you are giving your best, you are taking the steps for improving your skill. This suggests that you have self-awareness and a level of maturity. 

Issue With Doing The Delegation 

Sometimes you find trouble when it comes to delegating the responsibility as you feel like you might finish tasks better when you are doing them on your own. 

However, when you become a manager for the previous role, it becomes important to do delegation. 

To make sure you have a sense of control even when you are delegating, you implement the project management system as it helps you in improving the ability to do the delegation much more efficiently. 

Why It Works : 

The answer allows you to demonstrate the ability that you are pursuing to learn something new when your role needs it. 

Also, it suggests that you are flexible which is helpful in growth in the long term. 

On top of that, you are showcasing the leadership and initiative level when you successfully implement a process that helped your past role even though you have a weakness. 

The Problem Of Timid 

You can say that you sometimes become timid when you are giving constructive feedback to someone, be it co-workers or managers. As you fear that it might hurt their feelings. 

But in your previous role, your coworker asked you to edit their work and provide feedback where it was needed. 

Due to this, you realized that giving feedback can be kind and helpful when you are delivering it the right way. 

Since then, you are getting better when you are offering feedback. Also, you are using empathy to make your feedback thoughtful and productive. 

Why it Works : 

The answer works as you explained how you turn weakness into strength with the help of real-world experience. 

Typically having the timid-like trait is considered a flow, especially when you have the role where you need to give feedback. 

So you have to showcase how you use it for making yourself better with the help of practice and reflection. 

Doing Micromanaging 

It can state that you are used to working in industries where you activate the solid work ethic in the employees. 

With the style of training that you forget to discern who might need it or who might not. 

So you are reading books on doing the allegation effecting and team building. 

You have come across the technique which helps you in a string that you are establishing the expectation clearly, then the team will follow and also learned that trusting the teammates is important. 

Why It Works 

The answer works as you are in leadership and worked in a managerial role. Also, you are applying to the past experience where you are showing leadership.

With the answer, you are showing that while you are getting used to the running crew and team in a specific way, you are admitting when things are not being effective. 

With this, you are showing that you are flexible, and helps you in growing your ability. 

Talkative 

You can state that developing the relationship with the workers and others by doing the conversation. It’s also good for team-building skills. 

But the habit of carrying the conversation to the point where it starts to distract others. 

So you have learned that there are different ways by which you can connect with workers and if you are asking about the day then you are keeping it verified and then redirecting to the work back. 

Why It Works : 

The answer works because it is showing that you are aware of your problem and talkative tendencies which are distracting the workplace. 

It takes courage when you admit it and also being willing to develop a relationship. However, you are not costing the productivity for it. 

Trouble In Maintaining The Work And Life Balance 

You can say that you have struggled in maintaining the balance in your work-life since you started working during a pandemic. 

It increases the stress level to the point where your productivity was all time and stress and brings the self to work. 

Because you want to work on it, you have added more structure to the day and initiated to start it on sharp. 

Why It Works : 

At first, it might seem like strength instead of weakness, it might sound great that you are powering yourself at work. Even though it shows that you love what you do. But it impacts the productivity and relationships with your coworkers and it’s not great. 

The answer works because it’s not just starting, you tend to work out so home life suffers. 

It says that you work to the point when it causes burnout, but you have realized that you need to structure the day. 

If you are struggling with work and life balance in the past, it’s important that you are restoring balance and how it’s impacting the work. 

Lack Of Tactfulness 

The problem of being blunt and straightforward in nature helps in success as team managers as you can get things done much more efficiently. Also, people appreciate it. 

However, you found that it does not always serve what it’s supposed to be when you are delivering feedback to the employees. 

And to combat this, you started to develop empathy and relationships on a deeper level. 

Additionally, you took the courses online on leadership management, working with the profession to help in improving the ability to deliver feedback. 

Why It Works : 

Oftentimes your personality of yours helps in improving in some areas whereas sometimes it can hinder. 

And that’s natural, but you must demonstrate the ability for realizing when it intersects with the function of the role and how you can solve it. 

With this given example, you are explaining that having blunt nature helps you in succeeding in different situations.

But you mention that you understand that it is causing the lack of empathy and provide how you are solving this issue. 

Fear Of Speaking In Public 

The answer can be how speaking in public makes you feel nervous. 

While you don’t have many chances as a web designer but still have an important skill. 

Especially when it comes to meetings where you need to speak up. 

To combat this, you helped the manager and with help at each team meeting for some minutes regarding deadlines, project timelines, and goals. 

With this, you are much more relaxed in speaking in public much more confidently. 

Why It Works : 

With the given example, you have mentioned that skill that is not applicable for the role. 

But when you are nonetheless working on improving. This shows that you have much more desire to improve your skills which is quite admirable. 

Additionally, you are willing to reach out to the manager and it is impressive for help in improvement. It demonstrates the ambition level and maturity of a professional. 

Weak Data Analysis Skill 

The answer can be not great at analyzing when it comes to numbers and data. 

However, when you are resizing the flow it is preventing you from understanding how your content is performing online. 

In the last role, you set the monthly meeting with the SEO manager for discussing the analysis and understand how the posts are performing. 

Also, you get the google analytic certification and pin to analyze different data for a blog daily. 

Why It Works : 

With this example, you are showing the desire you will go above and beyond for the job description. Also, you actively seek help to make the company successful. 

This type of company first mentality helps in showing that you are a dedicated valuable asset and understanding the need of the whole department instead of the role. 

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