In our previous posts on conquering the job interview, we talked about researching the organization you are interviewing with, and how to use the SAR technique to confidently answer behavioral interviewing questions.  Now, let’s talk about how to answer the ubiquitous question that many interviewers ask, “what is your greatest weakness?”

Tip #3 – Answering the Dreaded Question

“What is your greatest strength, and what is your greatest weakness?”  As a candidate for a job, I think I have heard this couplet of questions at 90% of the interviews.  There is a reason why this question is so popular:  the response can tell an interviewer a lot about the candidate.  In a professional sense, it reveals the candidate’s priorities and value set.  It also provides insight into the candidate’s personality, including their honesty, modesty, and even their integrity.  It is a revealing question that you will be asked more often than not.  For these reasons, it is important to come to the interview with a response that you have thought out.

The question about your greatest weakness is difficult for some, because it requires us to admit that we have personal flaws.  For some people, swallowing the pride necessary to give an honest response is very hard to do, especially in the high-stress situation of the job interview.   But remember that the interviewer is not there to judge you as a human.  As we’ll discuss, the interviewer is looking for something more than just an admission of weakness.

There are many perfectly acceptable ways to answer the “what is your greatest strength” question, so we’ll skip that one.  There are two unfortunately common ways that the “what is your greatest weakness” question is answered.   We’ll discuss those two answers, and then we’ll present the right way to respond.

Here is a response that we sometimes hear in an interview.  It is a great example of how not to answer this question.

Interviewer:  What is your greatest weakness?

Candidate #3:  My greatest weakness is that I just care too much about the job that I end up working overtime and try to get everything done.

The above response demonstrates an attempt by the candidate to pass off a strength disguised as a weakness.  This is a method used to deflect the question away from the candidate’s flaws.  Interviewers see right through this response.  Everyone has flaws.  Failing to recognize or admit that you are human will come across as arrogance or, even worse, suggest that you have something to hide.  By responding in this manner, you also miss your opportunity to connect on an emotional level with the interviewer.

 Here’s another example of what not to say:

Candidate #3:  My greatest weakness is that I’m not detail-oriented.  Last year, problems with my design calculations cost my company $100,000 in change orders.

OK, there is such thing as too much honesty.  It’s okay – indeed it is encouraged – to be honest about a weakness, but never state a weakness that has no resolution.  Responding in this manner implies that you bring an unresolved problem to your new position.  You can be sure that the interviewer will be asking all your references about the severity of your weakness if you don’t put some closure on the issue.

 That leads us to the correct response to the “what is your greatest weakness’ question.  Like the last example, you do want to present a genuine weakness.  In addition, use the SAR technique to describe how you have mitigated for this weakness, and the result of your efforts.

Candidate #3:  My greatest weakness is that I am not detail-oriented.  I know attention to detail is a trait that is very helpful in the field of engineering.  I put into place a manual tracking system that requires me to focus on the details.  In addition, I am very much a proponent of following quality assurance and quality control procedures.  I always practice quality control reviews on work that I perform, and I likewise require it for my team members.  A result of these systems is that at my current job, our team has not incurred an error-based change order in more than three years.

This response is powerful for two reasons: it shows that the candidate makes a sustained and concerted effort to rectify the problem that she readily admits could affect her performance.  It also uses a proven technique – Situation, Action, Result – to help her show the interviewer what specifically she has done to mitigate for her professional limitation.

In these three articles, we learned three tips that can be easily applied in any interview – research your target, excel at behavioral interviewing, and how to answer the dreaded “what is your greatest weakness” question.  Use these tips to make the interview your time to rise to the top!

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