“What are your greatest strengths?” It’s hard to hope for a better interview question. Indeed, it is an invitation to showcase all the skills and experiences that make you a good candidate for the job. If you want to write the best resume – look here https://resumegets.com/, how you can do it better. Things can get worse, however, if you are asked about your weaknesses.

“Tell me about your biggest weaknesses” stumbles many candidates, and it’s no wonder. How do you talk about your shortcomings without giving the impression that you are no good?

It’s tricky, but not impossible.

How to approach the issue of weaknesses

Ideally, you want to talk about your weaknesses in a way that helps you gain ground rather than lose it. What hiring managers really want to know is how you deal with adversity at work.

For starters, think about the obstacles that challenged you. A good exercise is to make a list of your shortcomings. You can do this by looking at your past performance reviews or supervisor ratings for areas for improvement.

You should also research the employer and the position you are looking for. Before the interview, carefully review the job posting so that you do not approach a certain area as a gap when it may be essential for the job. Reread the job description to learn about the skills and attributes essential to getting the job done. These skills, whether professional or personal, should not be on your list of weaknesses. Everything else can be tackled.

Examples of weaknesses

Do any of the following weaknesses remind you of anything? Please note that these are not good examples of answers if the position requires specific skills in these areas.

• Lack of experience with particular software or non-essential skill
• Tendency to take on too much responsibility
• Nervousness about speaking in public
• Reluctance to delegate tasks
• Discomfort in taking risks
• Impatience with bureaucracy

What to avoid in your answer

You might be tempted to answer, “I have no weaknesses, and nothing will prevent me from doing a great job.” However, no one is perfect; hiring managers know this well. Overly enthusiastic denial could result in you being seen as someone who is lacking in seriousness, who is overconfident or who is unable to understand and learn from your mistakes.

Additionally, hiring managers are familiar with responses that attempt to portray a positive trait as a weakness: “I’m a perfectionist,” “I’m competitive,” “I’m a workaholic,” etc. Interviewers are also aware of these answers, but you can still use them by adding details relevant to the job to show you really thought about it.

For example, you can say, “I’m very thorough, and sometimes I put too much pressure on myself. However, I have learned to recognize when I start doing it, like when I spend too much time on bigger projects like quarterly reports, and I’m usually able to get over it. ”

Present your weaknesses in a positive light

Once you’ve determined the weakness you want to address, craft a response that emphasizes it. How to do it? Here are three suggestions:

• Emphasize the positives and avoid negative words like failure or incompetence .
• Talk about how you turned your weakness into a strength.
• Show how you recognize the areas where you need to improve and where you are taking corrective action.

What are the means available to improve yourself and correct a weakness?

• Take a course or training.
• Become familiar with tools, such as apps, to make it easier to track your time, schedule breaks, or collaborate.
• Work with a mentor.
• Volunteer to learn a specific skill.
• Join professional groups or industry associations.

Examples of responses to the question “What are your weaknesses?”

This question gives you the opportunity to set yourself apart. How? ‘Or’ What? You can show the hiring manager that you recognize the areas in which you need to develop and the steps you are taking to address them. Here’s an example response that takes this approach:

• “I always hit my deadlines, but I tended to procrastinate, and I ended up doing really long work days as a deadline approached. To fix this problem, I decided to take some project management and time management courses. I learned to organize my days and tackle larger projects by breaking them down into more manageable chunks. Now I make a plan as soon as I get a new term, and I often get ahead of my deadlines. “

Another example illustrates how to use job requirements to guide your response. Let’s say you are not a good copywriter and you are applying for a job as a graphic designer. The job description emphasizes the need for production design skills and experience with particular software, but makes no mention of content creation. So you could answer the question about weaknesses in an interview as follows:

• “I’ve always worked more in design, and I don’t have a lot of experience in creating content, so I’d say that’s a weakness. However, I am a fast learner, and believe I could improve my writing skills if necessary for my job. “

On the other hand, if you are applying for a financial analyst position and one of the job requirements is to report regularly to senior management, you will not want to stress to the manager of the position. hiring that you have difficulty communicating clearly.

Why is the weakness question important?

Like most frequently asked interview questions, it can be difficult to answer the question “What are your weaknesses?” However, this is not just a hurdle to be crossed or a trap to be avoided. This is an opportunity to show the employer that you can learn from constructive criticism, that you are able to make changes when you face challenges and that you can pull yourself together and pick you up when you fail. There is no doubt that all employers view these elements as strengths.