Answering “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”
There are over a thousand possible questions that could be thrown at you during an interview. One question that deserves some extra attention is the infamous “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” Most people freeze at the mention of the question and advice from career coaches is all over the place.
The Problem with Most Answers
Some experts say take a strength and claim it as a weakness. Some say to confess something important to show honesty and character. When you read advice like this, they all have one thing in common. The problem with all of these types of answers is they phrase the answer in the language of behavior. Instead, you should be stating your greatest weakness as a skill.
When you think about all the skills you possess, they most likely fall into categories such as:
skills with people
skills with information
skills with technology
skills with things (i.e. a production machine)
How to Answer the Question
Think about the job you are interviewing for in terms of these categories. Ask yourself, what is the interviewer looking for the most? Your skills with people? With things? Then think about what skill category they’re most likely searching for least. Frame your answer, an honest one, with a skill that is a weakness from the category that is the least relevant to the job.
Let’s say you’re interviewing for an analyst role. It’s fair to say that your skills with information are probably the most important. Your skills with people are probably next in terms of importance. And your skills with things are the least. It would be fair to say,
“My greatest weakness is that I’m terrible at running any kind of production machinery. Great with computers, terrible with any manufacturing piece of machinery - been that way my whole life. I suppose that’s why I went to school and geeked out on computer technology and data analytics.”
That answer is honest, it’s true, and it’s a skill or weakness that is not at all required for the job you’re interviewing for.
What the Employer is Worried About
If someone is asking you about your weaknesses, they’re concerned that you may have a trait that characterizes a bad employee. And they want to minimize their risk in hiring you, so they’re asking this question. If you figure out what weakness would characterize a bad employee, besides the obvious things like showing up late or not listening, then you can also frame your answer to be the opposite of those bad traits.
Subtly emphasize to the interviewer how much you are the very opposite of what characterizes a bad employee. And if you don’t know what would characterize a bad employee, ask during your interview.
“What would be your definition of a poor performer in this organization? What behaviors or attitudes would they have.”
When I was interviewing for an executive role many years ago, I used this same strategy. I knew that employees who performed poorly were focused on reducing expenses to boost the bottom line. I made it a point in every interview to casually mention that my only 3 concerns if I was hired for this role, would be profits, growth, and sustainability because I had identified that this was more important than simply the bottom line and cost-cutting.
Quick Answer
Rank the skill categories this employer wants from most important to least important.
Identify the least important category.
List one to two weaknesses in the least important category.
Answer with one of those weaknesses.
