Job Interview Weaknesses

Interviewers love to focus on a candidate’s weakness. The aim of this is to know the opinion you have of yourself and to find out more about your capacity for sincerity and self-criticism. It is one the most common points where people slip up in a job interview. Therefore it is best to be prepared.

Think of a personal weakness that you have. The interviewer can often ask this to catch you off guard. A job interview is a time to talk yourself up as much as possible, and so when asked for a weakness it can be quite difficult to think of something that doesn’t make you sound bad but is actually a weakness. You may be tempted to say a strength that is disguised as a weakness: “I like to plan too much, and I need to learn to live a life without such a well-organised, structured routine.” Most interviewers will see right through this and keep pressing you for an actual weakness.

Honesty is the best policy

Interviewers are trained to detect lies. Do not make the mistake of trying to lie your way through the weakness section. The best thing to do is choose an honest weakness that you hope to improve upon as a result of your period with the potential employer.

Examples of weaknesses

Weaknesses can include things like time-management problems, being unorganised, socialising too much, taking on too much at once, and too little attention to detail. There are many more. The most important thing is that you don’t lie. No one is a perfect person. Interviewers want to hear an honest weakness.

Unsure of what weaknesses you have?

If you are still unsure of what weaknesses you have then ask friends and family who know you best.

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