{"id":3910,"date":"2016-09-06T14:22:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T19:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kbicblog.com\/blog\/pharmacy\/?p=3910"},"modified":"2016-09-14T18:07:39","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T23:07:39","slug":"answer-weakness-interview-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/pharmacy\/candidate-resources\/answer-weakness-interview-question\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Answer the Weakness Interview Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/a>What are\u00a0your biggest weaknesses?\u00a0When you hear this question,\u00a0it makes you shudder. \u00a0If there is one reason alone to dislike job interviews, this could be\u00a0it. The conundrum here is that an interview is a place where you know you have to talk positively<\/em> about yourself, however, this question forces\u00a0you to talk about yourself in a negatively. <\/em>Help!<\/p>\n

A popular way around this question is to state a strength as a weakness instead. You know, \u201cI work too hard\u201d or, \u201cI\u2019m sometimes too passionate\u201d. While these\u00a0might seem like the perfect option, these types of responses tend to fall into the realm of interview clich\u00e9s. Believe me \u2013 despite the interviewer being all smiles when listening to such a response, inside they\u2019re desperately trying not to roll their eyes.<\/p>\n

Like what you’re reading? Click here<\/a> for more Interview Preparation Resources<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Before we go into how to build a strong answer, it\u2019s important to ask, \u201cwell, why are they asking it?\u201d From my experience, it\u2019s first to see how you manage to navigate such a tricky question and think critically about yourself. Secondly, it\u2019s to see your reaction. The interviewer wants to see if you panic, become nervous or get flustered. Regardless of how\u00a0your answer,\u00a0it\u2019s paramount that you maintain the same level of confidence, poise, and positivity\u00a0as you would for any other question.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, let\u2019s move onto how to successfully answer the question in a genuine, thoughtful and sincere way\u2026 without the clich\u00e9s!<\/p>\n

1. Make a list of all your weaknesses.\u00a0Get specific.<\/h2>\n

Instead of\u00a0writing \u201clazy\u201d write \u201cslow to respond to emails\u201d. Once you have your list, it\u2019s now time to think which weaknesses will have the least negative impact for the particular job you\u2019re interviewing for.<\/p>\n

2. Think about\u00a0utilizing empathy.<\/h2>\n

Example:<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a software developer, a weakness you could talk about is the fact that you\u2019re a\u00a0little shy when it comes to speaking in large meetings. This weakness of yours has very little<\/em> impact on the core skills that are required to do the job. At the same time, offers\u00a0a genuine weakness. In this instance, you make yourself\u00a0relatable, so they can actually empathize with you in a positive way.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b><\/h3>\n

For a sales role, think about which one of your weaknesses will have the least negative impact. To use myself as an example (having worked in sales), what I found difficult was filling in KPIs and basic administrative tasks. Again, the weakness that I mentioned here isn\u2019t something that\u2019s going to reduce my ability to do my job well, because my core job is to sell products and services, and not take care of the administration side of things. No company is going to hire a sales person who\u00a0is\u00a0fantastic at administrative tasks, but terrible at selling, in the same way, a software developer who is a terrible programmer, but fantastic at participating in meetings,\u00a0is never going to\u00a0get the role.<\/p>\n

3. Explain how you\u2019ve identified your weakness\u00a0and how\u00a0you\u2019re working on it.<\/h2>\n

For\u00a0a sales role,\u00a0you could say the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working on it and I realize the value of getting it right. I\u2019ve learned that if I stay on top of it, it will free up more of my time to focus on sales\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

For a software developer you could say the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019m aware of and I\u2019ve been practicing a range of visualization techniques prior to going into meetings. This has given me a lot of confidence and I\u2019ve actually improved significantly over the last year\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

To recap:<\/h2>\n