The first thing to do is expose a myth. This myth has caused many candidates to mishandle the question and be rejected. People started teaching this many years ago. It was good advice for a couple of years until all employers had been exposed to it and figured out the game. Unfortunately it is still prevalent.
The strategy of this myth is called “the innocent weakness”. It says that when ask this question offer up weakness that could also be seen as strengths or are not true weaknesses. It sounds like…”Sometimes I can be too demanding and set expectations for my team that are too high. I have been told that at times I ask too much”. My favorite one is…” I’m a workaholic I need to learn to relax and slow down a little”.

On the surface this may seem like a good idea until you realize the interviewer knows exactly what you are doing. He knows you are not being honest and feels like he has been taken advantage of.

I am not telling you to never do this. At sometime there might be a place for it. The number one rule throughout this discussion is “honesty” and you might legitimately feel that one of these “innocent weaknesses” is really a weakness for you. Just be careful how you use it. Your answer must include “normal” weaknesses. If you are asked to give three you can use one of these.

Why is the question even asked?
Believe it or not the interviewer does not really care about the weakness. He knows nobody is going to volunteer anything that says they will have problems on the job. A candidate for a line management position is not going to say that he have poor leadership skills. What the interviewer is looking for is your honesty, your thought process, how well you know yourself and how you deal with a weakness no matter what it is.

The worst possible answer is I can’t really think of any weaknesses. We all have them. If God was walking around today he might be able to give this answer. Since you know you have some, if you are interviewing you had better get prepared. It is a very hard question because we know we have weaknesses but we are very uncomfortable talking about them. It is hard enough admitting weaknesses to our selves let alone talking about something so personal to a complete stranger yet our comfort level and self assuredness is what is being evaluated.

It is a good exercise to write down anything you want to discuss comfortably in an interview. When we write and then read what we have written out loud the information is imprinted on our memory and is easier to recall. Write down the following…

1) The weakness

2) Why you feel it is a weakness?

3) How it has affected your work?

4) What do you do/ are you doing to deal with it and overcome it?


Remember the weakness is not the issue. The interviewer is looking for answers 2, 3 & 4. This is the formula to use when answering the dreaded question.

(1) “Sometimes I have tended to procrastinate when dealing with the most difficult task. I got the easiest things done first and (2 & 3) therefore would run out of time and energy before finishing the most important task.
(4) “I know I share this weakness with a great many people but I figured out a solution that works for me. I plan my work and then rigidly stick to the plan. Before I leave at the end of the day I write down the next day’s priorities and objectives. I start to write down my action plan to achieve the objectives including a list of task spreading the most difficult task throughout the day. The first thing in the morning I polish up my plan. All I have to do is stick to the plan focusing on one task at a time.

This formula works for any weakness you can come up with. You are honest and have actually turned a legitimate weakness into an impressive strength.

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