| Author |
Interview Questions...
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| aneesh_bhatia 2002-02-25, 9:58 pm |
| I have asked this questions a couple of times during interviews and it has always caught me an odd position, since I have no clue how to answer it. The questions is:
"Tell us some of your weaknesses"
Can't be too honest and can't BS too much making the weakness actually sound like a positive(eg:"I am so hard working that I ignore my family a lot!?!?")
What would you guys reply to that question? | |
| Nicole 2002-02-25, 10:12 pm |
| I tell them I'm a perfectionist (true) and sometimes have difficulty leaving projects unfinished (also true).
I DON'T tell them I'm an INTJ who obsessively analyzes everything  (Although I have had potential employers give me the Meyers-Briggs test a couple of times.) | |
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| I usually just lie and make myself sound like a great employee like Nicole. Then again I am unemployed, so maybe I should work on that one... | |
| cross36 2002-02-25, 11:09 pm |
| i always tell them I never take i can't or no as answer.
Everything in life has a solution, work to find that solution | |
| wbafrank 2002-02-25, 11:20 pm |
|  I would tell them what my weaknesses are - but I would also tell them how I am rectifying them. Therefore turning a disadvantage into an advantage!! | |
| aneesh_bhatia 2002-02-25, 11:21 pm |
| ...but are these really weaknesses...they actually sound like positive to me. Don't you guys think that employers are looking for something actually negative when they ask this question or will stuff like "can't take NO for an answer OR i'm a perfectionist" work?
Just curious...since to me a weakness would be something like...i tend to forget things! (which i actually do!) | |
| wbafrank 2002-02-25, 11:33 pm |
| quote:
Originally posted by aneesh_bhatia Just curious...since to me a weakness would be something like...i tend to forget things! (which i actually do!)
I forget things - so I would say "I have a tendancy to forget things so I make a "to do" chart and cross of jobs and add jobs as they arrive/completed." I have done this for years and it always helps - unless of course I forget where I put the list!!
quote:
...but are these really weaknesses...they actually sound like positive to me. Don't you guys think that employers are looking for something actually negative when they ask this question or will stuff like "can't take NO for an answer OR i'm a perfectionist" work?
IMHO I feel that these remarks could be used against you - everyone has weaknesses and saying you haven't got any will have the adverse affect than saying you have. | |
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| wbafrank 2002-02-25, 11:40 pm |
| quote:
Originally posted by flext
my weakness's will I tend to a perfectionest , and I lose track of time when I have a problem when attacking a trouble some problem, but one way or the other I have always found a solutuion to most computer problems
That's what I was trying to say - but it came out all wrong!!! | |
| Nicole 2002-02-26, 9:55 am |
| Being a perfectionist is definately a weakness, but it doesn't sound like one. Or rather, so many people are sloppy at work that a perfectionist sounds like a welcome change.
Sometimes you just have to let it go because there's no perfect answer or someone higher up has decided "good enough." This absolutely drives me batty. It's either perfect -- or it's a failure.
If you are too negative, you will simply hand them a reason not to hire you. The question usually isn't fishing for a negative as much as it is fishing for problem resolution and self-awareness. We all have weaknesses, some of us just don't recognize them.
I think you should be honest about your weaknesses in an interview, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't phrase them in a way sounds more enticing than it is, or shows that you overcome problems. WbaFrank's example of using To-Do lists is a great one -- it provides a specific solution but doesn't sound like an excuse or a puffed up backwards compliment. | |
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| jackiechan 2002-02-26, 11:25 am |
| My weakness:
If I have milk in my coffee, I fart. I am lactose intolerant. | |
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| bearing 2002-02-26, 3:22 pm |
| Just tell them that your weakness is trying to establish your weaknesses.
Seriously though most people will have managed to overcome any weaknesses they may have had, or employed tools such as wbafranks to-do list...so I don't think weaknesses are of such importance to a career, but then again I'm not a hirer and firer..... | |
| johndavies 2002-02-26, 8:02 pm |
| The weakness question is one of those lame questions that get asked by everyone who likes to get a kick out of the sweating interview candidate.
If your getting interviewed by an HR rep, you'll be lucky if you can come up with anything original. Our HR rep interviews at least 5 people everyday. You couldn't say anything she hasn't heard before. It's like excuses for being late, or missing class. The teacher's heard them all.
Tell them your addicted to coffee and like starting early every day, your more creative then. | |
| limsam 2002-02-27, 2:52 am |
| The weakness question is one of those lame questions that get asked by everyone who likes to get a kick out of the sweating interview candidat
I accept. I went to about 30 interviews (way back in 2000), and I was offered jobs by 6 employers.
I remember, the weakness question came from all of the places I was not offered a job!! I view it as a stupid question from a stupid person.
Usually I give this, "My weakness is that I cannot give up a tr.shooting job once I start. I would forget my meals, and my family until I solved that."
Anybody wonder if it is a weakness? Read para 1 2, and 3 above. |
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