FastTrain

It does seem to be the question dreaded most by interviewees: ’so tell me what you consider your weaknesses to be.’

As with all interview questions, the place to start is to imagine what it is they are trying to discover. Contrary to what most people think – interview questions are not designed to torture us – but to get important information.

So an awareness of your weaknesses would show a general self-awareness, and also the desire to develop and change. Anyone who thinks they have no weaknesses is not going to be great at taking feedback.

It is important though to select your weakness with care. “I steal things” is not going to put you to the top of the list of candiates…

So think of a weakness that could also be seen as a covert strength. And also make sure you say how you are working at overcoming the weakness. For example:

‘I pay a great attention to detail which sometimes in the past has meant I’ve lost a sense of the bigger picture. So now I make sure I always keep the big picture clear in my mind.’

‘I work very fast and demand a great deal of myself. Sometimes this has caused conflict with colleagues when they have struggled to keep up to my pace. I realise now that everyone has their own speed and style of working and that working in a team means that people contribute in different ways.’

So make sure you have taken some time to brainstorm your qualities – both positive and negative, so that you will never be thrown by the ‘What’s your weakness?’ question again.