Biggest Weakness
May. 7th, 2007 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI finally have a good answer to that interview question "What is your biggest weakness?" First, some wrong answers:
"Like I'm going to tell you. What, do I look like an idiot?"
"My biggest weakness is that I really can't stand stupid questions like this." And then I pull out a squirt gun. Filled with ketchup. (Oops, too much "Hot Fuzz" movie influence.)
"I have so many weaknesses, I really have no idea which one to pick."
"I really, really wish I didn't have to work. I don't suppose this job is a sinecure?"
"I'm a crybaby and I throw fits."
I like the strategy in Todd Anten's How To Answer the Four Most Common Interview Questions:
"Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you pick, be sure that it is work-related ("I have a tendency to overfeed my dog" is NOT an appropriate weakness) and that you present the strategies for how you overcame it."
For some reason that description reminded me that yet another person has come up to me at work and told me how wonderfully detail-oriented I am. As my regular readers know, I am not detail oriented at all. Even though I proofread every one of these entries, there is usually something boggling still in there somewhere.
So that can be my answer.
"I am not detail-oriented. Yet I keep getting jobs where details are very important. So I have devised many strategies to keep me on the ball such as writing down procedures to make sure I don't forget a step and such as finding ways to double-check my work. And so people ironically end up complimenting me on how wonderfully detail-oriented I am."
Of course, this article made me think of a few more bad answers as well. That dog answer cracked me up!
"My biggest weakness? Biceps."
Note: whenever someone asks me rude questions like this, I ask parallel rude questions right back. For example, if someone asked me this particular rude question, I would ask about the biggest weakness in the company. Just for the revenge factor. But then I would also listen to the answer and perhaps ask what they were doing about this weakness, especially if it alarmed me.
"Like I'm going to tell you. What, do I look like an idiot?"
"My biggest weakness is that I really can't stand stupid questions like this." And then I pull out a squirt gun. Filled with ketchup. (Oops, too much "Hot Fuzz" movie influence.)
"I have so many weaknesses, I really have no idea which one to pick."
"I really, really wish I didn't have to work. I don't suppose this job is a sinecure?"
"I'm a crybaby and I throw fits."
I like the strategy in Todd Anten's How To Answer the Four Most Common Interview Questions:
"Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you pick, be sure that it is work-related ("I have a tendency to overfeed my dog" is NOT an appropriate weakness) and that you present the strategies for how you overcame it."
For some reason that description reminded me that yet another person has come up to me at work and told me how wonderfully detail-oriented I am. As my regular readers know, I am not detail oriented at all. Even though I proofread every one of these entries, there is usually something boggling still in there somewhere.
So that can be my answer.
"I am not detail-oriented. Yet I keep getting jobs where details are very important. So I have devised many strategies to keep me on the ball such as writing down procedures to make sure I don't forget a step and such as finding ways to double-check my work. And so people ironically end up complimenting me on how wonderfully detail-oriented I am."
Of course, this article made me think of a few more bad answers as well. That dog answer cracked me up!
"My biggest weakness? Biceps."
Note: whenever someone asks me rude questions like this, I ask parallel rude questions right back. For example, if someone asked me this particular rude question, I would ask about the biggest weakness in the company. Just for the revenge factor. But then I would also listen to the answer and perhaps ask what they were doing about this weakness, especially if it alarmed me.
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no subject
on 2007-05-08 04:26 am (UTC)It's a blatant lie. No workaholic here! But it seems to make them happy. Sometimes I use that I am a perfectionist, but that's a little too close to the truth so I try to stick with the other one. Being a perfectionist can be great for some jobs, but for others it sounds like you're slow. Bad impression!
I had a job where I was supposed to ask that particular stupid question when I was interviewing potential employees, and I actually had someone pause for a while, then blurt out, "I'm chronically late, and frequently I sleep through my alarm." I asked them what they were doing to correct the situation and the answer was "Uh, I am trying to make sure I wake up?" They didn't get the job (for a whole bunch of additional reasons).
no subject
on 2007-05-08 12:20 pm (UTC)Warning: From what I've been reading, the weaknesses-that-are-really-strengths strategy is getting old and you should go for a minor weakness that you have already fixed. Also a lie, but it's important to know which lies are respected, right? Of course your real biggest weakness is one that you still haven't fixed, or that at least still needs a lot more work!