We haven’t talked much about interview preparation in this blog, but it’s a crucial part of job search. You can prepare for interviews by understanding your own strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly how those strengths and weaknesses will be perceived by a hiring manager. In fact, I recently saw a great article on this topic in the Wall Street Journal’s Managing Your Career column by Joann Lublin entitled “A Question to Make a Monkey Out of You.”
The focus of the article is how interviewees fail when asked the big question, “What is your greatest weakness?” Most candidates respond with something that is not a weakness or is irrelevant, which will prove to be a deal-breaker. Others try to offer something disingenuous that they think the interviewer wants to hear, such as “I am a perfectionist,” which translates to mean you can’t delegate or worse, “does not play well with others.” Others try to deflect the question with a personal response, such as “I am a terrible cook,” which will also cost you the interview.
The best defense here is a good offense. You know the weakness question will be asked, so be sure you have a response prepared that is credible, related to the job, and that will show you are well qualified and able to overcome your shortcomings. Practice your responses, aloud, in front of a mirror or video camera, so the response feels natural. Try to avoid the word “weakness” in your response, and explain your corrective steps. Consider the salesman who says his performance improved when he strengthened his command of numbers.
You also need to be sensitive to how your response will play within the corporate culture of your target company. For example, if you are interviewing with a fast-paced start-up, the response, “My biggest weakness is I get bored with routine,” should be well-received.
The example offered in Lublin’s article is insightful. A candidate nearly lost a job with a non-profit by responding to the weakness question with a response that was totally counter the organization’s culture, then, when asked if he might have any problems with any aspect of the job, he replied, “No, I am confident I can do it all.” This showed his lack of awareness of his weakness, and its potential impact on his performance. The board was concerned that he would not be able to accept critical feedback. When he was called back for a second interview, he explained he was unprepared for the question and nervous about presenting a big fatal flaw,” which eliminated all doubts and got him the job. He would have saved himself a lot of grief if he had prepared for this question in advance.
Here are a few of the wrong answer to the most commonly asked interview question:
“I have no weaknesses.”
“I am a workaholic”
I can’t seem to meet tight deadlines.”
“I am impatient with incompetent people.”
“I am detail oriented.”
“I tend to lack judgment when under stress.”
“I can’t tolerate trite interview questions like this one.”
