In a recent poll, we asked what interview questions you struggle with most. ‘What’s your greatest weakness?’ came out on top so here’s our guide to answering it.
What’s the point of this question?
The interviewer wants to understand whether you:
- Can demonstrate self-awareness
- Are open and honest
- Want to improve, and take action
How to tackle the question
- Avoid skills that are essential to the role
- Focus on a skill that you’ve improved
For example, as a Concierge, an essential skill is communication, while a non-essential skill is decisiveness.
You might say –
In the past I have struggled to be decisive.
To improve, I found a mentor in my colleague who is a Senior Concierge. She has experience of leading a team and is responsible for making big decisions day-to-day. Working alongside her more closely has improved my confidence and I have started to make smaller decisions more quickly.
As a result of being more decisive I have saved time and been more productive personally and professionally, and I am keen to continue building on this.
This answer demonstrates:
- Your current role requires you to be a good listener and follow instruction
- You understand why decisiveness is important
- You take action and are taking steps to improve
- The result of you being more decisive
- You’re driven and would like to progress
Turn a negative into a positive, be humble but don’t underestimate yourself, and take pride in how you have/are overcoming a weakness.
