Overheard at a recent event for job hunters:
“Hey, I really like your weakness. I think I’m going to start using it, too.”
So much for veracity when it comes to answering the interview question that probably gives rise to the highest degree of applicant anxiety–as well as spin: “Tell me about your weakness.”
But borrowing somebody else’s weakness certainly does speak to the growing sophistication of job hunters when they prepare for interviews, as well as the need for them to freshen up some of the answers they’re practicing in front of those mirrors and videocams.
So what do you say when a job interviewer asks you to confess your weaknesses?
Of course, you’re not supposed to say you’re chronically late, or that you put off projects until the last minute–or that you rifle the soda machine. The idea here is to turn a flaw into something that sounds like a strength. The problem is that several of the good answers are being overused, not to mention being spun out of control. Take the most popular weakness: “I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect that I sometimes work until 3 a.m., so it’s hard for me to balance work and family.”
For some, it may be accurate, but still, it’s starting to sound phony, says Adele Chodorow of New York, who has done her share of questioning candidates. She has pulled together teams of IT consultants at three different firms, and she has hired her own staffs, too. She says people are just spitting back answers they read in books and it’s sounding “rote and canned.”
The best answers are always based on the truth, but you can be selective about which areas for improvement you decide to share with an interviewer. If Chodorow were on the other side of the table being interviewed, she might fess up and say that math is not her strongest suit–unless, that is, the job called for profit-and-loss responsibilities.
It might help to know exactly what employers are fishing for when they ask this question. Is there anything there beyond the sadistic need to watch you squirm?
Yes indeed, reports one expert: They want to know how well you know yourself, how candid you can be, how good a fit you will be in the job, how you deal with mistakes, and finally, how defensive you are. So says Connie Kaplan, a New York business psychologist.
Depending on the circumstances, you can also have a little fun with the question, thereby showing that you have a sense of humor. For example, one manager tells of a woman interviewing for a senior position. When asked what her biggest weakness was, the woman shot right back: “Haagen-Dazs chocolate-chocolate chip.”
