How to answer what is your greatest weakness?
“What is your greatest weakness?” asks the interviewer.
“What is your greatest weakness?” asks the interviewer.
You think to yourself… “Weakness? Psh. I am good at everything. My weakness is that I work TOO hard!”
Don’t be that guy. Everyone has things they are not good at.
The worst things you can do when answering “what is your greatest weakness?” is to:
Avoid the question entirely — You avoid the question by saying a strength is your weakness or not answering the question directly
Lean too hard into the question — You start rambling about what you are not good at instead of focusing on how you are going to improve
For more common mistakes people make when answering this question, check out What is Your Greatest Weakness? (Powerful Example Answers Included)
To answer “what is your greatest weakness” effectively, you need to answer the question directly and concisely. In this article, you will learn:
Why do interviewers ask “what is your greatest weakness?”
How should you answer “what is your greatest weakness”?
Let’s get started.
Why do interviewers ask “what is your greatest weakness”?
Are you self aware?- Are you able to identify what you are good at? Do you know what you suck at? Are you honest with yourself? Interviewers want to know if you are capable of understanding when you are not good at something. This is key when working in a team. If you suck at something and someone on your team is great at it, it is better for them to do it as opposed to you. In order for this to happen, you need to be self-aware.
Are you looking to improve? -We all have weaknesses, but are you looking to improve? Are you able to realize what you suck at and take steps to get better?
Are you able to construct a plan for improvement? -If you aren’t good at something, but that skill is critical to the mission, are you able to put a plan in place to get better? Are you capable of creating an action plan to get better at the stuff you suck at?
How should I answer “what is your greatest weakness”?
You need to base your answer on the job description.
Learn which skills are critical to the job — Before sharing one of your weaknesses, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the skills that are critical to the job. You need to know which skills are most important so you don’t choose one of those skills as your weakness. Do not highlight a weakness that is a critical skill in the job description! For example, if the job mandates that you show up on time every day, do not say that your weakness is being on time. Have common sense! You can learn which skills are most important to the job by:
Reading the job description — The job description is a great place to learn about skills that relate to the job. Oftentimes, they are listed directly in the job description
Connect with someone at the company — An even better way to learn about important skills is by contacting someone at the company and asking them what they think the most important skills are to the job you are applying for. For help on how to draft a cold email to send to someone at the company, check out this post.
Choose a weakness — After you’ve figured out the critical skills to the job, choose a weakness that does not conflict with the job you are applying for
State your weakness — You need to blatantly state what your weakness is. My weakness is ___.
Define your plan to get better — After stating your weakness, explain your plan to get better. If you don’t have a plan, come up with one. As mentioned before, employers ask this question to test if you are self-aware of your weakness and if you have a plan to improve.
Sample answers
Here’s my example:
One of my greatest weaknesses is that I am very rigid in how I work. I like sticking to a plan. If I begin a project and things don’t go as planned, I get nervous and it affects my work. I’ve learned that things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes it is better to move on than to dwell on how things panned out. Over time, I’ve become more conscious of this. As a result, I have become more aware of my work activities and realized that sometimes it is better to move forward.
Here’s an example from a super helpful article I found What is Your Greatest Weakness? (Powerful Example Answers Included)
“I have a hard time letting a project go or sharing a task with others because I’m always convinced that I can do it all on my own and that asking for help will be taken as a sign of weakness. This has led to me taking on projects that have overwhelmed me and resulted in me being frustrated and angry. It hasn’t been easy learning to let go, but I’ve been working on trusting others and sharing the responsibilities for projects and as a result, have been able to really accomplish some incredible things.”