Interview Tips 101: Answering ‘What Is Your Greatest Weakness?’

By Angela Wahome,

If you are not prepared for an interview this question can be a trap. There are several ways that you can answer this question. You may choose to mention skills that aren’t critical for the job, skills you have improved on or you may decide to turn a negative point into a positive one.

If you choose to mention non-essential skills for instance, if you are applying for an accountant job, you can mention that you are not the best at giving opening speeches at company events. This really will not work against you as it is not related to your key duties and responsibilities and the impression you make will not be affected by this.

You can also choose to mention skills that you have improved. The first time I worked in a large organization I was in the main office pool and my work was basically support for one of the key workers in the company. In the beginning I was simply trying to learn how to do the work. Just as I got settled, I was moved to the reception area.  It was a challenge. A difficult experience for the first few months but after a year I found I was comfortable talking to all the people that came into the office and as a result I have found myself more out going. This has helped me greatly in the office and even in my personal life.

The last thing that you can do is turn a negative into a positive. As I child I found it difficult to cope without being organized. I took me the longest time to find things and I was always unsettled when things were not in order of in the right place. After, joining a company where work was given to you an you had to change your priorities in an instant I found that I was able to cope and had to go back to the old way of being well organized to cope well in my new position.

There are several things you can share about however do not make the mistake of mentioning what one of the candidates that was interviewed did.

Candidate X, “I find it hard to make it to work on time on Mondays!”
Interviewer, “Why?”
Candidate X, “I’m usually hung-over or drunk…..”

You guessed right, she did not get the job. So be prepared for the interview because the most important thing is that you are able to understand how to deal with this new way of presenting and selling yourself.