What is your greatest weakness as it relates to your career as a Security Manager? What are you doing to improve on this weakness?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Focus Your Answer On
What to Avoid
Entry Level Example
Answer Example

The interviewer wants you to be honest about your weaknesses. They also want to know that you are proactive and dedicated to improvement. Maintain a positive tone, show confidence, and display a desire for growth. Genuine vulnerability is essential, but be sure to include what you are doing to improve.

Don't be discouraged by your weaknesses! One way to approach this question is to focus on a skill you would like to develop or learn. Consider a quality or trait that you are proactively working to strengthen. Think of your weakness as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Choose a weakness that is not a core skill for the position. Be sure to have an action plan to improve on this weakness. Avoid cliche answers such as 'I work too hard' or 'I am loyal to a fault.' These are 'false' weaknesses that candidates use when they are unprepared. Interviewers never appreciate this approach.

"My greatest weakness is that I can sometimes be too demanding on myself, and then that trickles down to others. I have very high expectations, and I recently realized that this comes down to a perfectionist mentality. However, over the past few months, I have learned that perfectionism is not a point of pride. To work on this weakness, I am honing my understanding of perfectionism. I have been reading excellent books such as 'How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism. I continue to learn and improve!"

"Time management was never a strong point for me while attending school or when I was working in an office-based role. I used to get immersed in projects at work and lose track of time. I started managing my calendar and setting alarms throughout the day to be more aware of how I am spending my time. Over the past year, I have greatly improved my time management skills and have more time to invest in managing and training my team. As a Security Manager, I have a great deal of variety in my day-to-day activities. This variety allows me to jump in and out of tasks without being detrimentally hyperfocused on one project."