How to Answer: What is your greatest weakness?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a FBI job interview.
26. What is your greatest weakness?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
This is a common interview question. The interviewer wants to see that you are humble and self-aware and can identify an area that could use improvement. They also want to understand the steps you are taking to improve. Identifying something you need to work on and setting goals to improve shows the interviewer that you have humility and a passion to make yourself the best you can be. Describe your greatest weakness and tell the interviewer what you are doing to improve.
Written by Krista Wenz on April 25th, 2022
What to Avoid
When describing your greatest weakness, avoid spending too much time on the negative. Instead of dwelling on your fault, you should spend more time explaining the steps you are taking to turn that weakness into a strength. Remember not to use a weakness that is an essential skill or trait needed for an FBI Intelligence Analyst job, such as poor analytical thinking or communication skills.
Written by Krista Wenz on April 25th, 2022
1st Answer Example
"My greatest weakness is that I have trouble remembering people's names when I first meet them. I think my brain analyzes the person while they are speaking, and I often miss their name. I am fixing this problem by taking a memory association class designed to remember people's names. It was developed by a CEO who had the same problem, and he overcame it by using the methods taught in the course. After two weeks in the class, I remember 90% of people's names. The instructor said I will be at 100% by next week."
Written by Krista Wenz on April 25th, 2022
2nd Answer Example
"My greatest weakness is my lack of confidence in my leadership skills. I work well with teams and do not have a problem delegating and giving direction, but I still feel my leadership skills could improve. I signed up for an online leadership course to strengthen these skills and will be participating in the course for the next six weeks."
Written by Krista Wenz on April 25th, 2022
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