How to Answer: What is your greatest weakness?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Frito Lay job interview.
22. What is your greatest weakness?
What You Need to Know
Your interviewer is curious whether you take ownership of your growth opportunities and actively seek to develop your skills and overcome your self-perceived weaknesses. Openly sharing your weaknesses showcases your strength as a professional and that you are likely an asset worth hiring. Someone who tries to hide their weaknesses showcases that they don't have mastery over them and are more likely to be a liability.
As they state on one of their blogs, "Every day offers a new opportunity to learn from an experience. To continuously improve, you can't shy away from new and different experiences, they are often the most exciting and rewarding. And remember... you are bound to make mistakes, and that's OK. You almost always learn more from failure than success. It's what you do when mistakes happen that matters."
Written by Kevin Downey on September 5th, 2023
1st Answer Example
"I believe I could improve on some technical skills including Excel and PowerPoint. Currently I am at a beginner to intermediate level; however, I would be more comfortable at an advanced level. I have enrolled myself in an evening/weekend workshop for the next six weeks. We will see how stellar my skills are after that course!"
Written by Rachelle Enns
2nd Answer Example
"Sometimes I have difficulty asking for help from co-workers. I like having control over my daily tasks and taking on new projects, but I'm not always willing to admit when I have taken on too much. When I made a mistake because I was juggling too many projects, I learned that it's okay to ask for help. I'm learning how to organize myself better and communicate what I need from my team. This skill has helped me be more effective at my job, and it's helped my team work together even better than before!"
Written by Rachelle Enns
About the Author
Before I was in management, there were positions I wasn’t sure I wanted to be hired for. I wasn’t convinced it was the right job for me. Despite this, some of those interviews resulted in job offers. Then, some jobs felt like the perfect fit. I went into those interviews feeling confident and commanding, believing I would get hired. Yet, I didn’t get hired for many of those jobs despite my confidence and swagger.
Later in my management career, I learned there was more to it than being the right fit. I had my agenda, and my interviewee had theirs. When I sat down to interview someone, my goal was to check off all of my boxes. Is this person up to the job? Do they have the right skills? Does their character align with our values? Will they stick around and raise morale, strengthening our teams? What are their goals, aside from trying to land a job? Do they have leadership potential? What would this professional relationship look like?
This is the key to mastering any interview - understanding each other’s goals and objectives. The cold reality is that your interviewer has sat down with countless candidates before and will sit across from countless more. Every one of them wants a job. But only a few of them check off all the interviewer’s boxes.
If you are wondering how you could know what your interviewer is looking for, that’s easy. Most of it is posted all across their careers page. You just have to be on the hunt for those keywords that say it all. For Frito Lay, it’s physical hard work. Grit and determination. Punctuality and teamwork. Faster, stronger, better, and honest. These qualities aren’t unique to any one person. In fact, at some point, you have exhibited every one of these qualities.
The secret formula for delivering a great interview is simple. Actions speak louder than words. If you present yourself sincerely and honestly in every answer, aligning these traits with their values, they will know you prepared thoughtfully. It shows you respect their time and take this opportunity seriously. Your words showcase the actions you took to get ready for your interview. It proclaims you have a strong work ethic. It explains why you are so confident and shows that your interview isn’t a performance but an accurate presentation of who you are as a person and a professional. This is the key to delivering a great interview, which gets you closer to hearing the words, ‘You’re hired.’
Learn more about Kevin Downey