Practice 35 Saint Vincent Hospital interview questions covering clinical excellence, patient care values, and healthcare teamwork.
Question 26 of 35
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Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
While competition is stiff for any position at Saint Vincent Hospital, and your interviewer has likely weeded through many applicants to bring the best in for an interview, they also know that any candidate comes with their own weaknesses. Your interviewer wants to hear that you are cognizant of your weakness and that you are working to better it.

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"I know this will come off as cliche, but it's truthful. My weakness is not delegating. I know what I want and how I want it done, so it's often easier to do it myself. However, it can inhibit my ability to grow. I cannot take on every step of a project; I need to be able to give the task or a portion of it to another team member or direct report, let go of the control, and know it will be taken care of. I've spoken with my current manager about it, and we've developed a system where he can call me out on the behavior since often I'm not aware of it. By bringing awareness to it at the moment, I find my propensity to hold onto control has decreased, so I'm certainly moving in the right direction."

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"At this point in my career within healthcare, my newness is my greatest weakness. To overcome this, I have committed to ten extra hours per week of study and shadowing. I dive into various medical journals and spend a great deal of time educating myself beyond what my degree and internship have offered."

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Pick a weakness that is not a core skill for this position. You can be candid in your answer, recognizing that you aren't great at something and acknowledging your need to improve. Be sure to have an action plan in place for improving on this weakness. We are all human with our weaknesses, so don't be afraid to share yours!

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My greatest weakness is that I believe I find it really hard to say no to people. In the past, this has resulted in me feeling a bit overwhelmed at times, simply because I have taken on too much work in addition to my own tasks and projects. I need to learn to say no when appropriate, of course, I will take on as much work as possible but I need to learn to say no when the time is right.

Rachelle's Feedback
You do a nice job explaining this weakness in a way that does not create a red flag or would make the interviewer hesitant to move forward with your candidacy. I suggest finishing your answer with measurable details of your action plan to improve on this weakness. If you'd like to learn more about answering this common interview question, we address it in point #3 in this guide: https://www.mockquestions.com/articles/How to Answer 5 of The Most Common Interview Questions/
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Written by Ryan Brunner
35 Questions & Answers • Saint Vincent Hospital

By Ryan

By Ryan