What is your greatest weakness, and what are you doing to improve?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Focus Your Answer On
1st Answer Example
2nd Answer Example

The interviewer wants to hear about your greatest weakness as a healthcare professional to see that you are self-aware and can identify an area that needs improvement. When you admit you have a deficiency in a particular aspect of your profession and take steps to improve, it shows the interviewer that you are motivated and inspired to grow professionally.

Focus on a weakness related to your profession, but not one that is an essential job duty. For example, suppose you say your weakness is your verbal communication skills. In that case, the interviewer may pass you over for another candidate since that skill is an essential part of being an excellent healthcare provider.

"My greatest weakness as a healthcare professional has been remembering people's names when I first meet them. I understand it is a weakness in this profession because I need to remember my patients' and coworkers' names. I recently bought a book called 'How to Remember Names and Faces' by Luis Echeverria. He is a Memory Master Champion and guarantees success by reading his book and practicing his memory training exercises. I have been reading the book for a week and already found I remember people's names and faces better. I am confident this weakness will become a strength when I am finished with the book and the exercises."

"I know this will come off as cliche, but it's truthful. My weakness is not delegating. I know what I want to be done 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."