INTERVIEW COACH
Rachelle Enns
Rachelle is a job search expert, career coach, and headhunter who helps everyone from students to fortune 500 executives find success in their career.
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What are your weaknesses?
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OUR COACH SAYS
The interviewer wants you to be honest about your weaknesses and, at the same time, they want to see that you are proactive when it comes to improving yourself.
Choose a weakness that is not a core skill for the position. For instance, if you are interviewing for an Administrator role, your greatest weakness should not be your Excel skills.
Perhaps you are watching YouTube tutorials to gain skills in a particular area. Maybe you are reading the latest-and-greatest books on the skills that you wish to improve, or perhaps you are taking an online workshop to bridge a skills gap.
When discussing your most significant weaknesses, you must display your interest in professional growth. Be sure to maintain a positive tone, show confidence in your ability to improve, and demonstrate a desire for improvement.
Choose a weakness that is not a core skill for the position. For instance, if you are interviewing for an Administrator role, your greatest weakness should not be your Excel skills.
Perhaps you are watching YouTube tutorials to gain skills in a particular area. Maybe you are reading the latest-and-greatest books on the skills that you wish to improve, or perhaps you are taking an online workshop to bridge a skills gap.
When discussing your most significant weaknesses, you must display your interest in professional growth. Be sure to maintain a positive tone, show confidence in your ability to improve, and demonstrate a desire for improvement.
Example #1
"I believe my biggest area for improvement is in my proficiency with InDesign. I consider myself an intermediate-level user, but that is not as strong as I would like to be, so I'm working on improving. I have watched many YouTube tutorials and recently enrolled in an online course for advanced InDesign. I plan to be much more comfortable, confident, and efficient in my use of the InDesign program by the end of the six-week course."
Example #2
"One specific weakness that I am focusing on right now is my ability to be concise when I send email updates to the department. Brevity has not always been my strongest point; however, I have been practicing brevity by writing a draft first and then asking myself which words or points could be deleted from the communication. So far, I have noticed a marked improvement; however, I believe that clear communication is a work-in-progress and can always be improved and tweaked in some way."
Example #3
"My professional weaknesses are around the topic of delegating to team members. I know what needs doing and how I would like to see it done, so it's often easier to do it myself. However, it can inhibit my ability to grow, and my teams' ability to grow. To change this habit, I have been spending more time training employees who are not fulfilling their requirements or meeting standards. Rather than re-doing their work over, I will coach them on what I want to see, and then let them try again. I have noticed a decrease in my overtime hours since making these changes and will continue to provide more employee empowerment and training opportunities."
Example #4
"I have good working proficiency in Photoshop; however, these skills are not as strong as I would like, and I'm always looking to improve. I have enrolled in an online Photoshop course, which will boost me from an intermediate user to an advanced user level in a matter of a few months, which is a goal that I am very excited about."
Example #5
"I would say the area I need to focus on improving would be my Retail POS proficiency. I am proficient, and it does not hinder my ability to do my job successfully, but it's certainly something that I need to work on improving. I have started asking other managers to show me their tips and tricks, which has been very helpful."
Example #6
"My areas of weakness are around documentation. I sometimes get so wrapped up into my cold calling or into the sales cycle that I forget to document my activity until the end of the day. I've spoken with my current manager about it, and we've developed a system where I set an alert every 2 hours to spend a 20-minute time block solely on the task of documentation in the CRM. After blocking this time for the past two weeks, I can see myself forming better habits already."
Example #7
"Areas of weakness that I have noticed include my skills when it comes to the more advanced use of our cloud-based education platform called D2L. I am learning how to customize learning 'shells' and how to accept student assignment submissions with greater ease. I have committed to watching tutorials for one hour per day in an attempt to become more familiar in these areas."
Example #8
"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 of that course!"
Example #9
"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!"
Example #10
"To be very honest with you, I'm not great at administrative work. That's why I've gotten very good at making systems to organize my paperwork. I have checklists and step-by-step instructions for myself so that I don't waste time trying to remember what I have to do next. In fact, I teach my parents about this system sometimes."
Example #11
"I believe I could improve on some technical skills including Excel. 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!"
Example #12
"My biggest weakness is my lack of experience in medical billing. I know that would be a huge bonus if I were better trained in billing to work at your office. I do plan on taking evening classes to become proficient in billing. I hope your office would have a need for that in the future."
Example #13
"I have shot a pretty wide range of weddings, from 3 hours to 2 days of 8 full hours each day. My true average is between 7 and 8 hours of straight shooting."
Example #14
"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!"
Example #15
"Being a veterinarian seems to be a world of its own sometimes. We take care of some of those who can't speak and are unable to care for themselves. I believe that someone who works in this specialty needs to be very compassionate and know how to exercise patience."
Example #16
"I believe my greatest weakness is that it is hard for me to stop working when there is more to do. I am very focused in my work and wish to complete all tasks by the end of each day. However, it isn't always possible to do so. To improve in that area, I do my best to prioritize and use daily to-do lists to keep track of my duties so that I can get to work as soon as I get to the office in the morning."
Example #17
"I would say my greatest area for improvement would be prioritization. I feel because of the nature of my work that absolutely everything is a top priority. Over the years I have become much better at placing certain projects on the back burner while focusing on the task at hand. It's been very helpful. I have also started using an online project software to keep track of deadlines. This has helped me to prioritize."
Example #18
"I think that my greatest weakness is X but I am trying to work on it. I have been attending special sessions and also watching some TED talks to help myself out of this issue. I know its a long way to go but I am improving."
Example #19
"First, I would love to clarify what 'traditional' means to you. I find that different religions, cultures, and ceremonies have very different examples of traditional components to a wedding. Once we have a shared understanding, I work with the couple to identify core components of a traditional wedding that they would like to keep, modify, and eliminate. Using those identified components as the foundation, we then build the rest of the ceremony and reception from there. When it comes to this balance, I always look to the couple to guide the way and support them with bringing the pieces all together."
Example #20
"I am sometimes overly independent and incredibly meticulous as I am used to completing projects on my own instead of delegating them, to complete them in a quicker fashion. But throughout my career, I have come to realize that I am working as part of a team of professionals who are as capable as I am and whose perspective can be greatly valuable. As such, I do my best to seek my colleagues' input as much as possible as we are all working to benefit the company."
Example #21
"I feel that my leadership skills could be stronger and I am currently working to improve them."
Example #22
"I am sometimes overly independent and incredibly meticulous as I am used to completing projects on my own instead of delegating them, to complete them in a quicker fashion. But throughout my career, I have come to realize that I am working as part of a team of professionals who are as capable as I am and whose perspective can be greatly valuable. As such, I try to seek my colleagues' input as much as possible as we are all working to benefit the company."
Example #23
"I believe my greatest weakness is that it is sometimes hard for me to stop working when there is more to do. I am very focused in my work and wish to complete all tasks by the end of each day. However, it isn't always possible to do so. This is why I now use daily to-do lists to keep track of my duties so that I can get to work as soon as I get to the office in the morning."
Example #24
"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 on that course!"
Example #25
"I sometimes get so caught up in the details of how to teach a pose that I can overwhelm my students with information. I have learned that by offering two to three simple cues, students are better able to understand and move their bodies into the shapes. I have been simplifying my sequences to help the students learn the basics and then gradually elaborating on what I want them to do when I am instructing."
Example #26
"My biggest weakness is probably impatience. I tend to get frustrated with students sometimes when I'm explaining a concept or if they don't understand what they missed on a math problem. But over the years I've learned to get more creative and be persistent with helping them figure out the missing pieces. I realized that sometimes we're not able to meet our teaching goal for the day but it's possible they'll get a better picture of the concept next week after they've learned other parts of it."
Example #27
"As a Type A personality that is strongly deadline driven, I have to manage my stress levels and take proactive measures to do so through personal care and exercise that helps center me for success each day."
Example #28
"I think one of my biggest weaknesses is that I can get sidetracked easily. I recognize that in myself and have made a conscious effort to plan my day as much as possible and to stay on target."
Example #29
"I think my greatest weakness could be attributed to more than just my specialty. I am not the best at delegating responsibilities. I am learning to look at tasks that need to be completed and to assign them to personnel that are capable. It helps the team function more efficiently."
Example #30
"I feel that my management skills could be stronger, and I am constantly working to improve them."
Example #31
"I recently created fillable PDF's for our customer orders, which they can complete from their phone. This small change has encouraged a new system where we no longer have to print long order forms for the pickers. It has saved our company money and significantly reduces paper waste."
Example #32
"I am a very hard-worker and find hard to stop working at the end of the day, resulting in numerous long days at the office. To improve in that area, I do lists every morning by prioritizing the work that needs to be done by the end of the day, and the following tasks that are not as urgent. Doing this significantly improves my time management skills and makes me more focused and productive at work."
Example #33
"I am working on being more organized. I am a decently organized person and always get my tasks complete, but I believe there is always room to improve. I've currently been working with my mentor on different ways she organizing everything and even more recently I've started listening to a podcast about how to organize your work life and it has been helping."
Example #34
"I can sometimes be critical of my own work and get bogged down with small details. Even though my perfectionism ensures I complete the best work, sometimes I can get carried away. I have worked on finding ways to do provide the same quality of work without spending as much time being a perfectionist. I have been making a conscious effort to not be as critical of my own work and to trust my skills."
Example #35
"At times, I struggle with leaving my emotions at the door after a challenging day at work. I do not become emotionally involved with my clients and their stories, but some days are more emotionally draining than others. When I get home, I want my family to get the best of me, so I have started to put better practices in place to compartmentalize my work and home life. On my drive home, I stop and take a 30-minute stroll on the walking path near my home. During this break outdoors, I turn my mind off, and I focus on the sights and sounds of nature. This self-care routine has helped me be more consistent with my emotions outside of work. I am also privy to the fact that even counselors need counseling, and I have a counselor whom I trust that I go and see twice per month. I will continue to work on developing more positive habits to help myself adjust between work and home."
Example #36
"Public speaking has always been a weakness of mine. I've asked my current supervisor to keep me in mind whenever there is an opportunity to address a group of people so I can work on making this one of my strengths."
Example #37
"I am a very hard-worker and find hard to stop working at the end of the day, resulting in numerous long days at the office. To improve in that area, I did my best to do lists every morning by prioritizing the work that needs to be done by the end of the day, and the following tasks that are not as urgent. Doing this significantly improved my time management skills and made me more productive at work."
Example #38
"I believe I could improve on some technical skills including Excel for tasks that require advanced spreadsheet tracking. 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!"
Example #39
"I consider X to be my greatest weakness but recently I have started watching some TED talks and reading some help books to overcome this weakness of mine. I have already started noticing some improvement but I understand its a long road ahead."
Example #40
"I tend to be a people-pleaser and it has made me fall behind in my work on occasion. I'm learning my limitations and learning how to say "
Example #41
"My greatest weakness taking my work home with me, emotionally. It takes practice and discipline to leave the emotions of work at work, especially in Youth Work, which is such an immersive career. Some days are longer and more challenging than others, so finding a balance on those days is tricky. I use mindfulness apps and have completed online mindfulness training, which doubles as an asset for the youth with whom I work. To find a better balance of self-care, I've started to take the long way home as I walk and reflect on my day. I journal almost every day, and I talk to trusted leaders and experienced colleagues if I am struggling with a particular situation. I feel this weakness will always be a work in progress for me as I am highly empathetic, compassionate, and care about my clients. It's part of my job to care, but I also owe it to myself and my family to continually work toward a healthy balance."
Example #42
"In my career as an anesthesiologist assistant, I have dealt with many upset patients and family members. Many of my colleagues feel that it is not their responsibility to help the patients and their families when they are upset, but I feel, as part of the care team, I am just as responsible for helping them as anyone else. Just last week, I walked into a pre-op holding area to find an elderly patient and her daughter, who was extremely unhappy. Because I could tell the daughter was unhappy, just after I introduced myself, I asked if there was anything I could do to help them, and it turned out, the daughter had asked for another warm blanket for her mother multiple times, but had not received one. So, I simply went and got the blanket for her, to resolve the situation right then and there. After her mother was warm, I was able to proceed with my history and physical without further incident."
Example #43
"My greatest weakness as a Medical Receptionist is being able to say no. I always want to help but I've found that its a great way to put too much on my plate. I'm working on saying no to helping at that moment but offering to help once I've completed my own tasks."
Example #44
"My greatest weakness is that I enjoy working independently and often struggle being comfortable vocalizing myself in groups. However, I constantly work to improve my communication skills and someday hope to work in a group-like setting."
Example #45
"Through performance reviews and other feedback that I have received, I feel that my greatest weakness would be in my Excel skills. I am an intermediate user but do feel that as a Sales Engineer, I should be at an advanced to expert user level. I have enrolled in an Excel course that will start this fall and will run for 12 weeks."
Example #46
"I am a very hard-worker and find hard to stop working at the end of the day, resulting in numerous long days at the office. To improve in that area, I started doing my best to do lists every morning by prioritizing the work that needs to be done by the end of the day, and the following tasks that are not as urgent. Doing this significantly improved my time management skills and made me more productive at work."
Example #47
"In my most current position my supervisor recommended that I take additional coursework in adult education. Because I have spent so much time educating children I have lost a bit of my touch when it comes to teaching groups of adults. I have enrolled in an additional course on adult education which starts next month."
Example #48
"A weakness of mine is public speaking. In my last feedback with my supervisor, we discussed my weakness and we are now working together to improve it. He has given me the opportunity to interact with small groups to give me the practice that I need to one day speak to large audiences."
Example #49
"To be honest, I'm not very good at editing punctuation. I tend to focus on the content, the structure and flow of the narrative. So I'm actually working on my attention to detail for punctuation. Even in my spare time, whenever I read anything, I have the Style Manual in front of me and I look at whether it conforms. If it doesn't, I look up how it ought to look."
Example #50
"I had just started at a nursing home and the person who normally ran Bingo was out sick. I was thrown in to running the program for the evening, thankfully this was a planned program that happened weekly, so the engagement came from the regular crowd. I've since run programming and found that consistently with a schedule has helped with getting the group engaged."
Example #51
"I get very excited and passionate about my work, and sometimes that means I work quite a lot. I see it as a blessing and a curse, because I enjoy what I do even when I forget to pause and take a break. I also become very invested in the people around me, so it can be difficult for me to leave work at work and not be impacted later on by something that might've happened that day. Lastly, I'd say that I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I strive to do my best, no matter what the task, and I have to remind myself that aiming for perfection might sometimes cause me to miss valuable learning along the way."
Example #52
"My weakness is public speaking. I've recently started teaching 2 nights a week at our local community college to improve my techniques and overcome my anxiety. I've been teaching for two months and it has helped me immensley."
Example #53
"I think one of my biggest weaknesses is that I can get sidetracked easily. I recognize that in myself and have made a conscious effort to plan my day as much as possible and to stay on target."
Example #54
"I've been told one of my weaknesses is that I have a tendency to over-communicate with my co-workers. I'm working on spending more time working toward a solution than discussing a plan."
Example #55
"I feel that my biggest weakness is in my ability to lift and transfer heavier patients. My current supervisor and I have come up with a plan where I am going to become more physically active and also wear a back brace in order to support me while transferring patients."
Example #56
"I have extensive experience and hands on knowledge implementing binary search algorithms with and without recursion. For this answer, I will talk about BSA without recursion. Binary search algorithms typically halve the number of items checked for each successive iteration, thus locating the given item in logarithmic time. Furthermore, a Binary Search Implementation in a Java algorithm is implemented recursively respectively. Also, an interesting fact I would like to share is that binary search algorithm implementation is mostly done without recursion. It is also known as iterative binary search."
Example #57
"I have been told many times that my greatest strength is my ability to time-manage. This means that I consistently meet my deadlines and am able to deliver when I need to. The aspect I am working to improve would be my detailed documentation. I have been working on improving my notes so that anyone could pick up my files and fully understand where I was at, in my work."
Example #58
"When I was new in my nursing career, it took me a significant amount of time to complete patient assessments. It seemed like no matter what, it would take forever for me to fill out the patient information on the assessments. Being a perfectionist, I would spend too much time on the details and would end up getting behind on all my other daily tasks because of the amount of time I was spending on the assessments. In order to overcome this, I had to take a step back, and while I still recognized that these details were important, I moved more quickly through the entire routine of collecting the information, so I could balance my daily tasks and better care for may patients."
Example #59
"Early in my career, I realized that I sometimes take on too many projects because I'm afraid to say "
Example #60
"I am sometimes overly independent and incredibly meticulous as I am used to completing projects on my own instead of delegating them, to complete them in a quicker fashion. But I came to realize that I am working as part of a team of highly educated individuals who are as capable as I am and whose perspective can be greatly valuable. As such, I try to seek my colleagues' input as much as possible as we are all working to benefit the company."
Example #61
"One of the areas that I would like to improve on would be my technical knowledge when it comes to portable gas heating equipment. I have found a member of my current team who is an expert in the topic and he has agreed to give me additional training on the job."
Example #62
"I am not a good public speaker. Put me in a room with 10-15 people, and I'll be fine. But ask me to deliver a commencement speech and I will be a ball of nerves. Working for a school has helped me to overcome that slowly since I am constantly surrounded by people. Meeting new faces regularly helps in building my confidence. But definitely, I still have a lot to work on."
Example #63
" I think one area I could work on is my delegation skills. I am always so concerned about everything being done right and on time that I can get stuck in that mentality that if you want it done right you need to do it yourself. I learned this recently when given the opportunity to manage a large project at work. It definitely taught me how to delegate and my manager noticed the difference in my management style by the end of the year."
Example #64
"If I had to choose a weakness, I would say that my computer skills could be stronger. I have been learning Excel through online tutorials to strengthen my ability to create spreadsheets for order and cost tracking initiatives."
Example #65
"My biggest weakness as a writer is that it takes me longer to get a project started than some would like. As a freelance writer, I won't take on rush jobs because I need to think about what I am going to write and create my plan of action, before beginning. For some clients, they do not mind this approach at all; however, I will recommend another writer in my network should my process not be a fit for a particular client."
Example #66
"I am a very hard-worker and find hard to stop working at the end of the day, resulting in numerous long days at the office. To improve in that area, I do lists every morning by prioritizing the work that needs to be done by the end of the day, and the following tasks that are not as urgent. Doing this significantly improves my time management skills and makes me more productive at work."
Example #67
"I feel that my greatest weakness is in my technical abilities. I could be stronger when it comes to the use of some of our software. I have signed up for an evening class that starts next month which I believe will help me to improve my technical skills."
Example #68
"I feel that my greatest weakness is that sometimes I can be a bit too blunt when it comes to truth-telling. Many of my peers appreciate it but some do not. I am working on my ability to add sensitivity to my delivery when I speak and so far, so good!"
Example #69
"I tend to be a people-pleaser and it has gotten me in trouble when I take on more than I can handle. I'm learning my limitations and learning how to say 'no' or 'let me check my schedule' before I say yes to anything."
Example #70
"In my last performance review my manager asked me to improve my working knowledge of GIS. I have since signed up for a course which will be complete in December."
Example #71
"I would say the area I need to focus on improving would be my proficiency in the Taxi Dispatch App. I can get by, and it does not hinder my ability to do my job successfully, but it's certainly something that I need to work on improving. I recently found some online video tutorials from the app's developers and have been watching those for some assistance."
Example #72
"My weakness is not delegating. I know what needs doing and how I want it done, so it's often easier to do it myself. However, it can inhibit my ability to grow. I know that I cannot take on every part of a job or security project. I need to be able to give the task or a portion of it to another team member or direct report. I've spoken with my team about this weakness, and they have agreed to step in when they see me taking on too much. 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."
Example #73
"I understand that working as a bus driver will require overtime, weekends, nights, and holidays. I am available for most anything so long as there is a bit of notice so that my family can prepare for my absence."
Example #74
"Yes, I am very familiar with federal and state guidelines regarding water quality standards. To stay informed, I continue to consult various resources with details on my region, state, and surrounding areas."
Example #75
"My greatest weakness is that I have a hard time brainstorming ways to make each of my projects different. However, there are so many creative minds at your company and I hope to learn how they do it so I can improve."
Example #76
"I believe my biggest weakness is preparing budgets and allocating program funds. I spent most of my career in the public school system, where the school district did most of the fund allocation and budget preparation. It was up to me to ensure we were abiding by the set budget; however, I had very little say when it came to funding allocation. To improve in this area, I have enrolled in a course called 'Financial Management in Education.' This course is a 4-week program offered online, and I am approximately 50% of the way through now. I am performing very well in the class, and I am eager to apply my new skills in this Preschool Director role."
Example #77
"My greatest weakness, as a model, is my critical nature. I am a perfectionist and often require perfection from my shoots. I feel while this may not be considered a negative, personally, sometimes I struggle if I see flaws in a photograph that perhaps another person loves. This is sometimes difficult to adjust to, although I always tell myself that everyone has differing opinions that I can learn from."
Example #78
"In my opinion, the two biggest problems are cost and quality. Unfortunately, we tend to pay more to get less. I really feel like too much of that spending goes to pad corporate bottom lines rather than optimize the health of populations."
Example #79
"I have found that family involvement when treating addiction disorders can be very beneficial. Of course, the family can only be involved with consent from the client. I usually bring the idea up to the client and ask how he feels about involving loved ones. I explain that having a strong support system is very important in recovery, as these are the people that the client can call on when there are times of stress or when he is exposed to a trigger."
Example #80
"Time management was never a strong point for me while attending school, or when I was working in an office-based role. I use to get immersed in projects at work and lose track of time. I started managing my calendar and setting alarms throughout the day so that I could be more aware of how I am spending my time. Over the past year, I have greatly improved upon 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 helps me to jump in and out of tasks without being detrimentally hyperfocused on one project."
Example #81
"I am sometimes overly independent and incredibly meticulous as I am used to completing projects on my own instead of delegating them, to complete them in a quicker fashion. But throughout my career, I have come to realize that I am working as part of a team of professionals who are as capable as I am and whose perspective can be greatly valuable. As such, I do my best to seek my colleagues' input as much as possible as we are all working to benefit the firm."
Example #82
"During a recent performance review with my current supervisor he brought to my attention that my documentation was sometimes too brief for his liking. He asked that I use more words when describing the situation so that the new operators would be able to fully understand what my notes meant. I have been making a conscious effort since then to ensure that my documentation can be understood by even the most junior of operators."
Example #83
"I have often been complimented on my relationship building skills. I like to get to know people and ask them questions about themselves; I find it's a great and simple way to start building rapport with others. I consider myself to be a strong relationship builder and take pride in my 'people skills'."
Example #84
"My greatest weakness is that it is difficult for me to speak up when I am overtired or over worked. However, I do some of my best work when I am well rested. I am making it a priority to tell someone when I need days off so I can continue to do my best work."
Example #85
"One of my greatest weaknesses, or blindspots, is I often get very excited about multiple projects at any one given time. This becomes an issue when managing multiple project groups and bandwidth. I rely heavily on my team to keep me on track with the most pressing projects before moving on to working on projects that are less pressing and instrumental for the business."
Example #86
"My greatest weakness as a Physical Therapist Assistant is being able to say no. I always want to help but I've found that its a great way to put too much on my plate. I'm working on saying no to helping at that moment but offering to help once I've completed my own tasks."
Example #87
"My greatest weakness is that I am an introverted person by nature. The result is that I have a difficult time speaking up in large groups. I'm most comfortable working one on one, or in smaller groups, with my patients."
Example #88
"I believe my biggest weakness is, at times, my straightforward nature. Many people appreciate my honesty; however, I have hurt the feelings of others in the past because my delivery can be somewhat blunt. To improve this weakness, I have read books on communication, specifically related to building more empathy for others. I have shown growth in this area, and I plan to continue to improve my communication style to better suit a wider range of people."
Example #89
"I believe my greatest weakness is that it is hard for me to stop working when there is more to do. I am very focused in my work and wish to complete all tasks by the end of each day. However, it isn't always possible to do so. To improve in that area, for instance, I do my best to prioritize and use daily to-do lists to keep track of my duties so that I can get to work as soon as I get to the office in the morning and as a result be highly efficient."
Example #90
"My weakness is public speaking. To overcome this challenge I take every opportunity I can to speak in front of people regardless of how large the audience. Practice makes perfect."
Example #91
"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 workshop for the next six weeks. We will see how stellar my skills are after I complete that course. My goal is to become a better resource and support to any clinic's medical administration staff."
Example #92
"I’ve never been very comfortable with public speaking. Realizing this was a problem, I asked my previous employer if I could work the front desk to increase the interaction I would have with patients. Since then, my public speaking has improved, I've learned my job even better and my customer service skills are always improving."
Example #93
"One weakness I find coming up for me is within my Excel skills. I do not have strong skills in v-lookups and pivot tables. For this reason, I have enrolled in an Excel course that begins next week."
Example #94
"I tend to be a people pleaser. In the past, I have said 'yes' before looking at my schedule, and I have overcommitted myself. Now whenever my boss asks me to do something, I let him know I need to check to make sure I have the bandwidth. This practice has saved me from taking on too much and overworking myself."
Example #95
"Sometimes I move too quickly when completing a project under a deadline, and that's when I make mistakes. I have learned to slow down and plan out how I will use my time, setting benchmarks along the way so that I can check in to gauge my status on the project and see how far I am from reaching my goal."
Example #96
"In my performance reviews with my previous manager, one of the things we discussed was for me to strengthen my knowledge in Excel. I have since enrolled in a night course which will be complete mid-September."
Example #97
"I feel that my greatest weakness is in my advanced skills within Excel. I have attended an Excel for beginners course and have registered for the Intermediate Skills level course which begins this May."
Example #98
"I am a very hard-worker and sometimes find hard to stop working at the end of the day, resulting in numerous long days at the office. To improve in that area, I do my best to use lists every morning by prioritizing the work that needs to be done by the end of the day, and the following tasks that are not as urgent. Doing this significantly improves my time management skills and makes me more productive at work."
Example #99
"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 workshop for the next six weeks. We will see how stellar my skills are after I complete that course."
Anonymous Answer
"I am very impatient at times, as I want to see results fast and move forward. I have managed this by setting short and long term goals. I also conduct the end of the day meeting with my manager to get an idea about the progress of the project and plan the coming days accordingly."
Rachelle's Reply
We can often make impatience work in our favor if it's reigned in just a touch. It seems you have done this well, through your small goal setting and communication approach. Nice response.
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Anonymous Answer
"My biggest weakness can be focusing on the end goal rather than staying in the moment. When I catch myself doing that, I try to shift the focus back to what is happening in the present. Those little steps you have to take will eventually lead to the end goal."
Rachelle's Reply
Great! You offer your weakness but spend most of your time discussing what you are doing to improve. This is a perfect approach.
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Anonymous Answer
"I usually get nervous and worried before I engage in something, but it has taught me relaxing and preparing for the situation thoroughly to avoid any mistakes. For example, there was a non-thesis research presentation while in the master's program. So I practiced the speech by speaking loud many times to avoid getting nervous and any unnecessary mistakes. As a result, I did a great job, and through the experiences, I think I’m trying to overcome and getting a better person."
Rachelle's Reply
This is a good example; however, I recommend being a touch clearer on the fact that it's public speaking/presenting that makes you feel nervous. I have provided a slight revision for you below.
Rachelle's Reply
"I get nervous before giving a presentation. It is tough for me to relax. For example, I had a non-thesis research presentation during my Master's program. I practiced the speech by speaking aloud many times. This practice helped me to calm my nerves and avoid any unnecessary mistakes. As a result, I did a great job. It's important to me that I overcome my weaknesses, and practicing helps me achieve this goal."
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Anonymous Answer
"I am impatient, and I want to see results fast so I can progress and move forward. I manage this by setting short-term goals and complete small tasks, which will eventually lead to the successful completion of the long-term project. In that way, I keep myself satisfied and motivated.
Although I find clinical research and trials very exciting, my knowledge in this field is limited. I am currently enrolled in an online course, offered by Michener Institute, to advance my education."
Rachelle's Reply
The fact that you are taking tactical steps to improve these factors is what will matter most to the hiring company. Well supported response!
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Anonymous Answer
"I could improve on some technical skills including, Excel, and power point. I am currently at an intermediated level, and I would love to be at a Advanced level. I Have enrolled at a Computer workshop at Maricopa jobs, and they have a class that is helping me get there."
Lauren's Reply
This is a great response, because you are showing initiative to enhance your deficits. I helped with minor grammatical edits.
Lauren's Reply
"I would like to improve upon technical skills such as Excel and PowerPoint. I have an intermediate skill base, but I am actively working on broadening my skills by enrolling in a Computer Workshop through Maricopa Jobs."
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Anonymous Answer
"My great weakness is language since English is not my native language. When I first started working, I was pretty shy in public. I know this was something I needed to overcome. I took an English class in PCC. Spoke with friends, neighbors. Now even though it doesn’t come naturally to me, I have made big improvements, especially in the last ten years when I worked in the medical industry, my communication skills with insurance companies, providers and other payers, have greatly progressed."
Rachelle's Reply
Very good answer! If you continue to take formal English training, be sure to mention this as well.
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Anonymous Answer
"I have improved on my project management skills since in this position, but it is something I would like to continue to grow in.
I also have very strong attention to detail. Sometimes, this attention to detail can turn into perfectionist tendencies.
In the past, I found this leading me to triple-check every item closely, proofreading emails to ensure I’ve communicated what I’m trying to get across in a clear, concise way, or fiddling with the layout of a presentation to ensure that it is perfect. I’ve since learned to successfully budget my time and gauge which tasks require, and benefit from, this precise attention to detail."
Rachelle's Reply
It's great that you show a work in progress, yet also noting why this weakness can be a positive at times, too!
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Anonymous Answer
"My weakness is language since English is not my native language. When I first started working, I had a difficult time to adapt because of language and cultural differences. I took English classes for a while. Over the years, I have come a long way. Still trying to improve and grow."
Rachelle's Reply
You are doing great, and the fact that you have learned an entire new language shows dedication and a strong capacity to learn new skills.
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Anonymous Answer
"I can’t seem to think of any at the moment!"
Rachelle's Reply
This would be a red flag to the interviewer and could cost you the job since this question is one of the most critical ever asked in an interview. Everyone has weaknesses and if you are not sure of yours, it unfortunately tells the interviewer that you are not self-aware in the workplace. I encourage you to think of a response that would be a skill you are working to improve, but not one that would be critical for your success in the job. I have provided an example, below. :)
Rachelle's Reply
"My technical abilities within Microsoft products are one weakness I have considered. For the past three years, I have worked primarily on Mac products. To overcome this, I have enrolled myself in an online course through Udemy focused on Microsoft products."
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Anonymous Answer
"I care too much about the health and well being of my coworkers and management alike. Sometimes, maintaining a very low profile saves me from extending myself too thinly."
Kristine's Reply
Great answer! While this is a weakness, it's not related to a core job responsibility. You also do a good job of laying out your strategy to avoid this problem. I revised your response for overall clarity and impact.
Kristine's Reply
"I care about the health and well being of my coworkers, so when they share a struggle, I want to help. However, I tend to make myself available to help co-workers, even when I have a full plate. When I feel like I'm at full capacity, I try to maintain a low profile to save me from extending myself too thin."
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Anonymous Answer
"Sometimes I can take a long time trying to find a solution to a problem by coming up with all possibilities and being stuck on which solution is the right one. Since I'm more aware that I do this, I try my best to go with my instinct on what is best to do, or I consult with my colleagues about my ideas to find a collective solution."
Rachelle's Reply
It's great that you completed your answer by expressing what you are doing to improve on this weakness. Well done!
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Anonymous Answer
"Everyone has weaknesses. I am impatient sometimes because I want to see results fast and always move forward. I manage this by setting small goals when I complete small tasks compared to the long-term goals; by doing this is it is easier to keep me motivated because then I still see results.
I tend to be too nice sometimes. When a client does not prioritize our work or are communicating appropriately, I tend to believe there must be a logical and understandable reason. I have to remind myself that they are paying for a service and then we must meet their expectations."
Rachelle's Reply
No need to point out to the interviewer that everyone has weaknesses. This could come off as skirting the question. Try to use words that are less of a red flag to an interviewer. Being 'too nice' is not the best weakness to give as many people say this. Try to stand out by mentioning a software skill, for instance, that you could improve on.
Rachelle's Reply
"I realized this year that my skills in (program or software) are not as strong as they could be. To overcome this weakness, I have enrolled myself in an evening course. Once I complete this course, over the next 12 weeks, I should rank as an advanced level user."
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Anonymous Answer
"When I speak in front of the large group, I will tend to talk faster and not take any pauses. This is something I have realized when teaching a class in front of 100 people. I now remind myself to pause by having a sip of water and take deeper breaths to allow for pauses when talking."
Rachelle's Reply
Public speaking is very hard to do, and it's awesome that you can teach classes so large. It seems you are taking steps to improve your public speaking skills even further.
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Anonymous Answer
"I get nervous when I get an assignment with a due date even though I know I will be able to do it."
Rachelle's Reply
Try to add in what you are doing to work on this weakness.
Rachelle's Reply
"I tend to become nervous with assignment due dates, even though I know I can complete them on time. To alleviate this, I jump into these assignments right away so that I know I can beat the deadline by leaps and bounds."
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Anonymous Answer
"I can improve food safety and handling. I did cover in the deli when coverage was needed, and I have a basic understanding of proper food safety, but I need more education in this area."
Rachelle's Reply
It shows strength to be able to admit where you need further training readily. Good answer!
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Anonymous Answer
"I’m a very creative person, and I love coming up with ways to solve problems. But, I’ve learned while working in Government not to push for the new way and to accept how things have been done in the past."
Rachelle's Reply
If you are applying to a Government position, this would be an offensive comment. This isn't so much a weakness of yours as it is a sideways burn on the Government's way of doing things. I recommend digging deeper to find a weakness that you could actively improve on by taking additional coursework, for instance.
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Anonymous Answer
"One of my weaknesses is my word per minute is stuck at 40. In order to improve my overall work efficiency, I am training my keyboard typing online every week."
Lauren's Reply
I appreciate your transparency. You are proactive in improving your rate per minute (RPM), which very positive.
Lauren's Reply
"One weakness I possess is my word per minute. I am actively working on improving my score by utilizing a keyboard training application on a weekly basis."
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Anonymous Answer
"One particular weakness is my tendency always to feel as though there is more that I could have done on a given task."
Rachelle's Reply
Try offering a response where you can display what you are doing to improve. I have included an example, below.
Rachelle's Reply
"One weakness I should mention is my tendency to overanalyze my work. For instance, I will revisit work once it's done, as I wonder if there were another angle I could have taken or a better approach. I am learning to trust my intuition better, knowing that I did an excellent and complete job the first time."
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Anonymous Answer
"I think perhaps I can get bored easily doing repetitive work. I usually deal with this by switching to something else to take a break and then coming back to it later.
I don't like to be micromanaged. Once I've a clear idea of what's expected, I can get stuck in. If I get stuck, I've no problem asking for help"
Rachelle's Reply
Try fleshing out what micromanagement means to you, as this can be a pretty broad statement.
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Anonymous Answer
"Although I consider myself to be a good communicator, my boss on occasion does not ask for clarification. I currently work two positions in the same office, requiring me to be in two different places at a time on occasion. My boss would not know my whereabouts due to misinformation. Since then I have made sure that his calendar shows where I am on the job, putting out signs on my desk, and ensuring that my phone is always within reach."
Rachelle's Reply
Try to think of a hard skill vs. a soft skill and what you are doing to improve on it. If I were the interviewer and you told me that your boss often could not find you, that would be a big concern.
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