What is your greatest weakness as a Court Clerk, and what are you doing to improve?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Focus Your Answer On
What to Avoid
Entry Level Example
Answer Example
Experienced Example

The interviewer asks this question to see that you are self-aware and can identify an area of weakness as a Court Clerk and take steps to improve. When you are motivated to improve yourself, it shows the interviewer that you want to be the best you can be in your profession.

Focus on a weakness that does not prohibit you from successfully performing your job. You do not want the interviewer to think that your weakness will inhibit your job performance. For example, a good answer would be that your greatest weakness is a lack of experience as a Court Clerk, but you are interviewing for this job to gain experience. Another example could be that your weakness is your typing speed, and you are taking classes to improve your speed.

Avoid saying your greatest weakness is one of the essential job skills mentioned in the job description. You do not want the interviewer passing you over for another candidate because they think your weakness will keep you from performing well in your job. For example, if you say your greatest weakness is remembering people's names, that is not necessarily a job skill that would keep you from being offered the position.

"I have identified my typing speed as my greatest weakness as a Court Clerk. I currently type at the speed you require for the position, 30 words per minute. However, my goal is to increase my speed to 60 words per minute. I purchased an app that helps improve typing speed, called '30 words in 30 days.' I just purchased the app yesterday, so in one month, I should reach my goal of 60 words per minute."

"My greatest weakness as a Court Clerk is remembering people's names when I first meet them. I identify this as a problem, and I am working to make this a strength. I purchased a memory and name recognition course from a well-known psychologist who teaches memory association. The course teaches you to put a name with an object to help remember names when you first meet someone. I am halfway through the course and have already improved by 50%. In another two weeks, I will complete the course and should be able to remember the names of everyone I meet."

"My greatest weakness as a Court Clerk is delegating tasks. I have fifteen years of experience. I quickly complete tasks and rarely ask for help. It was brought to my attention by a junior clerk that I do not give others assignments and prefer to do work on my own. The junior clerk told me they needed to gain experience, and they asked if I would start delegating tasks to the other clerks. Once the clerk brought that to my attention, I have been working on assigning tasks to others and will continue to work on this."