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

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Focus Your Answer On
What to Avoid
Answer Example
Community Answers

The interviewer wants to hear about your greatest weakness as a Social Work Supervisor 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, if you say your weakness is your verbal communication skills, the interviewer may pass you over for another candidate since that skill is an essential part of being an excellent Social Work Supervisor.

Avoid describing a weakness that is a crucial responsibility as a Social Work Supervisor or one that is not work-related. The interviewer wants to hear what weakness in your profession you have identified and how you plan to improve.

"My greatest weakness is using the Prezi presentation software. I am confident in my skills using Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides but have little experience with Prezi. I see that is one of the job requirements, so I have been watching YouTube videos since I applied for the job to learn how to use the software. I also signed up for a 14-day free trial and have been navigating my way around the Prezi tutorials. I feel that I will improve my skills using the software in the next two weeks or so."

Anonymous Answer

"I feel my weakness is I can’t help but be a fierce advocate for people. If I see someone mistreated, or underrepresented in some way, I can’t help but to speak up for that person/ group of people."

Jaymie's Feedback

In social work, it's important to advocate for your clients, so the interviewer may not see this as a weakness. Can you go into more detail on why this causes an issue for you in the workplace or why you view it as a weakness? It's also important when responding to these types of questions to answer the second half about what you're doing to improve in this area.