How to Answer: What is your greatest weakness, and what are you doing to improve it?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Wildlife Officer job interview.
17. What is your greatest weakness, and what are you doing to improve it?
How to Answer
Tell the interviewer what your greatest weakness is, however by ensuring that this weakness can be a strength in this position.
Answer Example
"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."
Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback
Anonymous Answer
"I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to spend a little too much time perhaps checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done the first time correctly. I also time myself when I work to prevent myself from spending too much time on one project, and guaranteeing I'll have enough time to get to the rest of my work."
Rachelle's Feedback
It's great that you mentioned your weakness, but followed it up with the actionable steps you are taking to improve. Fabulous response.
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Anonymous Answer
"My greatest weakness is that I am a perfectionist. I like to make sure all my work is to standard, however, I do make sure it is in a timely manner to ensure deadlines are met."
Stephanie's Feedback
Why is being a perfectionist a weakness? What are you doing to improve in this area?
It is not a bad idea to spin this"weakness" question into a characteristic that is actually a workplace strength (example: perfectionism) but you need to make sure that you actually answer the question and reflect on the ways that you're working to grow professionally. In the "Revised Answer" section, I have included an example of how this response could be rewritten.
It is not a bad idea to spin this"weakness" question into a characteristic that is actually a workplace strength (example: perfectionism) but you need to make sure that you actually answer the question and reflect on the ways that you're working to grow professionally. In the "Revised Answer" section, I have included an example of how this response could be rewritten.
"One area of weakness that I am working to improve is that I naturally lean toward perfectionism. While this can be an asset to the workplace, since I always make sure that work is up-to-standard and deadlines are met, it can also be a weakness, because I sometimes find myself wanting to re-do work that doesn't actually need to be re-done, and I can also be pretty hard on myself when I experience a failure or setback. I am actively working to improve in this area by checking in with my supervisor, asking for feedback, and being self-reflective when I find myself becoming critical of my work."