"Whats your weakness..?" THE interview question..!!

[Darren_Test]

Guys,

This is one repeated question in almost all interviews...The fact being interviewer knows that you are not going to tell your real weakness but still he/she will be asking same old question every time...!!

So whats the best answer for this question...? Also for those who conduct interviews, whats the answer you guys expect..???

[smiff]

Only one answer to such a question - "Listening to inane questions from incompetent interviewers."

Seriously, this guff is a permie question, why on earth would a client ask this of a contractor who is being considered to solve their business problem(s).

[SirSickboy]

Easy, answer it with a positive, such as:

"I take a lot of pride in my work and like to develop the best solution to the problem that I can. This has, in the past, resulted in running over schedule, but I've learned to manage my time and focus on the task at hand better ensuring that I still deliver something I'm happy with but on time and on budget"

Do not answer with "18 year old slappers with big chests and short skirts"

[BolshieBastard]

There's only one answer for this question and its not the 'Im a bit of a perfectionist in my work blah, blah, blah.'

Just say 'if I do have a weakness, Im not about to tell anyone what it is!'

[TheRefactornator]

1) Something personal and not work related e.g. I'm useless at getting round to household chores - changing lightbulbs and fixing leaky taps...can give the impression you are focused on your professional life.

2) Something from the past, which you've have now learnt from e.g. xxxx months / years ago I'd have "xxxx some laborious task", but I learnt to set aside half an hour at the start of every day for it and it resulted in me being more on top of "xxx said task " than anyone else.

3) Something they will hopefully perceive as a strength e.g. I'm unable to leave a task once it is underway. I'm the type to persevere until a task is complete.

[Pogle]

I usually give it some guff about needing to know why I've been asked to do something as I need to understand whats behind the initial request blah, blah blah.. It the sort of thing they like to hear consultants say.

But my favorite question to ask when I'm interviewing is
"when was the last time you missed a deadline and why?"
And I don't really believe anyone who says they've never missed a deadline!

[Grinder]

But my favorite question to ask when I'm interviewing is
"when was the last time you missed a deadline and why?"
And I don't really believe anyone who says they've never missed a deadline!

That's an easy one! "x client prioritised quality & cost above time, so when the project hit a problem, the timeline was affected".

[Alf W]

"Eczema"

[Darren_Test]

I recently told some one "strength & weakness are very comparative terms. " If I compare my ability with more experienced guy my strength might be seen as weakness & vice versa..Also I added there is no weakness in me that makes me unsuitable for that role ..!! She didn't seems to have understood my answer..

BTW i didn't hear anything yet from that company..!

[scooterscot]

My weakness "Well I can be a bit of a perfectionist sometimes"