How to answer "What is your greatest weakness?" | Hacker News Reader

How to answer "What is your greatest weakness?"

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28 pointsashleymoran36 comments

Before the interview, write on a small card, "My habit of over-preparation sometimes comes across as arrogance".

When asked the question, hand them the card...

I kind of like this question because it fairly allows me to ask something just as difficult back. For instance when it is my turn to ask them questions I could say, "Since I have answered my greatest weakness, I think it only fair to ask: What is the worst part about working here?"

Hopefully one would be comfortable enough to ask that question anyway. And hopefully their answer will be just as thoughtful.

And why not? It's a fair question. A seasoned manager will be able to answer that without blinking. "Some people think cubicles suck". "Open environment does not work for all". "This is not the place for someone that does not want to be under pressure to deliver". Easy to answer.

Why would it be uncomfortable to ask? It's dangerous to ask, though. If you ask it in a way that you come through as a smug, wanna-be-clever son of a bitch then the job interview is over.

So it's more of a danger to the one doing the asking unless he/she has good emotional intelligence. It's a fair question to ask.

What my brain actually understands: "Please try and fail to tell us why we should not hire you, in such a way that we can pretend to be fooled."

My greatest weakness? I hesitate between the temptation to spell out this translation to the face of my potential employer, and not having the balls to actually do so.

People hate this question, and they should love it. This question is your opportunity to bring out whatever you most want to be accommodated on. That way if you get the job, you are in a good position to negotiate what you need for your life.

Here are some examples that apply to various people I know (I actually have used one of these in interviews, but I won't say which one):

- I have considerable child-rearing duties, and my schedule has to revolve around that. I have little scheduling flexibility if you need me at odd hours.

- I am a very social person, I need to spend a certain amount of time every day actually talking with people or I'll go crazy.

- I am an orthodox Jew, so I have to leave early on Friday night.

etc

That's an interesting approach, but how many potential employers would raise an eyebrow if you mentioned having kids or being a social person as your greatest weakness? I know it would smell like BS to me.

It might smell like BS to you, but for the right person, both are absolutely not BS.

For example I have kids that I am the primary caregiver for. My wife is in a residency, so she can't be relied upon for child care. Therefore I cannot leave for work before the kids are in school, and I must return from work in time to relieve them from the childcare arrangements I have for them after school. No matter what is happening in my job, I have to do this. You cannot send me away on multi-day trips to a conference because I can't go. I can't stay for an emergency at work. My primary obligation is to my children.

Depending on the job this could be a minor detail, or an absolute deal breaker. Certainly it is something that I will need to have any potential employer be aware of and OK with. If that will be an issue, it is important that it be sorted out in the interview.

If you hear this in an interview and it still sounds like BS to you, I've done us both a favor. You won't hire me for a job I shouldn't be in. Because everything that I said is absolutely true.

On the off chance that you are reading this now that this is long off the front page: what I meant is that both having kids and having a social life is considered a strength, not a weakness, by most people.

I have kids too and I know what ordeal it can be, but "this is an ordeal" is not the same thing as "this is my biggest weakness".

You're right that it is something your potential employer would ideally be made aware of ahead of time, I'm just not so sure that doing so by way of calling it your greatest weakness is necessarily a good idea.

That said, good on you for taking good care of your kids, and I hope that things soon get a bit easier for you and your wife.

It may be a strength in your personal life. But as an employee, my commitments are a weakness. As much as employers may laud good parenting in the abstract, it is far from the top trait you want in an employee.

My line would be (and I suspect many HNers):

- I need to be intellectually challenged or else I get bored.

Yeah, but that line is used so often. Same with "I am a workaholic" which many people I know use.

>I haven’t actually described how you should answer the question What is your greatest weakness?

I can know yours; misleading blog post titles, and not answering the question.

If you wish to talk about 'what i think about stupid interview question X' then call it that.

But you don't get to choose your interview questions, and others here have actually given some insight into answering this question (use it to bring up your needs, to ask them tough questions, etc).

"What's your greatest weakness?"

"Sometimes I mix reality and imagination."

"And what's your greatest strenght?"

"I am batman!"

The whole point of this question is to see if you are looking to improve things. It's not (or shouldn't be) a trap. It's to see if the candidate says "I'm not happy with my X skills, and I'm trying to get better".

It's also a good honesty test.

The thing is, it only works when the interviewer knows it, and candidate doesn't.

I agree its a stupid question. Someone that has 30 years experience as CTO being asked that question I think it would be an insult. But it happens.

If I really like the job and this may be a problematic question, I usually say this (which in most part is true): "I think my weakness is my personal attention to all possible details at work. Yes, I have to admit I am a workaholic. I don't look at clock when working even if its very late evening I need to make sure my projects are top notch buttoned up!"

I know employers love that answers. They dont really care how screwed up your personal life or family relations are, whether you see your kids or not. They care if you are willing to let them squeeze last inch out of you for a paycheck or not. And my answer always work.

Unfortunately, I can't detect sarcasm over the internet.

But, your answer (along the lines of "I'm a perfectionist and a workaholic") is the most cliche answer possible. As an interviewer, I never ask this question to begin with. But whenever someone claims they are a perfectionist, then my bullshit meter goes crazy.

Trust me, employers do NOT love this answer.

"Girls are my greatest weakness. So am I for them. wink"

Be honest, that's it. They will figure out if you are a fit in the team sooner or later anyway.

Playing the brogrammer card might work to your advantage, depending on the interviewer.

I don't think they really care to know whether you are lying or not. People ask this question because they want to put you in a tricky situation and see how you react.

I've never been asked that in an interview - and I've been through a few in my time - but I'd probably say something like, "I'm not the kind of person who could be bothered to come up with pat answers to goofy questions".

I have the rather normal tendency, for a mathematician, to be a perfectionist, but I have been aware of this for a long time and accept that sacrifices must be made to deliver projects on time.

The point is to never give an honest answer. They _say_ they want to know how hear how weak you are but they _don't_ want to find out.

A person who reveals his weaknesses to anyone will be perceived as not dependable.

I often response with 'my greatest weakness is finding my weaknesses'.

Though I also regularly answer the 'what will you be doing in 5 years' with 'in 5 years I plan to know what I'll be doing in 5 years'.

How often and regularly do you have interviews?

Your often response is what I think mine is for real. Until I am challenged, I have blind-spots. All the ones that I think would be truthful come off as a canned response, and all the thoughtful responses I think of would be considered long-winded babbling.

I wish the article would go into how to shift the question/answer to make it meaningful. I don't think I will read a book on the off-chance it satisfies this.

"In five years, I see myself celebrating having worked 5 years for your company."

Answer "Sometimes I work so hard that I forget everything else, including my life outside of the workplace, and I understand that is not always a good thing.". Of course it's BS, but.

I think the best approach is to answer the question honestly. No good manager is under the illusion that they are getting Superman when they are interviewing you. They know that everyone has strong and weak points, and being honest about what you are and are not good at helps ensure that the position will be a good match.

If you don't know what your weaknesses are, ask your current and past supervisors and coworkers. You should probably do this anyway from time to time.

I see my greatest weakness as my temper. This isn't to say I allow my temper to interfere with my dealings at work, but I see it as a great personal weakness.

If I answer the question truthfully in an interview I can see the interviewers immediately lose all interest in me as a candidate. This means I can't answer the question-I have to lie and answer it with interview-speak which I hate.

'in the past I have had problems with ???, however I have recognised that and am working hard to overcome it'

To Quote David Mitchell:

"I'm a terrible thief, I just love other peoples things"

I'm not sure you'd get the job though :)

one time at an interview when asked about what my "typical day looks like", i couldn't help it and went with office space quote: "i get in 15 minutes late.. space out for an hour... i'd say in any given week i do about 15 min of actual work..." it was a bit of rough landing, and he sort of, but not entirely, got it.. but this was while talking to the hiring manager after passing all technical rounds (2 days of interviewing) so i was pretty confident i'd be ok. it made for a good story around the office months after getting the job..

Job interviews are my greatest weakness. I never seem to do well at them.

I always answer "bullets" and get a blank stare in response.

"I get irritated when people ask me stupid questions."

If I'm feeling lucky, I point out that my nick name in prep school was 'hubris' and that I earned it :)

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