Best Interview Answer: “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”

By Selipha Kihagi

If you have come across this question one time or the other, you must have thought of the best way to answer it. Do you tell the truth about your weakness and miss out on the job? Or do you just tell a believable lie and impress your interviewer?

Whichever you choose to go with, one thing that is clear is the hiring company or recruiting company wants to know what it is you consider a fault and how it would affect your job at the company. So, as you go about the answer, it is important that you factor out what you want to convey to your employer.

Some people may be quick to say they don’t have a weakness but the truth is, everyone does so make sure you find out what your weakness is before going for the interview. Asking your friends and family to suggest what they consider your greatest weakness will help you in discovering what it is.

So, what do you say is your greatest weakness?

There are different ways you can address this question, but let’s focus on the common and right way you can go about it – being honest.
Be honest and demonstrate you are aware of your faults but are working on it

Lying is never a saviour when approaching this question, you need to show the employer that you are self aware of what you are good at and what you are not good at. You also need to show the interviewer that you are working on the areas you lack in so you can be better at the job.
An answer here would read something like this; “I have had issues with speaking in front of a large audience; one time I was doing a presentation in campus and could only mumble to myself. It was such a bad experience that I was booed out of stage. I later started practising with smaller groups of people, took up a class on public speaking and recently took part in a conference where I had to give a speech. I did tremble during the speech, but the feedback keeps getting better with time.”

The trick to answering this question is to focus on a skill you have been lacking in, but demonstrate that you have done something about it and continue to work on it.
Weaknesses can vary depending on your profession or your level of study, but the answer to this question is not really that different. Remember to focus on a real weakness and avoid lying that you don’t have one or that you are quite the perfectionist, say something believable.