How to answer the “What are your weaknesses?” question
This is another question that causes people to stumble and lose confidence in themselves when trying to answer it without proper consideration and preparation.
Many people quickly say they don't have any weaknesses and try to get rid of the question. This is not an advisable practice. With this question, interviewers are checking to see how self-aware you are about your abilities and see what you are doing to get better.
It’s ideal to be honest with yourself and with the interviewers where you can get better in terms of skills and abilities. We all have areas we can get better in. Acknowledge that you have weaknesses, but use the answer to this question to show self-awareness and eagerness to improve and get better in areas you need improvement.
Here is the approach I take to answer this question:
Identify 2-3 of your professional skills that you want to improve upon and list them as areas of improvement needed (weaknesses)
List out strategies to improve these skills through taking responsibility and study (i.e reading books or taking courses)
Remind them of an example of how you overcame weaknesses in the past through intentional study and practice
Here is an example to model after:
Your interviewer may ask: “Can you tell us a little bit about your possible weaknesses or where you need to improve?”
“Absolutely! After examining my past experiences and noticing the skills gaps in my team, I recognized that I can further improve my skills in Project Management and Python skills to help me grow professionally while adding a lot of value to my team.
“I am taking steps to improve these areas by taking courses and reading books on the subjects such as ‘Agile Manifesto’ and ‘Python for Project Managers.’
“Based on my past success in developing skills in client relations and several others, I recognize that I have the ability to self-learn skills to overcome my challenges, and get better at them fairly quickly. I am pretty excited to grow my skills in these areas and help my team do better.”
Professionals know everyone has weaknesses and flaws. They want to know if you are aware of yours and whether you are taking the steps to improve upon them. Tell them clearly what you are doing, get better at your skills, and advance in your field.
That’s it for today!
Much love!
