How to answer “What’s your greatest weakness?” in a job interview

How honesty and self-awareness can boost your hiring chances

“What’s your greatest weakness?” is one of the most popular interview questions and also one of the trickiest. Admitting your flaws is never easy, but the right answer could be your ticket to getting hired. 

It's all about being authentic and demonstrating that you're self-aware and committed to personal and professional growth. 

Here are some tips on how to answer this question effectively:

Be honest but strategic ✨

You should be sincere and choose a genuine weakness, just make sure it's not a critical aspect of the job you're interviewing for. Share how you overcame your weakness and what you learned from the experience.  

Highlight improvement

After identifying your weakness, describe how you have worked to improve it. This could include taking classes, seeking feedback from colleagues, or working with a mentor. This shows how you're actively working to improve yourself.

Be concise ⏰

Keep your response brief and to the point. A good answer to this question should take no more than a minute or two.  Then, quickly move on to discussing your strengths and how they make you a great fit for the job.

Frame it positively

Present your weakness in a way that highlights your self-awareness and your desire to boost your skills. 

One way to do this is by saying that you’re aware of your weakness and that you're working hard to turn it into a strength.

Practice your answer

Rehearse your response to this question with friends or by recording yourself. But don’t just memorize your answer, you don’t want to sound like a robot. 

You have to actually believe in your answer so you can deliver it with confidence and without hesitation.

Example responses

• “One area I have been working on improving is my public speaking. I used to feel nervous and stumbled over my words when presenting to large groups. To overcome this, I enrolled in a public speaking course and also started volunteering to lead meetings at work. I have received positive feedback from colleagues and am now much more comfortable speaking in public.”
• "One of my weaknesses is that I can sometimes get too caught up in the details of a project and lose sight of the big picture. However, I've been working on my time management skills and setting aside time each day to step back and assess my progress. By doing this, I'm able to ensure that I'm staying on track with the overall goals of the project."
• "I can sometimes struggle with delegation. I like to take on a lot of responsibility and have a hard time trusting others to do things as well as I would. However, I'm aware that this can be a problem, and I've been working on my delegation skills by identifying the strengths of my team members and empowering them to take on more responsibility. By doing this, I've been able to build a more effective team and achieve better results."

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