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How to answer "what is your biggest weakness" questions in a job interview?

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Question added by Dina Khatib , Brand and Communications Manager , Bayt.com
Date Posted: 2015/06/14
Sumeet Bali
by Sumeet Bali , Dy. Director - HR , Amity University Mumbai

ANSWER : My major weakness is that I cannot sit Idle. I always strive to learn new things to enhance my career and perform at the ultimate, with new ideas in my present job, whenever I am Idle.

Dear Mrs. Dina Al Khatib! The answer to this question is: I do not have any weakness! Weakness is something what other people see or try to find within my personality. That means every single men or women is like she/he is and this is perfect because as being as you are you are perfect just like every body else. The weakness or other disadvantages which others see in my personality are the subjective way to watch or see me.

Nkondog Anselme Vencelas
by Nkondog Anselme Vencelas , Senior Software Engineer , Afrimalin Group

Over confidence in myself causing me something to underestimate risk.

Muhammad Abdul Aala
by Muhammad Abdul Aala , Deputy Manager HR , Mezan Group

It is always very tricky to discuss your weakness in job interview. Always try to do some home work before appearing in an interview session and focuses on your positive weaknesses and always keep in mind that for which post you are applying for and never discuss such weakness which creates negative impact on your professional growth as.

i) i love to join club parties.

ii) i love alcohol.

iii) i am a short temper guy.

iv) i cant able to work under pressure.

 

Instead of them always try to answer as

i) I can easily trust others by which sometimes I face lose.

ii) I am so much perfectionist by which i take time to perform assigned tasks.

iii) I am a friendly nature person by which its difficult mo to remains in "Pin Drop Silence" mode. 

Samir Joshi
by Samir Joshi , Senior Manager , eSmart Swap Pvt Ltd

While answering this question, be sure that your weakness is in pour favor and ill be beneficial for he Organization. Ex - I get restless if I don't find the right solution to a probe....

You need to prepare an answer in advance to this question; regardless of how obnoxious you think it is. You can’t say you have no weaknesses, but you also do not want to talk yourself out of a job. Instead, list a negative that also shows a positive characteristic and specify how you have addressed the issue. For example, “Always remember that what the interviewer wants to know is – whether you have any shortcomings/weaknesses that are directly going to affect your performance at the job. If you are applying for an investment banking job and you say, “My biggest weakness is that I'm not comfortable with numbers”, you can be sure that they're not going to hire you. If you are applying for a secretary’s role and you say, “I'm weak at multitasking”, then you're probably not going to be selected. Basically, the interviewer wants to ensure that you do not have any weaknesses that are going to be an obvious hindrance to your work.

 

Examples : I am less confident when it comes to certain expertise of work and i am working on it and attending courses to catch up with it.

Malekulashtar Kheyroolla
by Malekulashtar Kheyroolla , Practice Director , Information Asset LLC

This is a common question which I personally feel should not be asked as it does not serve any purpose. An applicant is never going to expose his weakness - let's be real - he wants the job! The person will give a 'fluffy' answer.

 

This is a good question to ask while conducting reference checks. If you do not want to ask about 'weaknesses' you can ask 'What according to you are areas of development for the candidate?" - this makes it sound positive.

 

If you ask a the candidate for his strengths and then ask him/her for examples on a couple of them - it will give you better insight. 

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