Tough Interview Questions: What are Your Weaknesses?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Two Questions About Building Consensus
This is the mirror question to the one asked in the previous column about your greatest strengths.
Whereas the answer to a question about your strengths can brand you as a blowhard, the answer to this one will be listened to carefully for what you perceive your deficiencies to be. The wrong answer is to answer directly, such as , “I don’t have much experience with _____________”. It is far better to disguise a strength as a weakness.
For example, when asked the question, pause, break eye contact with the interviewer, look as though you’re sincerely thinking about the question for a moment or two, as though it was the first time you ever heard this question.
Then answer, “Hmm. (pause) . . . I sometimes work too hard. When I receive an assignment, I think about the problem all the time. I tend to put in a lot of afterhours time massaging the problem and working on the project. Sometimes, after a few months, I’ve noticed I can become a little worn and will make a mistake. What then happens, it is a signal that I need a brief break get back to work.”
Answering in this manner tells them that you work extremely hard. Not a bad message to give an interviewer!
Video Interview Mistakes: Glare Off Your Glasses
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