How To Answer "What Is Your Weakness?"

Your palms are already sweating, and your knees are shaking. All of a sudden, you get hit by the question “What is your weakness?”

What a great way to calm you down!

Do you answer, “My weakness is being a perfectionist because I care about the little details too much”?

You certainly can, but your interviewer might internally roll their eyes and cringe from your answer.

Making it seem like you’re a perfectionist candidate might sound too dishonest and too good to be true.

Say what your true weakness is.

Be truthful, but don’t say anything that will impact how you work in the job position.

Say a weakness that doesn’t directly affect the role you’re applying for.

Scenario #1

If you’re applying for a UX designer role, you can say that,

“Public speaking is one of my weaknesses, but I’m actively working on it by attending workshops and volunteering to be a speaker for various classes”

Scenario #2

If you’re applying for a customer service role, you might say,

“Organization is something I struggle with. While it never impacted my work, over time, I realized how organization can help me with having a more efficient workspace. I’m constantly working on it by continuously challenging myself to organize and label my workstation.”

After all, you’re just a human being and the interviewer understands that. So, it’s okay to have a weakness…just not something that will affect the way you work.