Interview questions 101: how to answer “what are your weaknesses?”

Understanding a potential job candidate’s strengths and weaknesses is something that helps businesses decide whether the person could be a good fit for their company’s culture and approach to work. 

With this in mind, “what are your weaknesses?” is a common question that arises in interviews, so it’s important to have a self aware and relevant response prepared. This article will explore why employers ask this question, how you should prepare your response and what to avoid mentioning.

Why do interviewers ask this question?

It may seem confusing as to why an interviewer would ask you what your weaknesses are. To candidates, it can sometimes feel like they’re trying to catch you out. In fact, most companies will ask this question to assess your honesty and self awareness. 

No one is perfect, but as an employee, knowing what your weaknesses are shows that you’re aware of your flaws  and can work on improving them. If the company chooses to employ you, fixing any performance issues or lack of experience is also something they can help to train you on or pair you with a buddy who’s an expert in that area.

Lots of people don’t have any self awareness of what their weaknesses are – and this question highlights who those people are when they respond with “I don’t have any!”

Good weaknesses for an interview answer

While it’s good to be able to flag and explain a weakness, there are some vices that are a better answer in this scenario than others. For example, you don’t want to say your weakness is writing if you’re interviewing for a writer job (and it may be best to look for another job if that is the case!)

How you phrase your answer is also important so you can make it clear you haven’t just identified an issue, but are working on it as well. 

Below, we’ve listed some example weaknesses you might have, and how to expand on why this is a weakness for you in a way that will result in a positive reception from the interviewer.

“I struggle to delegate work”

“I can sometimes find it difficult to delegate a task to someone else if I know I can complete it to a good standard myself. This is because I take a lot of pride in my work, but I understand this isn’t ideal when in a team leader position. 

“In my previous role, delegation became crucial as my workload increased. I overcame this weakness by setting up a project management system that enabled me to quickly have an oversight of the progress of each task within a project.”

Managerial or supervisory roles tend to be jobs types that need to delegate, and a crucial skill for success is problem-solving. This response demonstrates your approach to problem-solving as a whole, as well as showing self awareness. Noting how you feel you can complete work to a great standard also shows confidence.

“I’m hard on myself”

“I hold myself to a very high standard with my work, which can leave me feeling burnt out. I am trying to overcome this by acknowledging I always do my best and, instead of listening to it, ignoring the critical voice in my head. I also make sure to take time to rest outside of work and do activities I love away from a screen, like reading and going for runs.”

Describing how you can be tough on yourself shows the interviewer that you are focused on producing a high standard of work at all times. Explaining how you’ve found ways to unwind after work to avoid burnout also demonstrates self awareness and motivation to improve.

“I focus too much on the finer details”

“I see being detail-oriented as one of my key strengths, but this can backfire if it means I spend too much time on certain aspects of a project. I’m working to improve this by tracking my time on smaller tasks to ensure that I don’t overrun on jobs that don’t need a huge chunk of time spent on them, freeing up time that can be spent more wisely.”

Being detail-oriented is a positive skill overall, so while acknowledging that you can focus on the small stuff too much, it’s also showcasing a key attribute to the interviewer. Having a sharp focus on the smaller details also shows that you can help a business avoid mistakes.

“I can struggle working with some personality types”

“As an introvert, I have struggled to work with loud, dominant personality types in the past. I know co-workers with this personality can play an important role within a team structure, so I’m working to overcome this by acknowledging their contribution to a business and learning from what these traits offer – especially when it comes to tasks like public speaking or being a leader.”

Most people struggle to work with at least one personality type, so this response is relatable to an interviewer. Noting that you understand every personality type contributes something different to a team shows self awareness and open mindedness – and also demonstrates how you’re a team player.

Variants of ‘what are your weaknesses?’

While the phrasing ‘what are your weaknesses?’ is commonplace in interviews, a potential employer may word it slightly differently. You should expect to give  a similar response to each question, regardless of how it is posed.. Other similar questions may be:

• What would you say you’re not so good at?
• What would you consider as a key area of professional improvement you’d like to work on?
• As your employer, what could we help you improve on professionally?
• We offer a lot of training opportunities at our business. What training would you be interested in doing to improve your existing skill set?
• Tell us about a scenario where you’ve overcome a work task you’ve struggled with.

Creating a positive from a negative

We all have a weakness. But how we respond to that weakness can turn it into a strength — which is why it’s smart to have a good answer up your sleeve to this popular interview question as a candidate, and why it’s a great question for interviewers to bring up. Discussing professional weaknesses with a candidate is an opportunity to test their self-awareness and desire to improve. For more tips on interviewing, read our hiring guides.