Weaknesses in a job interview – Question about weaknesses?
“What is your greatest weakness?” This is the question that everyone fears and there are few people who know how to answer correctly. It is something that you will be asked in one way or another during the job interview since after having described all your strengths and virtues, any self-respecting interviewer will also want to discover what your weaknesses or defects are.
The recruiter who asks you the questions knows that we all have weaknesses, and only wants to know more about your ability to recognize yours, and how you have learned to overcome them. To demonstrate that you have been able to identify your own weaknesses and above all, focus on explaining what methods or techniques you have followed so that they do not currently harm your work.
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How to talk about my weaknesses?
Although this seems like a question from which it is impossible to get any advantage, the truth is that with enough preparation, if you can get it to favor you. For this, it is clear that you must prepare a list with the weaknesses that you have and think about the best way to expose them, but do not try to memorize them to the letter as it is about being prepared, but not letting things go in a way unnatural.
“Be honest, but don’t be your worst enemy“.
They are not going to ask you directly, but you always have to take into account, mention those weaknesses or defects that are closely related to the world of work, and that has a certain importance. It is not good for you to cite examples that are irrelevant to that job, or to mention any weakness that falls within the personal field.
How not to talk about your weak points?
In the interview, you are expected to answer honestly, but nobody forces you to mention those weaknesses that could make you lose your job. As true as it may be, you should never say that your sheets stick in the morning and you always get to work on time. Or that it is terribly difficult for you to reach agreements with your colleagues because you have a complicated way of being.
It is the same idea that you would follow if you were a commercial and after explaining the benefits of your product to the customer, he would tell you: Now that I know how good this mobile is, tell me about a defect. At that time, no salesperson would confess the worst defects of their product, right? Or perhaps you imagine a vendor saying: The truth is that it consumes the battery in a breath and it heats up more than a toaster.
Well, the idea is the same, you are selling yourself and you cannot confess your worst defects at the first exchange, especially if you still do not know how to solve them.
Critical points when answering about personal weaknesses
- Do not mention those weaknesses or imperfections that you are still working to solve.
- Don’t give irrelevant examples. If you apply for a cook job, you shouldn’t say your weakness is computer skills.
- Do not talk about the greatest weakness you have, if that is going to prevent you from being part of the company. Be smart; you don’t need to self-delete.
- I think … I should … I would have to improve … SAY THAT. IS PROHIBITED!
- Weary alert! Forget to mention flaws, such as that you are too perfectionist or that you work too much, the interviewer is more than used to hearing. It will be Olympic those answers, and you may lose your chance to earn points.
Three examples of weaknesses you can say
- I am quite stubborn, but I have found that listening to the different opinions that exist in a group, always obtain better results.
- I am very clueless, but with the new applications on my phone and programs on my computer, it no longer costs me anything to remember all my appointments.
- My great weakness is being late, but I have understood that this affects my reputation, and thanks to my electronic calendar and other techniques. I have managed it well and corrected it, and now I always arrive ten minutes before any appointment.
These three examples of the weak points that you can mention in the interview, are just to give you an idea of the things you can say within a selection process. But you should always analyze yourself and see how your own professional career has been, you will see that with a little introspection, you will be able to find out what your own weaknesses are, or what weakness you were able to overcome in the past and how you did it.
2 Extra Examples
If you have always been told that you are slow doing your job, it is something that you know and that is part of you. But nobody likes to hire a slow one, even if you are a “perfectionist”. So you must also know how to express, how you have had to try harder to go faster, and in any case: you know how to give your best and adjust to the company’s quality and delivery time standards.
If you are somewhat clumsy, the principle is the same. It is something you know, and you must also know how to remedy it. It may be for something related to your height, for not getting enough rest, for a simple lack of coordination or concentration … In your case, you should already know how you have remedied it, so that little explanation should also be part of your answer.
Conclusions
Definitely. When you are asked about your weaknesses in a job interview in Dubai, you should try to expose real defects that have some importance, but that basically does not compromise you for that job, and that you can turn into virtues, thanks to your explanation of how you have managed to overcome them and how Now they have made you a better professional.
Talking about weaknesses in the interview is a very common exercise since it gives a lot of information to the company’s human resources personnel, and therefore it is one of the questions that you will encounter in almost every interview you go to. So I advise you, take your time for analysis and work on turning a complicated question into something that can benefit you.
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