The one question everyone dreads at a job interview is the one that seems to have no right answer. What is your greatest weakness? What is the best way to answer this question? You might be tempted to respond that your weakness is not that you are stupid enough to answer that question, but that won’t get you the job. Is there a correct way to answer this question? While there is no one magic answer, some are much better than others.

There are the two old standbys that many people use. The first answer is that you do not have any weakness which will affect this position. The second answer is that you are too much of a perfectionist. But let’s face it; no one is going to buy into either of these answers. The interviewer is going to sense that you are trying to con them.

The best thing to do is to be prepared. Come with a list of three weaknesses. The important thing to stress is that you are aware of these weaknesses and to tell what steps you have taken to improve them. This is key. Do not throw out minor weaknesses and just leave it at that. Give the interviewer a real weakness but then explain how you overcame it. Like Knute Rockne once said: “Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points. The following is what you should do.

Weakness 1.

I am not confident speaking in public. I was never comfortable speaking in public or in front of a group of people. I realized that I needed to overcome this and so I joined Toastmasters. That experience has helped to overcome my fear and now I no longer dread speaking in public.

Weakness 2. 

By nature I am not the most organized person in the world. I realized early on that this was something that I needed to fix and I experimented with different methods. Now at the start of the week, I break down what needs to be done each day and note it in my calendar. Organization might not have come natural to me but by prioritizing what needs to be done and when, I have no problem meeting my deadlines.

Weakness 3

I tended to be the type of person who over-stretched themselves when working on projects and I felt I had to be involved in everything. I took some courses on delegation and even read some books on it. Now I focus on doing what it is that I need to and this allows me to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities.