Question by Maribel: Whats a good answer for the interview question” What are your weaknesses?”?
This is for a Best Buy interview with the GM tomorrow.I’ve seen that a lot of ppl use the perfectionist thing but I’m not a perfectionist. Maybe something around the lines of overthinking too much? idk or putting my thoughts into words?? Help! I’ve always had trouble with this question.
Best answer:
Answer by Lucy T
How about sometimes take on too much at one time? That shows how enthusiastic you are, yet have (in the past) sometimes gotten in over your head.
Give your answer to this question below!
Bullets are my weakness. That and terradactyls.
Comment by GeeGee — August 30, 2010 @ 8:08 pm
A positive weakness like.. always wanting to help other or always aiming for perfection.
Comment by sugah — August 30, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
The best way I heard to answer this question was to pick a small flaw and then follow it up with a story about how you are working to overcome it. For example, you can say that in the past you’ve had trouble making sure you’re prioritizing when multi-tasking, so to address the problem you made yourself keep really good notes and created a schedule to help you deal with the most important tasks first. So pick something small that’s not a glaring fault, then demonstrate how you’re working to fix it. You can even skirt the question entirely if you tell about something that used to be a weakness, but that you’ve now worked on and feel good about.
The “I’m a perfectionist” line is way overused and employers know it!
You can also try to be funny and say, “My golf game is terrible, ” or something, but be prepared to come up with something substantial afterward.
Comment by Smeeks — August 30, 2010 @ 9:40 pm
good to use something thats not related to the job…..for example u can say…..im no good with fixing cars/electronics……..or….i’m not very god with my directions/navigation…..if pressured to relate it to work……u might say something along the lines of…..i find it difficult saying no to more work even though i might be already inundated……hope these lil thoughts juggle ur memory…..all d best
Comment by Akay — August 30, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
This question is designed to test your critical thinking and skills under pressure. If you say I eat when I’m nervous that probably isn’t too good of an answer. You gotta think up something that will relate well to the job your applying for. Like “sometimes I get too caught up in getting everyone on board for an idea or new project,” for a leadership or management position. You could be more assertive and say that, “My weakness is that I absolutely insist upon making consensus decisions with those I work with for a management position. If it’s customer service you could say that your “weakness is a tendency to remember everyone’s names and that this causes people to interact with you and can some times get in the way of my efficiency, but of course I am mindful of this and work to balance doing my job with my politeness.” Just find something that you like and that you prefer to do well and say that “at times I may get caught up in seeing this done to perfection and I must remember to balance this desire with the need to accomplish other duties as well,” you might add, “but of course I am mindful of this,” if you really wanna lay it on thick. You could also use a shorter more values based approach like saying, “I am honest to a fault in all things.”
Hope this helps.
=^ )
Comment by Chris Smoke — August 30, 2010 @ 9:59 pm
It’s a tough question, almost a trick question.
I like ‘I tend to be too meticulous at times’, or ‘I am too much of a perfectionist’; both can lead to your not completing the job on time because you prefer to complete a job to your entire satisfaction rather than submitting under-par work. But be careful with this: depending on the job, quality maybe the priority, or completing the job by a specific deadline may be the priority.
I also like ‘I tend to be over-demanding of the workers I am in charge of, because I naturally expect the same work standards from them as I expect from myself.’
Or, ‘I often overstress myself, because I tend to put completion of the job as a priority over my own health.’
Or, ‘I have a tendency to get annoyed with my superiors when they apparently pay no attention to my carefully thought-out suggestions.’ (That’s a little dangerous, you have to be pretty sure of yourself…)
The important thing is to consider your true talents, and think about what (preferably minor) disadvantages they may entail.
Comment by dingodevil — August 30, 2010 @ 10:36 pm