“What is your greatest weakness?” Honestly, there’s no other interview question that feels like more of a trap. If you’re too truthful, you might scare the hiring manager and blow your chances of getting the position. But if you’re not truthful enough, you’ll lose credibility. So how do you make it to the other side of this tightrope-walk of an interview question unscathed?
A good rule of thumb is to pick weaknesses that won't really affect your performance in the role. For instance, someone whose biggest weakness is timidity might be fine as a software engineer, spending eight hours a day behind a computer. But for a salesperson, this can definitely be a roadblock—unless they can mask it pretty well.
That said, don't worry. Below, you'll find everything you need to know to ace the “What is your biggest weakness?” interview question.
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Why do interviewers ask, “What is your greatest weakness?”
It's not to trip you up. Instead, your interviewer wants to see if you’re self-aware enough to recognize a flaw, and then self-motivated enough to fix it. How you’ve responded to (internal or external) feedback on your weaknesses is likely how you’ll respond to future feedback, like on an important team project that’s not coming together.
Answering this question can be a great opportunity to highlight how you've overcome a challenge in the past—or are actively working to do so now. After all, everyone has areas that could use improvement, but if you can describe how you've mitigated yours, you’ll seem strong, capable, and in charge of your professional development.
To help you out, we’ve laid out how to answer this question, plus some weaknesses you might use and example answers for some of the most common ones.
How to answer “What’s your greatest weakness?”
Luckily, you can construct your answer to this question with a pretty simple formula:
- Clearly describe your weakness (preferably with specifics, not vague clichés hiring managers have heard hundreds of times).
- Give a short example of a time your weakness affected your work.
- Talk about what you’ve done to improve your weakness.
But putting together your answer is only one of the challenges here. The other is choosing a weakness to talk about.
How to choose a weakness to talk about in a job interview
If you were asked about your greatest strength in a job interview, your first instinct might be to pick a strength that’s integral to the job you’re applying for—and that instinct would be right. Predictably, when answering questions about your weaknesses, you’ll want to do the opposite.
Choose a weakness that, while honest, is not a vital piece of the role you’re interviewing for. No one wants to hire an accountant who overlooks the details or a salesperson who gets nervous making cold calls.
25+ example weaknesses for a job interview
Here are some possible weaknesses you might focus on, along with example answers for the most popular ones. Just remember to be specific about how they apply to you when answering this question.
1. Public speaking
Public speaking didn’t used to be such a common answer, but it’s definitely getting more popular. You can still use it, but flesh out your answers with examples so that your interviewer knows you’re being truthful.
Here's how to answer what is your weakness if you choose public speaking:
“I’ve heard that more people are scared of public speaking than death. Well, I wouldn’t say my fear is that extreme, but I definitely find it challenging to present my ideas in front of a crowd. As you can imagine, this has proven to be a career obstacle. I used to avoid speaking up at meetings and would turn down any assignment that included a presentation to a client—even though I knew it was vital to my professional development.
I recently joined the local Toastmasters club. We meet every Friday night, and it’s actually become one of the things I look forward to each week! In addition, I regularly volunteer to speak at team meetings. Even though they’re small, they’re definitely helping me feel more comfortable sharing my ideas. All of this experience has made it far easier to explain to a room that, say, we need to invest in big data software.”
Read this next: 17 Public Speaking Tips That’ll Help You Crush Your Next Presentation
2. Delegation
Difficulty to delegate tasks can be a weakness for many employees—especially as they progress in their careers and have more people to delegate to. But the specific way you struggled, the impact that had, and your current approach will be what sets your answer apart.
Here's how to answer what is your weakness if you choose delegation:
“Well, when I first started managing people I had a really hard time delegating. I would just think that it takes too much time to teach someone how to do something and just do it by myself. But when quarterly reviews came up, I saw what I’d been doing wrong. Not only was I dinged for missing a few deadlines, my teams’ evaluations of me said that they felt they weren’t learning.
I realized not only can I not do everything alone and expect it all to get done, but I don’t want to be the kind of manager who ignores my team’s professional development. So each time I get a new task I make sure to see if there is someone more suitable on my team to do it than me—even if that means training someone on a new task. I’ve noticed that’s made me a much better manager.”
Read this next: The 10 Rules of Successful Delegation
3. Time management
Many professionals struggle with a lack of time management skills. It's not a cliché to say you're a “perfectionist,” but you still have to elaborate on how it impacts your life and work, and what you're doing to improve.
Here's how to answer what is your weakness if you choose time management:
“At my last job, I realized I struggled with time management. It didn't directly affect my performance and productivity; however, it took a toll on my mental health and work-life balance. I realized that I would spend too much time on certain tasks and would blame myself for being too detail-oriented. I would constantly take work home with me, which increased my stress levels and could lead to burnout in the long term.
Fortunately, last year I came across an article about time management that strongly resonated with me. I decided it was time for a change and started implementing some of the exercises suggested in the article, like the Pomodoro Technique and the STAR method. Now, I finish all my tasks within my regular work schedule and have seen a big improvement in my time management skills.”
Read this next: These Time Management Skills Can Make You a Better Employee—and Improve Your Work-Life Balance
4. Writing
There's a difference between writing and writing well—and it's the latter that some professionals struggle with. Given that most jobs require some level of writing, whether it's emails or Slack messages, this is a genuine weakness you can mention in an interview.
Here's how to answer what is your greatest weakness if you choose writing:
“I struggle with writing—creative writing, to be more specific. I believe that as a salesperson, I never had enough time to actually develop creative writing skills. So, my emails and LinkedIn posts are usually pretty straightforward and simple.
Recently, I decided to enroll in an online creative writing course because I would like to awaken this side of myself. Even though writing is not on my job requirements, I believe it's an important skill to have in this digital era we live in.”
Read this next: Why Writing Skills Are Important for Every Job—and How to Improve Yours
5. Organization
Talking about organization as a weakness can be tricky because you don't want to come across as a sloppy, disorganized person. So, let the interviewer know that while you're not the best with making labels or having a neat laptop background, you still can effectively manage important documents, files, and items you use on a regular basis.
Here's how to answer “What are your weaknesses?” if you choose organization:
“When I first started working as a virtual assistant, I realized that I had a hard time keeping my space organized. Since I worked from home, I didn't put much thought into keeping a neat desk. However, it rapidly started to have a negative effect on me because I felt visually overwhelmed by all the post-its, notebooks, pens, and pencils.
That's when I learned that a pleasant work environment is extremely important, even when you're a remote worker. Now, I make a point of keeping only the items I really need on my desk and downsizing my organization systems. Instead of using dozens of post-its, I use organization apps like Notion and Todoist. These small changes definitely improved my workdays.”
Other acceptable weaknesses you might consider:
6. Attention to all the small details
7. Cold calling
8. Confidence
9. Decision-making
10. Explanations of complex or technical topics
11. Feedback acceptance
12. Feedback delivery
13. Grammar
14. Judgment of how much the small details matter
15. Math
16. Open-mindedness
17. Overly high standards
18. Patience
19. Phone conversations
20. Responses to vague instructions
21. Self-criticism
22. Self-esteem
23. Sense of when to stop tweaking or perfecting something
24. Sense of when to ask more questions
25. Timidity
26. Understanding of when and how to say no
27. Verbal, nonverbal, or written communication
How not to answer to “What is your greatest weakness?”
Here are examples of what not to say and better answers for a few of the weaknesses mentioned above, as well as some specific advice. Be sure to note how these answers avoid cliché responses and instead get more specific—and in turn sound more genuine.
1. What you could say instead of “perfectionism”
You might be a perfectionist, but your interviewer has heard this answer a billion times (and from plenty of people who aren’t actually perfectionists). By presenting the symptoms, rather than just naming the affliction, you’ll sound much more sincere.
Here’s one way you might do this:
“I tend to get caught up in the little details, which can distract me from the ultimate goal. When I was a junior web designer at Harold’s Hats, I was asked to revamp our size guide and make it more fun and visually interesting. Unfortunately, I became so fixated on finding the perfect font that I missed the deadline.
These days, I break each project down into mini-tasks, each with their own deadline. If I spend too long on an individual thing, I set it aside and move on to the next one. Usually, by the time I come back to the imperfect piece, I can be more objective about whether or not it needs more work.”
2. What you could say instead of “overly high standards”
This weakness is especially broad—in what areas are your standards too high? Are your standards too high for yourself or others? Be specific about when and how this has been an issue for you in your career.
So you could say:
“It can be difficult for me to gauge when the people I’m working with are overwhelmed or dissatisfied with their workloads. When I first started at my current job, I laid out what I thought were reasonable deadlines without consulting my team and by the end of my first month, we were behind on some KPIs and well ahead on others. Some of my reports mentioned being bored, while others felt overwhelmed.
So now, to ensure that I’m not asking too much or too little from my team, we have weekly check-ins. I like to ask if they feel like they’re on top of their workload, how I could better support them, whether there’s anything they’d like to take on or get rid of, and if they’re engaged by what they’re doing. Even if the answer is ‘all good,’ these meetings really lay the groundwork for an open and trusting relationship.”
3. What you could say instead of “workaholism”
Let’s face it: In many offices, workaholics get pats on the back, not admonitions to take it easier. Claiming to be one (whether it’s true or not) may sound like you’re bragging.
Here’s what to say instead:
“I need to get much better at knowing the difference between working hard and working productively. It’s easy for me to fall into the trap of thinking that long hours in the office mean I’m getting a lot done. But unsurprisingly, I actually do my best work when I’m not super tired or stressed. At my first job, I used to pride myself on 50+ hour weeks and the number of tasks I could get done rather than the quality of the work I was doing. But six months in, I was starting to feel burned out and my first performance eval included feedback about how sloppy my work was.
Nowadays, I’m making a huge effort to work smarter, not longer. I’ve begun responding to emails in batches so I don’t waste hours every day sorting through my inbox just so I could tell myself I responded to emails faster than anyone. I write down three goals every morning so that I’m focused on the priorities. I try to take my meetings outside so that I get some fresh air and exercise while we talk. These productivity changes have helped me compress the amount of work I accomplish into fewer hours—which also means I can produce higher-quality work.”
Frequently asked questions
1. What are the best weaknesses for an interview?
There's no one-size-fits-all weakness to mention in a job interview, but you should choose one that isn't a critical aspect of your job description and won't hinder your ability to deliver quality work in that specific role. For instance, if you're applying for a secretary position, effective phone communication skills are essential for fulfilling daily responsibilities—so it's not wise to mention this in an interview.
2. What are some common weaknesses?
People have many different types of weaknesses. Some involve interpersonal skills, like being timid and giving feedback, while others relate to technical skills, such as writing. Common weaknesses professionals often mention in job interviews include perfectionism, public speaking, and workaholism.
But remember, instead of going for the most common ones, it's best to choose a weakness that genuinely applies to you and that you're currently working to overcome.
3. Is telling weakness in interviews really necessary?
If the interviewer asks you “What is your greatest weakness?” you should definitely respond. This is one of the most common interview questions, and any job seeker should have an answer prepared. However, if the interviewer doesn't bring it up, there's no reason to raise the subject.
The bottom line
Whatever you choose to talk about, the trick is to sound genuine and to end things on a positive note. Rehearse your response so that you can give it easily and, more importantly, concisely—if you spend too much time talking about your flaws, it’s easy to dig yourself into a hole. Get past the “weakness” part of your answer as quickly as possible, so you can get back what’s most important: Your (many!) strengths.
Amanda Cardoso contributed to the latest version of this article.