Behavioral Question: "What's Your Biggest Weakness?"

When an interviewer asks "What is your biggest weakness", they want to find out:

• Whether you have a healthy level of self-awareness
• Whether you can be open and honest, particularly about shortcomings
• Whether you pursue self-improvement and growth opportunities to combat these issues, as opposed to letting these weaknesses hold you back

Ultimately, you'll want to use this question to demonstrate how you've used a weakness as motivation to learn a new skill or grow professionally. Everyone has weaknesses - your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect.

However, it's critical you avoid mentioning weaknesses that will prevent you from performing well in the role. For instance, if you're applying for a data analyst role, you don't want to say, "I'm not very good at math and struggle with numbers."

We suggest using a "Sandwich Technique" where you take a trait that is considered a strength of yours and you then identify how it could also be considered a weakness. Then conclude with how you've learned to adapt for that weakness.

Examples:

"I don't always have much patience when working with a team -- I am incredibly self-sufficient, so it's difficult when I need to rely on others to complete my work. That's why I've pursued roles that require someone to work independently. However, I've also worked to improve this weakness by enrolling in team-building workshops. While I typically work independently, it's nonetheless important I learn how to trust my coworkers and ask for outside help when necessary."

"I'm incredibly self-motivated, and I sometimes find it difficult to delegate responsibility when I feel I can finish the task well myself. However, when I became a manager in my last role, it became critical I learn to delegate tasks. To maintain a sense of control when delegating tasks, I implemented a project management system to oversee the progress of a project. This system enabled me to improve my ability to delegate efficiently."

"Oftentimes, I can be timid when providing constructive feedback to coworkers or managers, out of fear of hurting someone's feelings. However, in my last role, my coworker asked me to edit some of his pieces and provide feedback for areas of improvement. Through my experience with him, I realized feedback can be both helpful and kind when delivered the right way. Since then I've become better at offering feedback, and I've realized that my empathy can be used to my advantage to provide thoughtful, productive feedback."