What are your weaknesses?

“I’m an overachiever”

“I struggle with perfectionism.”

Have you ever said either of these things during a job interview? Chances are, you were answering “what are your weaknesses?” and you weren’t doing the greatest job.

At some point in any job interview, you’re probably expecting to be asked “What is your greatest weakness?” or some variation like “If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?” or “What would your previous manager say you struggled with?”

You might have even heard that you should avoid this question by responding with something that is usually perceived as a positive. Maybe this worked in the past. It doesn’t work now.

We’ll look at why this is a terrible way to answer and how you can identify an actual weakness to talk about that doesn’t hurt your chances of getting the job.

I’ll even give you some examples so you can identify your own weakness to talk about if you’re asked during a job interview.