What’s your biggest weakness? Everybody hates that question. But, it’s one of the most common questions that recruiters ask. I’ve interviewed countless professionals where the person is either thrown off guard by the question or simply states that they are a perfectionist or procrastinator. When asked about your weakness, the last thing that you want to say is that you’re a perfectionist. You’ll be seen as evading the question and the interviewer won’t be convinced that perfectionism really is your biggest weakness. It’s the oldest, ineffective answer in the book. And, by the way, procrastination isn’t a great answer either. An employer doesn’t want someone who will procrastinate on accomplishing tasks. A big, red flag!

We all have weaknesses and employers realize this. Your ability to pinpoint your weaknesses gives the interviewer perspective on your level of self-awareness. It also shows your ability to identify personal opportunities for growth and your dedication to improve. The key here is to identify a weakness that won’t interfere with you performing the essential job duties. Once you identify the weakness, you will need to provide the steps that you’ve taken to improve that weakness.

A Sample Answer – “I realize that as I progress within my career, my ability to flawlessly deliver presentations to large audiences will be extremely valuable. So, this is an area that I am very passionate about improving. I joined Toastmasters, an organization dedicated to enhancing public speaking skills, which has allowed me to further improve my presentation skills. And, I use every opportunity possible to present to large audiences. With each presentation that I deliver, my skills continue to improve and I feel extremely confident about the messages that I am able to convey.”

This answer is effective because it provides a real weakness and tells the interviewer what he/she has done to improve the weakness. Important note – always do your homework by determining what’s important for the job and what isn’t. If presentation skills are important for the position, then you don’t want to use that as a weakness. And if it truly is your weakness, you may want to consider whether you should be applying for the position anyway. But, that’s a completely different discussion.