Tell me about your biggest weakness

• Detail a real weakness
• Demonstrate that you are taking steps to improve your weakness
• Show that you can be effective in spite of having weaknesses

Why I ask this question:

I ask this question for three reasons.  First, I want to see how an interviewee will respond to a difficult, yet likely anticipated, question.  I want to know if the interviewee will try to dodge the question by responding with weaknesses that are really strengths.  For example: “My biggest weakness is that I work too hard”.  In my opinion, this is a cliché and obvious way to avoid directly answering a difficult question.  I strongly recommend picking an actual weakness.  The second reason why I ask this question is to determine if the interviewee is committed to continuous personal improvement.  If the interviewee is committed to continuous personal improvement then it should be easy for the interviewee to outline steps that they are taking to improve their weaknesses.  The third reason why I ask about weaknesses is to determine how the interviewee has managed to succeed in spite of having weaknesses.  We all have weaknesses, but people who are aware of their weaknesses can more effectively manage their work.

Example of a good response:

This response was given by a candidate for a Product Management position:

I recognize that one of my biggest weaknesses is public speaking.  In an effort to improve my public speaking, I have recently joined Toastmasters (an organization that helps people develop public speaking skills).  In the near future, I hope to act as the public voice for groups or projects that I am working on.  For now, I manage my weakness by being sure that I take on other responsibilities and allowing the public speaking roles to go to people who are proficient at public speaking.

Give me an example of a time when you disagreed with the direction taken by a group that you worked with and how you managed to deal with the situation.

• Present a situation where you had a different plan (not just that you disagreed with the direction taken)
• Make clear that objections to the direction taken were voiced at in the appropriate forum
• Demonstrate a willingness to put forward best effort in spite of opposition to the  direction taken
• Show success

Why I ask this question:

I use this question for two reasons.  The first reason is to determine if you are a team player who will give a full effort to a project even if you do not think that it is the best idea.  As a manager, I have been in the uncomfortable situation of knowing more about the future strategic direction of an organization than the people working for me.  Occasionally, as a result of this additional knowledge, I have had to steer groups away from what seemed like a great idea at the time.  I need to know that the people working for me will follow through to the best of their abilities even if they believe that another different direction would be better.  The second reason is to hear how you voiced your disagreement with the direction taken.  I believe that strong companies should encourage their employees to voice disagreement with impending decisions as long as it is done in the appropriate forum.  In my opinion the appropriate forums include planning meetings, any time feedback on a decision is solicited or in a private meeting with your direct supervisor.  I believe that when the decision is made final it is the duty of employees to put their best efforts into making the final decision a successful one.

Before I detail what I consider good responses to this query, I will share an experience from my career.  When I was the senior technical specialist with a large biotech company, we were hiring another specialist to join my group.  As the senior specialist, I was invited to participate in the interview process.  When all of the interviews were completed we were left with two potential candidates.  One of the candidates impressed us with her technical knowledge set and extensive experience.  The other candidate was younger with far less experience, but he impressed us as being a very quick study who was incredibly motivated and hard working.  Although there were pros and cons to hiring either of the candidates, I had a strong preference for the more experienced candidate as I felt that she could have an immediate and positive impact on our workload (at the time we were completely swamped with work).  My manager, on the other hand, felt that in the long run, we would benefit more from having the less experienced, but more motivated and harder working candidate.  We debated the merits of both candidates for 45 minutes in a private meeting, but when the meeting ended my manager decided to hire the less experienced candidate.  Unless they have read this blog, my co-workers still have no idea that the candidate who got the job was not the one that I had favored.  Additionally, when the new candidate started working with us I made a point of acting as his mentor and helping him develop the skills needed for success as quickly as possible.    To this day we still work together and the (formerly) new candidate has certainly proven to be very competent.

Example of a good response:

This response was given in an interview for a product marketing specialist:

I remember a product launch when, against my objections, the company that I worked for used a very budget conscious approach to marketing.  In the meetings leading up to the product launch, I advocated for a bigger marketing budget and a more aggressive campaign.  Our finance group opposed risking more money on marketing this product so we were limited to a conservative budget.  In spite of our budgetary limitations, and thanks to a lot of long evenings at work, we still managed to beat our sales target by 20%.

Tell us about yourself?

• Pertinent experience
• Relevant education
• Key skills that are unique to you

This is almost always the first question that I ask in an interview and I am constantly surprised by the number of people who have not prepared a concise response.  I view this question as the first chance for the interviewee to verbally summarize their skills and abilities as they relate to the open position.  Ideally the interviewee should consider this question a chance to differentiate themselves from their competition for the open position.  In simple terms, if you have unique or rare skills that are relevant to the open position then this is your chance to stand out from the competition.  Also, note that it is human nature to remember most clearly the first and last things that are communicated.  In terms of the formal interview this is likely to be your first chance to communicate. (Advertisers have used this tidbit of information for years by beginning and ending their ads with what they believe are the strongest selling points)

 

Examples of good answers

A truck driver interviewing to haul liquid hazardous waste:

"I successfully completed the ABC school of Trucking course in 1998, have been a long haul trucker for 12 years and have 6 years of experience hauling flammable liquids. I have a clean driver's abstract, a current license, and an up to date hazmat training certificate. This year, I was awarded my companies safe driver award in recognition of my years of experience without a single safety incident."

An engineer interviewing for a technical support role:

"I have a degree in electrical engineering from Caltech coupled with 5 years of direct work experience with "the product". I have also successfully completed American Management Association courses on communications excellence. At "an international conference in my area of expertise" I earned the award for outstanding oral presentation. Additionally, I have just developed a workplace training course on careful communications."

What You Should Bring to a Job Interview

• Additional printed copies of your resume and cover letter
• A USB memory stick with PDF copies of your resume and cover letter and contact information for your references
• Printed copies of contact information for your personal and professional references
• A plain black or brown portfolio with a clipboard
• A pad of lined note paper that fits neatly in the clipboard portion of your portfolio
• Two working professional looking pens
• Your current business card
• Copies of any relevant certificates or licenses

Initially, I was not going to include this list, but after interviewing six candidates for a highly skilled technical career, I now know that this is information that some people need.  This list is not complete for every situation.  Different professions will have different expectations for interviewees.  It is best to discuss the expectations for your chosen profession with someone who is currently working in the field.