I’ve got a round 1 telephone interview this afternoon, I’m bound to be asked what are my weaknesses…

Chocolate, shiney bike parts and rough girls probably aren’t answers he’s looking for.

Any sensible suggestions for some BS weaknesses?

Job is Business Development Manager.

Thanks

I am very self critical and always looking for ways to improve my performance and sometimes that makes my impatient.

I’m intolerant of negative people around me and that sometimes means I have to bite my tongue.

I am really competitive so when I don’t perform at my best it frustrates me.

Try those always good for a BDM.

no as it is a really crap question that says please lie to me for th enext few minutes

It is done to test you have some awareness of yourself
My advice

1. Pick a weakness they already know – i dont know the area or similar that you will quickly redress

2. present a weakness and spin it as a strength

I find it hard to delegate tasks as i prefer to see task through to the end

I said I only had two weakness. the first was I was a workaholic and the second was that i was prone to outbursts of inappropriate sarcasm at times of strees

Did not want the job by this point though

DP

I browse STW far too much

Try and judge which side of the following fences you want to sit on dependant on the interviewer.. you can answet these in either direction

Pendantry – Like or dont like

Personalities e.g. you either care about the type of people you work with or your dont.

Speed or Pace of work, again it could be fast or slow

Crack, smack n whores. FTW.

FIFY

I never have an answer for that question…that’s my weakness.

“my greatest weakness? Honesty”

“I don’t see honesty as a weakness”

“I don’t give a **** what you think”

I have no weaknesses. They call me the Terminator.

Agree, it’s a ridiculously stupid question by there you go..

I’ll probably look to spin being a pedant into an area for improvement or something.

Who’d ever pay for their own crack, smack and ho’s?

Best I ever heard was, “I’m not really that keen on cats.”

Was hiring a sales person, wanted someone with a bit of character.

He got the job there and then. It was delivered with real conviction, but clearly with a sense of humour too!

“A characteristic which is a weakness in one role is a strength in another. My weaknesses are the sort you would probably find in all of your best business development managers.”

Then ask them to list the weaknesses of their best staff and do a non-committal “mm hmm” to one or two.

And FFS don’t come out with the usual cliches about “I work too hard, am a perfectionist etc.” You might get away with “I try to bust my quota by Thursday so I can relax a bit on Fridays – actually I do my best work when I’m relaxed”.

LOL @ the Captain

my weakness is that I am beautiful and perfect and I find interviewers have a hard time overcoming their jealousy of me.

that would work a treat.

otherwise its a crap question and they will get the same answer over and over, like everyone in the world is a perfectionist or cant delegate, etc etc

tell it like it is, you have a “propensity for shorn scrotums and buggery”
.

A weakness for boning the Boss’s wife?

it’s a terrible question, but if you do get asked it, say something, doesn’t really matter what, then detail how you’re working to address those weaknesses….

A former boss of mine told me that one interviewee, when asked this question, replied, “I cause trouble and annoy people.” 😆

Guessing they had something else lined up.

I outsource all my thinking to a bunch of middle aged geezers on a bike forum.

How about “like most people, deadlines always seem to used to their last available second, but I enjoy working under pressure..” or some other similiar tripe

badnewz, unkle and Sancho – I thank you for those!

Junkyard – lazarus

DP

Is this really a weakness? (providing it’s not in work time….) 😈

“and finally, what would you say your wea..”

“busty babes and answering questions too quickly”

Within 6 months of starting this position I will have come to hate and despise you all and will be spending my days dreaming about your brutal and violent deaths…

Oh and I sometimes just say stuff out loud without thinking…

Don’t try the cliche cheese route and turn it into a positive:

IE: I’m too much of a perfectionist

0r

I am very self critical and always looking for ways to improve my performance and sometimes that makes my impatient.

Just be honest and genuinely say a weakness. An aspect of your job you’re not the best at or don’t enjoy as much as the rest.

Within 6 months of starting this position I will have come to hate and despise you all and will be spending my days dreaming about your brutal and violent deaths…

Oh and I sometimes just say stuff out loud without thinking…

in the confused pause scream

I LOVE YOU and look like you will kill them

FTFY

“Sometimes I take things personally. Too personally.”

At this point, raise your trouser leg a little to reveal the presence of an electronic tag. At least they’ll know you care.

“you”

flash a bit of leg and wink

“I react badly to rejection and have violent tendencies”

Meanwhile in the parallel world of Facebook, one of my mates started this thread:

Matthew Gaunt
has been talking with his work colleagues about what good answers you can give when you’re at an interview and you are asked “And what are your weaknesses?”
5 hours ago
LikeCommentShare

Matthew Gaunt “Plumbing”
5 hours ago · Like · 1

Matthew Gaunt “I can never accurately tell my barber how I want my hair cut”
5 hours ago · Like · 1

Matthew Gaunt “I always miss a bit when I mow the lawn”
5 hours ago · Like · 2

Matthew Gaunt “I look shit in tight jeans”
5 hours ago · Like · 1

Jamie Wilkinson “A Rom-com and bottle of lambrini”
5 hours ago via mobile · Unlike · 3

Sue Agland I have difficulty telling the difference between seagulls and pigeons!!
5 hours ago · Like · 1

Matthew Gaunt “Sometimes I indicate wrongly on roundabouts”
4 hours ago · Like

Keith Wood “apart from all those people under the stairs I have no weaknesses – the master does not tolerate weakness”
4 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Matthew Gaunt “I find it really difficult to hold in my wind. Oh, like just then! Sorry”
4 hours ago · Like · 2

Murray Chapman “Intolerance of lazy, stupid questions”
4 hours ago · Edited · Like

Matt Scott “Weaknesses, what weaknesses? Buhahahaha….”
4 hours ago via mobile · Like

Keith Wood such awkward questions excite me as you can see !!
3 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Murray Chapman @Keith – I need mind bleach
3 hours ago · Like · 1

Daphne Pontefract Good thread…
3 hours ago · Like

Penni Nicholas If only they had you lot appearing on the apprentice interviews last night. That would have made great tv
3 hours ago via mobile · Like · 1

Keith Wood that blonde girl has a strange accent given she is from Leeds apparently
3 hours ago · Like

Gordon Tredgold jaffa cakes, gin and thai hostesses
2 hours ago · Like · 1

Tim Metcalfe “I work too hard”
2 hours ago · Like

Matthew Gaunt Tim Metcalfe, Aha, the old “create a weakness by taking a positive to extremes” gambit! Every interviewer is surely wise to that! “I am too helpful”. “I sometimes get too enthusiastic”, “I ask too many questions when I don’t know something” etc..etc…
2 hours ago · Edited · Like · 1

Murray Chapman “I’m hard work!”
2 hours ago · Like

Keith Wood “I can do a Rubiks Cube in under 3 minutes and people think I’m a nobhead”
2 hours ago · Like · 4

Matthew Gaunt “I am too indecisive. Or aren’t I? What do you think?”
2 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Murray Chapman “Bladder control. Sorry, have you got a mop?”
2 hours ago · Like

Murray Chapman “I’m always posting on Facebook when I should be working”
2 hours ago · Like

Andrew Cook “I find it difficult to shut off from work, if I have something on my mind or something unfinished I have to complete otherwise it plays on my mind” but I would go with the Jaffa cakes as I am eating some now!
2 hours ago via mobile · Like

Lee Fletcher I’m not very good at wiping my backside which causes me to have to scratch my bum in the afternoon.
about an hour ago via mobile · Like · 1

Keith Wood my dad sadly died when I was 18 so I’m off to go on BGT and X Factor after this
about an hour ago · Like

Matthew Gaunt “I’m shit at slicing bread. My slices only go halfway in the toaster then they get stuck.”
about an hour ago · Like

Murray Chapman “I sometimes forget to start Strava before a ride even though I put on the HRM”
about an hour ago · Like · 1

Matt Scott “Sorry, what did you say? I wasn’t listening”
about an hour ago via mobile · Unlike · 2

Murray Chapman That explains the number of interviews you’ve had Matt Scott
about an hour ago · Like

Richard Owen “What’s your greatest weakness?”
“Honesty.”
“I don’t think honesty is a weakness.”
“I don’t give a **** what you think.”
48 minutes ago · Unlike · 2

Matt Scott “Not recognising my weaknesses”
47 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Matthew Gaunt “Not being able to control my insults, faceache”
7 minutes ago · Like

Matthew Gaunt I still like Sue Agland’s one “I can’t tell the difference between seagulls and pigeons”. If a candidate ever said that to me, they’d get the job and when they started they’d have this on their desk

I only have one weakness and it really isn’t much of a problem, in fact all but three times I’ve come out of the blackouts I’ve not been covered in other people’s blood or standing over a body.

Just say “I don’t do bullshit, next question”…

your sweetness

I can’t resist a well shaped lug, or a curvey seat stay bridge, maybe a bespoke pewter headtube badge or even the ping ping of a hot rotor.
mmmmm, bicycles.

your sweetness

😆

Sniffing the office chairs of fat ladies on a hot day.

And FFS don’t come out with the usual cliches about “I work too hard, am a perfectionist etc.”

Part of me thinks, if they’re going to google stock interview questions, they should expect googled stock interview answers.

That said, it’s not wholly without merit as a question; it weeds out the unprepared for a start, and it can solicit some brutally honest answers if people don’t think through what they’re saying. I had one interviewee fess up that he had anger management issues and was looking for work currently as he’d started a fist-fight with his previous boss.

I used to use the ‘perfectionist’ one, largely because it’s true; I’ll get hung up on doing one job properly rather than doing three jobs badly, which isn’t always ideal. I mostly got away with it, though I’ve been challenged at least once; “well, that’s not really a weakness is it, what are your real weaknesses?”

A better tack might be to have a weakness which you’ve got a workaround for. For instance, my memory’s crap, but I deal with that by writing things down.

I think that what this thread shows is that a good answer will depend on the whim of the person who asks the question. therefore you need to think on your feet and have a few answers prepared depending on your impression of the interviewer – do they want a jovial response followed by a serious one. do they want a cliché? do they want honesty?

I wonder whether you could throw the question back at them… engage them in conversation rather than just a questions and answer session. ask them to put it into context – like what type of situation? work? home?