I haven’t had the luck or CV excellence to go to many interviews since I moved up to Cape Town. Truth be told, things are a bit laid back here and so in the absence of a job I’ve had to make ends meat by pursuing other inane part time work like data capturing, promoting, waitressing and writing internet content. But I digress.
Today I had the fortune of being selected for interview by what seems like a very nice company. I don’t think I had all the technical skills they were looking for so I’m not sure if I’m expecting them to call. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant interview with the exception of one part. That last question: “So Jennifer, what are your weaknesses”. Well readers, let’s just say that I have many more than I’d like to reveal in an interview. But what really is the best answer to that question?
Should you try to talk your way around it and and somehow try to bring in more about your strengths? Something like, “Well, good grief, I am very hard on myself. But you know sometimes being hard on yourself means you end up working much harder than usual” or, “Wow, I’ve never been asked that. Well obviously everyone has a weakness for being part of a team. I’m really love that and I guess a weakness would be that I hate when all the members of a team don’t get along.” But all of that just sounds vacuous, hollow and basically full of shit.
So is it time for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Should you say that you are a neat freak, a smoker (gasp), a vapid narcissist who only works so that they can tell everyone what a great job they have, money hungry, easily distracted by well written blogs on Thought Leader, or simply only working because you have to. I’m not sure if they’ll buy that either.
Or do you just lie blatantly? “Well, I’d have to say I have a weakness for hard work. There is nothing better than leaving work late and feeling like you have contributed?” Some elements of this may be true, but surely there is more than that?
So basically, as an interview newbie I’m not really sure. What level of honesty are they looking for when they ask you that question? Are they looking for you to laugh it off and say something cutesy like “chocolate” or “wine” (perhaps not a suitable reply in all interviews). And why do they ask that?
Surely the other questions leading up to the end of the interview have revealed your level of skill, flexibility, knowledge, positive qualities and perhaps some of your answers have already been disappointing or inappropriate. The decisions are surely made before the answer to that question.
All it does it make you wonder what is wrong with you. Possibly, the thing I fail to articulate there is the reason that I’ve not been so successful so far … Who knows!
Quite honestly, I think it’s a typical bovine excrement question that the local HR worker has come up with in order to justify their own existence.
I honestly don’t see a reason to be asked that at all, simply because you will never get a straight answer back (nor is a straight answer really wanted).
Luckily for me, I haven’t had to have that many job interviews, and I have never been asked that question. But if I was, I would like to think that I would say something like this:
“My weakness in not being able/willing to come up with arbitrary answers to vague questions in order to ingratiate myself with whomever is doing the asking.”
The proper answer to that stupid question is: “I have never been told I have any and I am not aware of any weaknesses my self”
then sit back, smile look around the table and say: “If you are looking for people with weaknesses, please, don’t offer me a job. I am certainly not the right candidate”.
sit back again, look at the surprised faces, and prepare for leaving the room…….with your pride intact. You might even get the job!!
“I have a weakness for punching jumped-up yuppies in suits that cost more than my flat who ask stupid questions.”
Yeah, I didn’t get that job.
and after all that…i got the job!
Jen
You could go with weaknesses that won’t affect your work there. So if you’ll just be doing edting/data capturing at a desk, working innocuously in a cublicle – tell them you’re a little introverted.
Honesty can work too, nobody’s perfect so highlighting one small weakness might be best. I landed a job as a reporter after telling the propective employee I knew I could handle all aspects of the job (and detailing them) but might need a little help formulating story ideas. You know, something small enough for them to think “eh… whatever, we can work on that”
Good luck though, these are trying times to find work in!
ag Jen you are not that bad after all. I get a sense that you need a class on interviews 101.
Here’s another “Tell us about the situation in which you had disagreements with your colleagues. How did you handle it?”
I tell them that I once had a “serious fight of words” and it turned out very ugly but my boss was quick to help me calm down and help me take things easily. “We were fighting about a colleague who could not finish her assignments and blamed others for her inefficiency” I would say. And then my selling line “but I am glad that my boss was very kind and taught me how to discuss my feels with other people and it was a great lesson for me”.
I know that I actually did not say anything interesting after all but I said something, didn’t I? And I left the confusion to them and I mischieviously look into their eyes to see if they are having trouble with what I just said.
At HSBC they asked me if I had any questions and I asked them how did they 33% loss affect their operations in South Africa and my British interviewer’s face changed and I think he said I can’t manage in that job because it was too “junior”. I said “I am sure I can, sir”
Sometimes I think you should frustrate people with research and academic horse manure.
What meat did you use to make your ends?
Thanks Ken.
“Truth be told, things are a bit laid back here..” Now you know why they call it The mother City, on average it takes 9 months for anything to happen:-)
What are your qualifications. maybe you can join the NGO I work for.
And why did you move to the Cape? Where did you live before?
Anyway, goodluck.
Do you get paid to write on thoughtleader?
Phillipa…I have a Masters in Politics. I moved to the Cape for love, of Cape Town and an incredible man. I’ve lived all around South Africa.
Thanks so much for the job offer, but I actually got this job after all that stress.
All such asinine questions by interviewers are a econsequence of trying to make the process “scientific”, i.e. by predicting the character of the applicant from his answers. “What are your weak points?” “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” I have never received an offer when interviewed by agencies who are prone to ask such questions as a result of a short course in “management psychology”. I have always received an offer whenever I was interviewed by potential bosses or colleagues.
I don’t understand the question.
Ian, this was the owner of the company and my future colleagues who asked me the question. It is most puzzling.
Nice article Jen.
The last time this happened, I posed for a while looking straight at their eyes. Than I made a serous face and said, “at the risk of loosing this opportunity, I will tell you the truth”, I then proceeded to lie.
Screeww them, with all their true weaknesses, they are’t qualified to ask such stupid questions.
I prefer to use: “I am especially bad at tactfully telling someone to remove themselves when they ask stupid questions. One might say I’m diplomatically challenged when faced with imbeciles. Oh and I might be accused of being a little obsessive over some things.”
Might not get the job but you could make an interviewer cry. Which are by far my favourite interviews.