Interview Tips - "What is your greatest weakness?"

CollegeGrad.com presents "Tough Interview Question - What is your greatest weakness?" Do you know how to answer this question? Hint--it's not what most career books tell you (to give a veiled positive as a negative). Watch this quick video to find out the answer...

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[Jreythe2nd]

Hey Brian. I just turned 18 and I'm seeking my first job.. And i haven't been in an interview yet. So kind of nervous and scared...

I was wondering if you can give me some tips.. What to wear. How long does the answer have to be..

[BrianKrueger]

@Jreythe2nd - there are 60+ other videos on my channel covering topics such as what to wear, how long your answer should be and a variety of other topics. They are all free to watch, so please feel free to watch any and all.

[kangeles27]

Hello Brian, I want to share my weakness and I would like to know your thoughts about it. My weakness is that I tend to forget things alot and its not like I'm careless, I just feel like I have such bad memory. So as a solutuon, what I do now is that I right everything down (especially if its important), I make lists and I use a planner to keep track of everything. Sticky notes are my best friend now, I use them for anything that will help me remember. This solution became very helpful to me

[BrianKrueger]

@kangeles27 - good answer, although I would leave out the "I just feel like I have such bad memory" part. A memory is something that can be developed, which is what you are doing by taking action to both develop and cover for the weakness. Good answer, especially if you can show evidence of this in the interview (pull out your planner, show your sticky notes, make special note of one that you are doing in the next day or so, etc.)

[mychocochip]

I'm trying to explain my bad test score and relate to a weakness and my solutions. Any suggestions on how to tackle this problem?

[BrianKrueger]

@mychocochip the bad test score isn't a weakness, per se, but it can be the result of any of a variety of weaknesses. For example, poor preparation for the test or poor test taking methods.You may have known all of the material, but spent a large amount of time solving one problem and therefore did not finish the rest of the test. You could explain that you have since changed your test taking method and now skip the difficult questions, complete the rest of the test first, then come back.

[BrianKrueger]

That's just a variation on the "I work too much..." faked weakness. Why would not leaving work undone be a weakness? That's not a weakness, it's a strength. A good interviewer would see past this and push you for a true weakness. And if I asked you what you are doing to overcome that weakness, what would you say? Leave more work undone? You get the point. Use a true weakness and show what you are doing to overcome the weakness. Don't fake it.

[EjenAmy]

DUDEEEEEEEEEE> you ARE GENIUS!!!! 

[alberto0071]

this is new...well done

[cwoodsseeley]

this was great!!!!

[iambabebarbie]

Hi Brian. ur AWESOME! ur videos have provided me great insights on answering the difficult questions! I used to struggle a lot on interviews but your videos have got me TWO OFFERS!!!!! both of them r renowned PR firms and great salary increment n job title!! Please continue to produce these inspiring videos!! LOVE IT! !

[hennafied]

wow, so helpful. My weakness is dealing with mundane and repetitive tasks...I didn't realise until now that I overcome this by varying my workload.

[summerraen]

Wow this is actually fantastic advice...I've not yet encountered this question in any interviews but I ALWAYS hear about it and can never imagine what I would say! This is a perfect response, I especially like the example of whipping out direct proof (the pocket planner) to show them how you're working on it! Great tip :)

[kangeles27]

@BrianKrueger, thanks and I appreciate the tip! I had an interview today and the interviewer was impressed, she smiled and said my answer was clever :)