|
On April 04 2012 00:33 Hairy wrote: Don't bullshit. A stupid phony answer is just going to piss people off as you are essentially lying to them, and it won't be hard to spot. Pick something genuine, but either display that you are aware of it and working to fix it, or pick something that isn't really an issue in the workplace. The fact that you suggest that the OP "picks" something is a admission of phoniness. The question of what is your greatest weakness is a question almost certainly with one singular answer.
The question isn't name a weakness that isn't so bad that it excludes you from the job, nor is it pick a weakness that is mostly irrelevant to work.
It's what is your greatest weakness. You cannot pick something honestly, unless what you pick truly is your greatest weakness
And no answer that is not phoney will get you past this question truthfully. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with giving a generic and typical answer, saying it with a straight face, as this sort of shit is completely unverifiable.
|
Say something that reflects an affinity for the job you're applying for. Something like...
"I have a hard time leaving something unfinished. This leads into my working late into the night more often than I would like."
This would be appropriate for, say, an engineering position or programming position where project deadlines are a big deal.
|
And would make you sound like a liar or burnout candidate, congratulations.
|
On April 04 2012 00:26 ErrantMind wrote: try admitting a fault, but including how you deal with it. for me, i can become overwhelmed if important expected to make progress on many projects at once, but I've learned to prioritize and take things step by step instead of just boggling at a high workload.
On April 04 2012 00:36 Reborn58 wrote: The real reason for asking this question is:
A.) To weed out anyone who is stupid enough to give you a seriously big flaw. I once had a guy tell me that he can be lazy and is late a lot.
B.) To see if you are realistic and can accept constructive criticism. Can you see flaws that you have? Because everyone has them. And are you willing to work on them? Because that is all anyone can ask of you.
So a great answer would be something like "I have been told I can sometimes be unorganized. However, I have a system that works for me and I am willing to work on my organizational skills."
Answers like " I am a perfectionist" or "I work too hard" are easy tells of someone who is a narcissist or a bold-faced liar who cannot address their own flaws.
This is probably the best advice in this thread atm IMO. Anyone can say they are a perfectionist blah blah but really, employers dont care about that. Personally I use ErrantMind's approach as it allows me to show how I dealt with a situation which is what I believe most employers are more interested in.
|
On April 04 2012 00:36 Kaitlin wrote: Ignore nearly all the advice given so far in this thread. The way you answer all these 'give me your negatives' questions is to give them a negative, which is actually a positive. You don't say something bad, and how you have overcome it. You don't say something bad and how you are working to overcome it. You offer something that is only bad in some perspectives, but it's actually a positive from your potential employer's perspective.
"Well, according to my friends, I don't socialize enough. However, I see it differently. I'm just very goal-oriented and when I am trying to accomplish something, I sacrifice in other areas of my life to achieve that end. I've spent the last several years very focused on my objective of getting the most out of my education so I would be best prepared to enter such a competitive industry such as software development. Blah blah blah. 'What a phoney' is what I would be thinking, as I sat there sipping my tea.
|
Back when I was younger, I was vain and snotty. Then I went to a monastery for six months to overcome that. Now I'm perfect.
|
On April 04 2012 00:15 urbanleg wrote: Hey guys, I just graduated in computer science, i started to look for a cool place to work at,
been so far in 2 interviews, and i got the feeling i blew them at the HR part when i answered this question:
1) i prefer to study alone (failed - not a team player)
2) im stressed out easily (failed - that might be a problem)
any ideas of good "bad" qualities for the next interview i got tomorrow?
p.s - perfectionist won't do since its too obvious these days.
thanks
Well just think about the sort of job you are going to be doing ...
A lot of different tasks: - I get bored if I am not challenged and improving my skills, I dislike routine work.
A lot of coding done after someone else have written the specifications: - I don't like coming up with what to solve, I like to work on what is the best possible way to solve it. I am more of an effective problem solver, than a creative coder.
Solving customer needs when you participate in meetings with customers etc: - I don't like to only code from a technical spec, I need to understand the needs that my program / solution is meant to solve.
And so on.
Basically, say your 'bad quality' is something that is pretty much the opposite of what's required in your job.
|
Kennigit
Canada19447 Posts
Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both.
|
On April 04 2012 00:36 Reborn58 wrote: The real reason for asking this question is:
A.) To weed out anyone who is stupid enough to give you a seriously big flaw. I once had a guy tell me that he can be lazy and is late a lot.
B.) To see if you are realistic and can accept constructive criticism. Can you see flaws that you have? Because everyone has them. And are you willing to work on them? Because that is all anyone can ask of you.
So a great answer would be something like "I have been told I can sometimes be unorganized. However, I have a system that works for me and I am willing to work on my organizational skills."
Answers like " I am a perfectionist" or "I work too hard" are easy tells of someone who is a narcissist or a bold-faced liar who cannot address their own flaws. A) Surely someone that is THAT stupid, stupid enough to give a truly honest answer, would have already been weeded out.
B) No constructive criticism is given by asking this question, so this claim is puzzling. Everyone has flaws, everyone can see their own, but this question will not be a catalyst for self-reflection, and it certainly will not induce the interviewee to give the interviewer a completely truthful self-assessment.
Therefore, the question is pointless.
|
I heard a good one once.
the guy said "It always annoys me when I see someone not pulling their weight, and I'm not afraid to tell them"
Takes the focus off you and becomes someone else's fault. Some places also love hearing this crap because it shows you can be confident and assertive so especially useful if it's some sort of supervisorial role.
Bascially you can adapt that to something that superficially sounds like a fault, but shifts attention to someone else. Or honesty, that is also good with the right person.
@abriol nice explanation man! Totally agree.
And Lol at Plexa whoops, I mean Kennigit! :D
|
On April 04 2012 00:26 Pandemona wrote: Never answer "truthfully" answer what they want to hear is rule 1. Everyone feels pressure, everyone gets stressed, everyone prefers to do work themselves if possible rather than relying on someone else. But thats not what employers want. When i was 16 however i blew a similar awesome job as a BMW parts apprentice, learning how to become a future BMW parts seller to customers cars that are needed to be fixed. I blew it when they asked, what do you want to do in your life. I said i wanted to be a footballing coach and would get my coaching badges whilst working my way up and dreamt of managing a football team. (Wow how young and naive i was!) so it kind of went downhill after that one, but out of 300 applications it was down to me and 2 others so i was rather proud. But yeah back to your point, you need to "bend the truth" and turn yourself into the perfect applicant, think what they want to hear and say that and back it up with other points and examples where and how you have been a team player and where you have not gotten stressed etc.
Good Quality - I am a hard working and conscientious person Bad Quality - I tend to strive for to much perfection on any task given to me.
Answers like these sound very generic. Many employers try to get to know your personality and if you stand out from the hundreds of other applicants.
As previously mentioned in the thread, pick a real (but minor) fault you have, then explain how you fixed it or working on it. Hiring managers have heard plenty of answers, especially the ones that turn bad qualities into good qualities. The Office even made a joke of that answer when Michael Scott was interviewing for a position.
|
Well I think you should try to come up with the most honest and true answer possible. When I got to answer this question during interviews, I basically talk about my lack of organizational skills (noone can really blame you for that except for some very specific positions).
But more than this, the field of the job you're applying for matters a lot. I did business studies and for any commercial positions my main flaw was clearly of being too honest and therefore not being able to promote something I don't believe in at 100%. If I were applying for a job in Human Ressources, I would probably not point at this as a "bad" quality, but I could say I'm too sensitive and might not be able to take the hard decisions that are needed.
|
On April 04 2012 00:41 CCitrus wrote: Say something that reflects an affinity for the job you're applying for. Something like...
"I have a hard time leaving something unfinished. This leads into my working late into the night more often than I would like."
This would be appropriate for, say, an engineering position or programming position where project deadlines are a big deal.
I disagree completely with this suggestion. First, on what planet is 'I have a hard time leaving something unfinished' a weakness, let alone someone's greatest weakness ? Second, it's full of shit, but that kind of relates to the previous point. Third, you are suggesting that you resist working late into the night to finish something, which tells more about you than the bullshit statement in the first place.
The 'weakness' has to be an actual negative, in certain aspects, but not a negative to your potential employer. And it can't be complete bullshit, like my greatest weakness is that I am willing to work too hard for very little pay. It can't be over the top.
|
On April 04 2012 00:45 Kennigit wrote: Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both.
This.
Also, if they ask you a BS question, sorry, but you have to play the game and give them a BS answer. welcome to corporate whore-ship. You sound like the type of person who would be better off at a smaller company anyway, and then you won't have to deal with inane questions like this.
If you really must play their game, try to think of qualities that are both a good thing and a bad thing. As was mentioned before, perfectionist, or maybe over-analytical, or you could say, I can sometimes get stressed, but that causes me to work alot harder! (like I said, BS questions deserve BS answers)
|
On April 04 2012 00:45 Kennigit wrote: Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both.
I wish I was bold enough to do this, but honestly I don't think I would try because getting a job is better than not getting a job. 2012 is an expensive time to live in.
|
Tell them an honest flaw, the whole purpose of the question is to see if you actually care to self evaluate yourself. Based on most responses in this thread, most people don't.
|
I said that I was a bad singer. It's funny and you don't have to really say anything bad about work performance. And I got the job. Try to say something that doesn't make you look like a bad employee. (obvious)
|
|
I liked the guy who said "My worst quality is that I don't know how to answer a question like this."
|
The important thing to remember is resume / interviews should be treated like personal advertizing. You have to sell yourself.
In terms of the weakness question, as mentioned by a few above inexperience is a good answer (especially in your case) as long as you follow it up right. Something like.
"Well clearly being a recent graduate I have some inexperience. However with the great training I received at (some collage), and my ability to learn quickly I am confidant I will succeed here at (Company) and in this position (x positoin). There are certainly some things I don't know, but I have been able to learn and excel at anything I have put my mind to.
Notice the use of words like 'will' instead of 'would'. How does "I will succeed here at" read differently then "I would succeed here at"? The latter leaves open the option of failure to be hired, not good.
It may sound presumptuous but it's exactly that kind of muted confidence that employers are looking for.
Good luck!
P.S. Don't use a smart ass answer. They will get you a certainly type of job, but not a professional job. By joking around with questions about yourself like this one, it indicates to them that you think of yourself as a joke, which will get you looks like this one.
Not good.
|
|
|
|