Make the right first impression

“What is your Weakness?”, and the interviewers asked you this question once again. And you again stumbled upon answering it without a unique flair.

Isn’t it a relatable situation? Many freshers may be figuring out how to answer such a question to stand apart. After all, calling out yourself to have no weakness or full of infirmity may land you in unwelcoming situations. Even the interviewers are usually aware of the expected answers. So how do you come up with an unexpected one?

There are a plethora of cooked up answers available on the internet. However, that doesn’t help in the long run. What helps is your uniqueness. Therefore, here we shall be discussing proven strategies and assistance to help you come up with a distinctive answer.

Read the article given below to know in detail, how to answer “What is your Weakness?” questions during an interview.

How to Answer, ” What is your weakness?

Here are practical strategies which will help you map an answer of utmost authenticity. It will therefore help you stand apart.

Let’s understand the fundamental reason behind this question:-

Is the recruiter wanting to put you down by knowing your weakness? Of course not.

Is the recruiter wanting to intensify your interview by posing such seemingly easy yet challenging questions? Probably yes.

However, this cannot be concluded. There are many different aspects to it.

A recruiter is fundamentally wanting to know how clear you are about yourself. It is easy to know one’s strengths. However, it is equally difficult to know the weaknesses. Many students fail to even recognize their weaknesses, knowing it is a far-fetched goal.

If a person is unaware of his/her weaknesses, then how would he/she prevent their shortcomings from hindering their growth and their organization’s growth?

Also, this question’s answer gives the recruiter a clearer insight into the aspirants’ understanding of themselves. Therefore, it is one of the commonly asked questions during an interview.

Do’s while answering the “What is your weakness?” question

Here are 3 Do’s you should always keep in mind:-

1. Talk about your weaknesses assuredly

Have a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. In this way, you will be able to introduce your weakness easily instead of beating around the bush.

For example, you can say, “I procrastinate on things.”, Or,” I sometimes miss out on attending minute details.”

2. Tell them how you are improving upon your weakness

You are creating a flow while answering this question. After introducing your weaknesses, talk about how you are working on them. Also, talk about how you are not letting it hamper your performance professionally.

For example, “I prepare a to-do list to not missout anything. In this way, I am learning to pay attention to details.”

3. Give them a brief background of how you recognized it

This point depends upon the nature of your interview. Sometimes, it becomes conversational. That means a recruiter is engaging with you and trying to know the details.  However, some interviews may not last for a long time. So depending on that, you can briefly describe how you recognized your weaknesses. Talk about what made you think that a certain trait hinders your growth.
Avoid doing so, if the interview is short.

Don’ts while answering the “What is your weakness?” question

You need to take care of the following details while answering this question. Here 3 “don’ts” and “remedies” to combat these problems:-

1. Don’t act ambiguously

What does this mean? It implies that your answer should be clear cut and not a diplomatic one.  Many times students go on reciting stories by looping one justification into the other. This would confuse the recruiters about your response.

Here is an example of such a response,
” My weakness is I am hardworking. Though it is a quality, yet it backfires against me.”

So you see, many times, students are trained to offer such a response. They are advised to play around with strengths by calling them weakness. Haven’t you heard those coaches advising you to quote “how workaholic you are which plays against you in a long run” as a weakness?

By answering in such ways, a recruiter easily spots a rehearsed answer. Also if you are genuinely such a person, then it will reflect. However, most of the times, it is a made-up answer.

Also, boasting “so-called” strengths as weakness is not a great idea.

It is perfectly fine if you clearly state your weaknesses with honesty and conviction to improve.

2. Don’t respond like this

Most of you are aware of such responses. However, it is always advisable to warn before it is too late. Many students view weakness as a negative characteristic altogether. Thus, in the process, they end up hesitating to share it.

As the result, many freshers come up with amateur responses which are evident red flags. For example, answers like this,” I am perfect, I have no weaknesses.”I am meticulous and hard-working, and that somewhat becomes my weakness.” are big “No”.

It is high time that students are aware of their weaknesses. No one is perfect. Therefore, accepting that you are not is again a sign of intelligence which employers appreciate a lot. Also, this is precisely the reason why they ask such questions. It is because they too are trying to know if you know your gaps. As only on knowing that will you work towards it.

3. Don’t use cooked up answers

As the campus placements approach, there is a different climate altogether in the college premises. While some are scrolling through their virtual mentor’s advice. Some, on the other hand, resort to expert books’ advice. The sources are many, but the goal is essentially the same.

Students are offered guidance, strategies to present the “What is your weakness?” best answers. Yet, most of them fail to bring out their best. It is essentially because made-up answers are hard to present. Thus, take in inspiration from those sample answers. However, do not take it with a pinch of salt.

Interview Assistance with AMCAT Mock AI

See you need to stay authentic while answering such interview questions. So whenever, you take any outside assistance, you are eventually getting an external opinion that will benefit you for sure if it comes from an expert. However, paying attention to each student sometimes gets compromised. Above that, an advisory is relative. Also, you may start doubting your response watching others doing relatively well in your opinion. Therefore, it becomes imperative to establish a firm foundation for yourself. Therefore, AMCAT MOCK AI assistance offers interview preparation. Herein, you will be provided full attention. The advanced technology will minutely assess your answers and body language. On closely evaluating your performance, you shall be provided with a comprehensive feedback report. This will enable you to extrapolate your strengths and weaknesses. Henceforth, answering the “What is your weakness?” question becomes a cake-walk for you.

In this way, you will establish firm confidence in your response, rather than comparing with others. You will bring your distinct answer rather than fearing competition.

To register for AMCAT Mock AI: Click Here

You can opt for a free trial too.

Get in touch
All the best!