Transcription
Hey everyone, today I'm gonna give you the best answer to the job interview question: "What is your weakness?"
Okay, this is a very common and popular job interview question, and it is the king of trick questions designed for the interviewer to be able to get the dirt on you. Now, this question has many forms, and one of the most popular is, "What is your greatest weakness?" Now, regardless of the form, it's all the same question, and so we always give the same answer.
Now, in order to understand what's a good answer here, we first need to briefly talk about the interview process from the recruiter's perspective. Okay? Now, recruiters have the job of starting with sometimes over a hundred candidates and then gradually whittling that number down till they're left with one candidate that they select. They do this by eliminating candidates. So, especially in the beginning, during their first round of interviews, their focus is mainly going to be on eliminating candidates. Therefore, they ask two types of questions: one to see if you meet the requirements, and two to see if they can eliminate you directly. And this one, "What's your greatest weakness?" or "What is your weakness?" or "What are some of your weaknesses?" This is the most direct question they can ask you in this category. Okay?
Now, as I mentioned in my previous videos, if you've been called in for a job interview, that usually means that your resume looks okay. But what they're trying to do at this point now is get the dirt on you. Now, for recruiters interviewing 20 candidates, and you know, they have to eliminate 19 of them, what could be easier than getting a sudden death elimination on most of them, leaving the last three or so on which to go a bit deeper? And that's sudden death elimination. That's where this question comes in.
Now, allow me to translate this question for you. "I don't really know you at all, but if there was an obvious reason to eliminate you from the running, so I don't have to get to know you, what would that reason be?" Okay? So they ask you that, and you say, "Tough one. Well, let's see. I'm addicted to alcohol, gambling, and dumb fighting. I have a lightning-quick temper, and I tend to get really violent when I don't get my way." And the recruiter is thinking, "All right, well, thank you very much for your time. We really do appreciate you coming in. Next."
So, the goal should be to give them a polite and appropriate answer, but not give them any dirt on you. Now, here is the best answer I've ever heard for this question. "Tell me, what is your greatest weakness?" "Well, see, I have very high standards, and unfortunately, not everybody shares those standards, which can sometimes lead to a bit of frustration. What I've found is, now, with a little bit of good communication, I can smooth that over, and it never ends up really ever being a problem."
That's the best answer I've ever heard anyone say. You see what that person did? They technically answered the question, but they used it as a platform to talk about their strengths. It makes a great template to use to frame your answer. "I do this, which is good, but it can lead to this, which is bad, but then I do this, which is good, and I completely fix the problem." So that's how I would recommend you answer this question. Make sure you do some preparation to come up with an answer that's accurate for you that follows this structure. Remember, don't simply hand them a reason to eliminate you.
Please let me know in the comments what your experiences have been with this question, whether they've gone well or not so well. It's all good. The more we share, the more we learn. Don't forget to Like, subscribe, and hit the bell button, and I will definitely be doing more videos in this series on getting hired, so this will ensure that you don't miss any. And check out my Patreon page for even more personal coaching stuff. As always, I'm Bill, the company's expert. Thank you so much for being here and watching my videos. You're awesome.
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