Intro price $29/month (regular $49) $29/mo intro price Ends October 31 Join by then and keep $29 until you cancel. Lock in $29
Start a free mock

Interview question

What are your weaknesses? How to answer, with examples

Name one real weakness that the job doesn't depend on, give a quick example of it, and say what you're doing about it, with one sign it's working. Skip strengths in disguise like “I'm a perfectionist.” The same answer works for “What is your greatest weakness?”

A man in his 30s with short dark hair and a gray sweater at his kitchen table in the evening, pausing to think before he answers a question on his laptop, a notebook open beside him

What the interviewer is checking

Carla Harris of Morgan Stanley calls it a question that trips a lot of people up and comes up often in interviews. The interviewer is listening for four things.

  1. How well you know yourself

    Harris says the answer should show self-awareness. The University of Virginia's career center says the question checks whether you're aware of where you need to improve.

  2. Whether the weakness is real

    SHRM notes that many candidates try to present a weakness as a strength, and its guide tells interviewers to ask for detailed, specific examples. Expect a follow-up.

  3. What you're doing about it

    SHRM says the candidates worth considering talk about the steps they're taking to improve, such as taking a course or working toward a certification.

  4. Whether it gets in the way of this job

    Harris says to pick a weakness that isn't a key competency for the job, and UVA says to avoid one that directly relates to the job's requirements.

How to pick your weakness

  1. 1

    Make it true

    Pick something you've actually struggled with at work, ideally something a manager or a review has pointed out. CareerOneStop, from the U.S. Department of Labor, says to be honest and to mention how you've used feedback to grow.

  2. 2

    Keep it off the job's must-haves

    Choose one the job doesn't depend on. Public speaking is a fair weakness for a data analyst and a risky one for a sales rep.

  3. 3

    Show the fix, and that it's working

    Say what you're doing about it, like a course, a new habit or a tool, and one sign it's working.

It also comes as “What is your greatest weakness?”, “What's your biggest weakness?” or “What are you working to improve?” The same three parts answer all of them.

Examples of weaknesses, by type

Pick one that's true for you and isn't central to the job. Harris's own example is “I am working on public speaking skills.” Each row says when to skip it.

  1. Public speaking

    Say“Presenting to big groups doesn't come naturally to me. I've started running our [weekly team update] and joined [a speaking course or group], and last month I [one sign of progress].”

    Skip it ifThe job is sales, training, teaching or anything built on presenting.

  2. Delegating

    Say“I tend to keep work I could hand off. On [project], I gave [two tasks] to [a teammate] with a weekly check-in, and it freed up [time or result].”

    Skip it ifYou're interviewing to manage people, where handing off work is the job.

  3. A skill the job lists as a plus

    Say“I'm newer to [a tool or skill from the posting's preferred list]. I'm [taking a course or using it on a side project], and so far I've [one result].”

    Skip it ifThe posting lists it as required.

  4. Hard conversations

    Say“I used to put off hard conversations with [coworkers or vendors]. Now I raise a problem within a day, with one specific example, and [one result].”

    Skip it ifThe job is managing a team or handling complaints.

  5. Staying organized

    Say“Keeping track of lots of small deadlines hasn't come easily to me. I moved everything into [a task app or one shared calendar], and I haven't missed a deadline since [month].”

    Skip it ifThe job is mostly scheduling, coordinating or admin work.

What not to say

In a 2015 Harvard Business School working paper, 77% of 122 students asked how they'd answer this question in a job interview dodged it with a strength dressed up as a weakness, most often being a perfectionist or working too hard. Two raters who read the answers were less interested in hiring them than the students who named a real weakness.

  1. A strength in disguise

    Skip“I'm a perfectionist,” “I work too hard” or “I'm too nice.”

    InsteadA real weakness and what you're doing about it. Harris calls the perfectionist answer so clichéd that it won't come across as genuine.

  2. No weakness at all

    Skip“I can't think of one.”

    InsteadOne real weakness, told briefly. The question expects you to have one.

  3. A weakness at the heart of the job

    Skip“I'm not a numbers person,” in an interview for an analyst job.

    InsteadOne the job doesn't depend on.

  4. A weakness with no fix

    Skip“I'm bad with deadlines,” and nothing after it.

    InsteadWhat you've changed since, and one sign it's working.

How to answer “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”

Some interviewers ask for both at once. UVA's career center says that version checks whether your strengths would be used in the job and whether you know where you need to improve, and it suggests ending on a positive note. Give one of each, strength first.

  1. 1

    One strength, with proof

    A strength the posting asks for, and one result that shows it.

  2. 2

    One weakness, with the fix

    A real one the job doesn't depend on, and what you're doing about it.

  3. 3

    End on what's changed

    Finish on the progress you've made, then stop.

“My biggest strength is [a strength from the posting]. At [company], I [one result, with a number]. A weakness I'm working on is [weakness]. I've been [what you're doing about it], and [one sign it's working].”

How to answer “What are your strengths?” on its own →

Sample answers

Put in your own facts. Say the weakness in a sentence, spend most of the answer on the fix, and stop.

  1. PUBLIC SPEAKING, FOR AN ANALYST JOB

    “Presenting to large groups has never come naturally to me. I noticed I rushed through [a presentation], so I asked to run our [weekly team update] and joined [a speaking course]. Last month I presented [a project] to [the leadership team], and [one sign it went better].”

  2. HARD CONVERSATIONS, FOR A MARKETING JOB

    “I used to put off hard conversations. When [a vendor or coworker] kept [missing deadlines], I waited [weeks] to say anything. Now I raise a problem within a day, with one specific example. Last quarter, that got [the deadline or result] back on track.”

  3. A SKILL GAP, FOR A CAREER CHANGER

    “I'm newer to [a tool or skill from the posting] than people who've spent their whole career in [field]. I've been [taking a course or building a project] for [time], and I've already [one result]. I'd keep building it in this role.”

See which of your five skills is weakest

The mock doesn't ask this question. An AI hiring manager asks the kind of questions real hiring managers ask about your job and follows up on what you skip. Your scorecard rates the same five skills every time, from structure to communication, and shows which one is weakest. It won't pick the weakness to name in an interview. Red flags are quoted back in your own words, and an unscored panel counts hedges like “I guess” and “probably.”

Start a free mock interview

More to practice: Phone screen questions · Tell me about yourself · Reasons for leaving a job · Why do you want to work here? · Why are you interested in this position? · Where do you see yourself in 5 years? · Salary expectations · Questions to ask the interviewer · Hiring manager interview questions · Internal interview questions · Explaining an employment gap · Behavioral interview questions · Situational interview questions · How do you handle conflict? · What is your greatest accomplishment? · What are your strengths? · What not to say in an interview · How to answer interview questions · Why should we hire you? · Second interview questions