3 ms·

Your strengths are not your weaknesses

8 points by twoolley 14y ago

twoolley 14y ago
Why was "Don't be a douche" removed from the title?
ericb 14y ago
I think the point of this (terrible) question is to show the degree to which you play "the game." Possible outcomes: You state a real detrimental flaw -> Employer wins by not hiring you and avoiding the consequences of the flaw. You have also demonstrated an inability to think on your feet or plan ahead by prepping for gotcha questions. You state a real flaw that is not detrimental to the job -> You have shown you are suited for the job, but not smart enough to play the game (employee but not management material). You name a strength -> You have demonstrated that you are willing to gloss over the truth when it is against your interests. You have demonstrated management potential!
- twoolley 14y ago
  It is logic like this that makes glad I now do what I do.
dmd149 14y ago
The point of that question is not really to find out your greatest weakness. Here's what they want to know: 1. Whether or not you're reflective and self aware enough to identify weaknesses you have 2. What steps you've taken to improve that weakness. This demonstrates you can follow up on your self-reflection with action. Here's a way you could answer the question: One of my weaknesses is that I like to take tasks and do them on my own. This usually comes from my enthusiasm to accomplish a task, but unfortunately, I miss a few things along the way. For example, I was tasked to build product X. I (thought) I understood what was required, and just built it. I was super proud of myself for building X in record time and even added features that weren't requested. When I showed the final product to my boss, he said it was nothing like he wanted! I had to do the whole thing over again. That was crushing. I learned from that point on that I should ask clarifying questions to the people I'm working with and gather their input as I do my work. While this "slows" me down, I rarely build the wrong thing now. You answer with a concrete story about how you identified a weakness and then addressed it later, you'll be golden. Never just answer the question; get in the interviewers head and figure out what they're really asking, and answer that instead.

8 points by twoolley 14y ago

Why was "Don't be a douche" removed from the title?

ericb 14y ago

I think the point of this (terrible) question is to show the degree to which you play "the game." Possible outcomes: You state a real detrimental flaw -> Employer wins by not hiring you and avoiding the consequences of the flaw. You have also demonstrated an inability to think on your feet or plan ahead by prepping for gotcha questions. You state a real flaw that is not detrimental to the job -> You have shown you are suited for the job, but not smart enough to play the game (employee but not management material). You name a strength -> You have demonstrated that you are willing to gloss over the truth when it is against your interests. You have demonstrated management potential!

twoolley 14y ago
It is logic like this that makes glad I now do what I do.

dmd149 14y ago

The point of that question is not really to find out your greatest weakness. Here's what they want to know: 1. Whether or not you're reflective and self aware enough to identify weaknesses you have 2. What steps you've taken to improve that weakness. This demonstrates you can follow up on your self-reflection with action. Here's a way you could answer the question: One of my weaknesses is that I like to take tasks and do them on my own. This usually comes from my enthusiasm to accomplish a task, but unfortunately, I miss a few things along the way. For example, I was tasked to build product X. I (thought) I understood what was required, and just built it. I was super proud of myself for building X in record time and even added features that weren't requested. When I showed the final product to my boss, he said it was nothing like he wanted! I had to do the whole thing over again. That was crushing. I learned from that point on that I should ask clarifying questions to the people I'm working with and gather their input as I do my work. While this "slows" me down, I rarely build the wrong thing now. You answer with a concrete story about how you identified a weakness and then addressed it later, you'll be golden. Never just answer the question; get in the interviewers head and figure out what they're really asking, and answer that instead.