3 ms·

A ton of excellent developers work way to hard and are obsesive compulsive about perfection. This is so common as to warrant whole chapters about "the best is t

• Kisil 17y ago
  But there's a difference between the common weakness ("I focus on trivial details at the expense of the big picture") and the common bullshit response ("I work too hard"). I don't ask this kind of interview question, but I imagine one could tell the difference between those two responses.
• pwnstigator 17y ago
  I agree. The problem with "I'm a perfectionist" is that: 1. It's a common stock answer, so giving it signifies a lack of imagination. 2. Taken at face value, it's a real weakness (good; honest), but it's one that can cause problems for the business (bad). It's a crippling trait which might prevent a person from meeting deadlines, and that's not something you want to indicate during an interview. You want to answer the "biggest weakness" question with a genuine weakness (not "I work too hard") but one that can't, in any way, result in missed deadlines or upset clients/co-workers. This means that most people need to "lie" to the extent of selecting their #3 or #4 biggest weakness. The actual biggest weakness, for most of us, won't get the job.
  • run4yourlives 17y ago
    You just stated that you want your staff to tell you what you would like to hear, even if that's a lie.