Strengths and weaknesses in an interview

What are your strengths? And your weaknesses? The question is on just about every list of common interview questions, sometimes as “What are your positive and negative qualities?” It feels hard because it asks you to sell yourself and criticize yourself in the same breath. It gets easier once you know what the question is for, and you can prepare for it like any other. Below you will find lists of qualities, examples of weaknesses for a job interview and sample answers to start from.

What the employer wants to know

The employer is not looking for a perfect person. They want to see that you know yourself, that your strong sides fit the job and that you do something about the areas where you are weaker. An answer like “I don’t have any weaknesses” shows the opposite of what they are looking for. Nobody is perfect, and a candidate who can talk calmly about their shortcomings often comes across as more credible.

It also helps to know that most personal qualities have two sides. Stubborn can mean persistent. Thorough can mean slow. Spontaneous can mean flexible, but also unplanned. That is why you can find weaknesses that are honest without ruling you out.

A list of strengths

Here are positive qualities to choose from. Pick two or three that are true of you and that match the job ad:

• How you work: thorough, organized, responsible, self-motivated, persistent, efficient.
• With other people: cooperative, attentive, clear, empathetic, service-minded, diplomatic.
• When things happen: calm under pressure, flexible, solution-focused, decisive, proactive.
• How you think: curious, analytical, creative, quick to learn, full of ideas.

A single word is not enough. “I am organized” says little. “I redid our planning so that we didn’t miss a single delivery last fall” says much more and shows the same thing.

Examples of weaknesses

Choose something that is true, that is not central to the job and that you are working on. Some examples:

• Finding it hard to say no and taking on too much.
• Getting stuck on details when good enough would do.
• Little experience speaking in front of large groups.
• Getting impatient when decisions drag on.
• Preferring to do things yourself instead of delegating.
• Putting off difficult conversations.
• Less experience with a particular tool or field.

Adapt the weakness to the job. If you are applying to be a project manager, “I find it hard to keep to schedules” is the wrong weakness to bring up, even if it is true. Pick another true weakness that lies further from the core of the role.

The word you choose matters as well. Negative traits like “lazy,” “sloppy” or “bad at working with others” describe your whole person and are hard to show you are working on. Describe a behavior in a specific situation instead, such as “I put off boring tasks when there is a lot else going on.” A behavior can change, and the change is what the employer wants to hear about.

How to phrase your answer

A good answer has the same shape whether it is about a strength or a weakness. Name the quality briefly. Then give a concrete example where it showed, preferably from work, although studies, volunteering or your free time work too. If it is a weakness, finish with what you are doing about it and what has improved.

Honesty counts most. Most interviewers have heard clichés like “I’m too thorough” or “I work too hard” many times, and they sound as if you are dodging the question. An honest answer with a plan sounds like an adult who knows what they are doing.

Say the answer out loud a few times so it comes out short and calm. The same approach works for many other common interview questions, such as the question about a failure.

Sample answers

Strength, teamwork:

“I’m good at getting people to pull in the same direction. When two departments couldn’t agree on how deliveries should be planned, I invited both to the same meeting, and we came up with a shared list. It is still in use.”

Strength, calm under pressure:

“I get calmer when there is a lot going on. During the holiday rush there were two of us in the store instead of four, and I split the register and the stockroom between us so the line never got long.”

Weakness, saying no:

“I have found it hard to say no and have taken on too much. Last year I noticed it was hurting the quality of my work, so now I go through my list with my manager every Monday before I promise anything new. I deliver on time more often now.”

Weakness, speaking to a group:

“I’m not used to speaking in front of large groups. So I’ve started volunteering to present at our department meetings, and it gets better every time.”

Find your qualities

If you find it hard to know what to say, a personality test can give you words to start with. Our free personality test uses the IPIP-50, with 50 statements, and shows your profile on five broad traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness. It does not compare you with a norm group, and neither end of a scale is better than the other. The description of each trait can still help you see your own patterns.

High conscientiousness, for example, can become the strength “organized” and the weakness “finds it hard to let go of a plan.” High agreeableness can become “cooperative” and “puts off difficult conversations.” Low extraversion can become “focused when working alone” and “rarely speaks first in large groups.”

Personality tests are also common in hiring. At the staffing company Academic Work, for example, the personality test usually comes before the interview, after your application has been reviewed. If you have already thought through how you describe yourself, you will have examples ready if the recruiter brings up your results. Read more about the personality test in hiring and about the whole job interview, before, during and after.

Want to start now? Take the personality test for free, with no account, and use your profile as a starting point for your answers.