Are you the perfect candidate, with no room for improvement? Skip this article, it isn’t for you.  
 
For everyone else, we’ve outlined how to answer the ‘biggest weakness’ interview question without making your interviewer perform a dramatic eye-roll.  

We’ll discuss: 

• Why interviewers want to know about your biggest weakness 
• How NOT to answer ‘What is your biggest weakness?’ 
• The ‘biggest weakness’ formula 
• Biggest weakness examples 
   

Why do interviewers want to know about your weaknesses? 

"What is your biggest weakness?" feels like a trick question - or at least an highly personal one.  
 
But your interviewer isn’t asking about your predilection for red wine, or your tendency to leave mean comments on Taylor Swift’s Instagram posts after consuming said red wine (just admit you’re jealous of what she and Travis have together and move on).  

Instead, they’re looking for evidence that you’re a self-reflective, mature and responsible person. 

People who can identify their own shortcomings are more likely to take on feedback, make adjustments and perform better as part of a team. Meanwhile, employees who struggle to self-reflect may be harder to manage and are less likely to look for ways to improve their weaker skills. 

How NOT to answer "What is your biggest weakness?"

“I’m such a perfectionist” 
“I work way too hard” 
“I’m just too passionate about my job” 
 
Humble brags - boasts disguised as modesty - are guaranteed to make your interviewer mentally place your application in the reject pile. Inauthentic answers are easy to spot; answering the ‘biggest weakness’ question effectively takes authenticity and humility.  

Equally, this isn’t an opportunity for excessive self-deprecation - speaking from first-hand experience, providing your interviewer a long list of everything you think is wrong with you is unlikely to result in a job offer. 

 How then, should you answer this tricky interview question? Here’s a helpful formula… 

 The ‘biggest weakness’ formula 

To turn the “What is your biggest weakness?” question to your advantage, try this approach: 

1. Identify a challenge 
2. Explain how the challenge impacted you and your work  
3. Outline the steps you have taken to address the challenge 
4. Explain the result 

 Let’s say you struggle with time management, for example: 

Identify a challenge 
“In the past, I have struggled to manage my time effectively. I tend to underestimate how long it takes me to complete tasks, then I find myself rushing to meet deadlines.” 

Explain how the challenge impacts you and your work  
“This gives me less time to check over my work, and places me under a lot of avoidable pressure. I work better when I feel calm - but an imminent deadline feels stressful.” 
 
Outline the steps you have taken to address the challenge 
“Over the past few months, I’ve been trying out new ways to improve my time management skills. After reading about planning fallacy and optimism bias, I factored in an additional 10% to my anticipated time requirement for all tasks. 

“I am also being more transparent with my manager and colleagues. Because I wanted to be helpful, I would often agree to deadlines without considering how feasible they were. Recently, I’ve been politely pushing back, and asking for more time to complete tasks, or clarifying priorities so that I can move tasks around.” 
 
Explain the result 
“These changes have made a big difference to the quality of my work. With more time to check things over, I feel less pressure. I can pay closer attention to detail, which results in fewer mistakes. 

"I still have room for improvement in this area - but I have definitely noticed the difference these changes have already made to my work.” 

Explaining the steps you have already taken shows you’re aware of your weakness, you’re proactive and that you care about your work.  

Biggest weakness examples 

If you’re struggling to think of any weaknesses, first of all, congrats on the self-confidence. 
 Second of all, here are some ‘biggest weakness’ examples you can borrow. 
 
I sometimes struggle with… 

• Time management / Meeting deadlines 
• Saying no / pushing back 
• Delegating to others / micromanagement 
• Following through  
• Effective communication  
• Persuading and influencing colleagues 
• Collaboration / teamwork  
• Seeing the bigger picture  
• Burnout / Work-life balance  
• Maintaining a positive mindset  
• Overcomplicating tasks / Being too-detail oriented 
• Rigid thinking

Providing an authentic answer to the ‘biggest weakness’ interview question will give your interviewer confidence that you’ll take accountability for your work performance, and that if things aren’t up to scratch, you’ll take steps to set things right.