Michael C. Crawford, CEO ActuarialPCR.com
The Interview
Actuarial Property & Casualty Recruiters, LLC
Email: [email protected] Phone: (610) 458-7096
"For Extraordinary People"
Toughest Interview Question #3:
What is Your Greatest Weakness?
Forbes - Liz Ryan, Contributor
You won’t always get the exact “What’s your greatest weakness?” question.
Other variations include:
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“What are your 3 greatest weaknesses?”
“What are your 3 greatest weaknesses? I know the first 2 will be BS, so give
me 3.”
“What would your friends say about you?” (Strengths and weaknesses)
“What flaw do you have that could hurt your ability to do this job?”
The point at which your interviewer asks you to share your greatest weakness is the
portion of a job interview that you dread most, and for good reason: Lame answers
like "I'm a perfectionist" or "I care too much" are well-worn clichés, but how can you
intelligently answer that question?
If you are dealing with genuine and intelligent people, being able to move from a ”me!
me! me!” perspective to a “system-level perspective” could well make you shine out from
the crowd, as this mindset is currently still rare. This is cutting edge.
Example
An effective interview answer to: “What are your weaknesses?”
'I don't believe that I have any real weaknesses, in terms of the skills, experience or
knowledge required for this position. I think the nearest thing I have to a weakness is
that I like to do some personal quality control. I know the issues in the job. I like to know
I'm doing the job properly, as well as my staff. Meeting / exceeding expectations is my
goal. I have a reputation for being known for high expectations of myself and my staff
for delivering the best product. I do have a softer side – when management sings the
accolades of my Team exceeding expectations. I,m overly detailed and If that's a
weakness, that's mine!
Michael C. Crawford, CEO ActuarialPCR.com
The Interview