What is, "I'm a perfectionist," Alex? 5

[proletariat]

A little homage to Jeopardy...

When asked what your greatest weakness is, during an interview, do you give the patent "I'm a perfectionist" answer or something truthful and original?

My real greatest weakness is getting careless because of monotony or boredom due to repetitive work. I'm razor-sharp when it's something exciting or new and challenging. The mind starts to wander when I get bored though.

 

[wgchere]

How about, "My biggest weakness is that I don't interview well. I perform much better than I come across when I'm interviewed."

 

[epoisses]

Interesting answer... Triggers the next question: "Why?
If you have a problem coming across in an interview, would you have a problem coming across when discussing with customers? your boss? your colleagues? Are you a bit of a communicator or not at all?"
Not sure if that's a weakness you would want to have.

 

[bradpa77]

wgchere,

very clever answer. Never heard that one before. However ...

epoisses,

I've heard of interviewers doing that sort of thing. They can sense a reheased answer from a mile away. If they feel that their question is being dodged they will ask you to eloborate (as you have just shown) or they will ask for your second worst weakness ... then third ... then fourth ... until you've run out of scripted answers and finally have to give a heartfelt answer. I never had this happen to me personally, but it was brought up in an interviewing book I once read.



This thread has me all hot under the collar about that interview question now. The more I think about it, the more I hate the interview question. It's a lose/lose situation. Either you are honest and show a part of you that you would rather not reveal or you use the textbook answer and risk coming off as being sneaky or as if you have something to hide. I just don't understand the reason for asking the question in the first place. Every interviewer has to know that they are going to get a less than honest answer to that question. For us engineering types, it's not really that relevant to our potential performance on the job in question. It really only proves how well you can weasel out of a tricky question. Which, in my opinion, is not a desirable trait to have in an engineer anyways. If I were in charge, I wouldn't want engineers on my team who are good at bs. I'd want honest workers who are willing to stick their necks out from time to time and accept the responsiblity of their own shortcomings. I suppose that's why I answer the question honestly. Hopefully it doesn't backfire on me someday and keep me from getting a job that I really want or need.

 

[Ashereng]

bradpa77,

If it does mean you didn't get the job, it may also be a blessing in disguise - you won't be working with people who do not share your points of views/values.

 

[FACS]

My largest weakness is my refusal to talk about my weakness.

Charlie

http://www.facsco.com

 

[rhodie]

Q: "Largest Weakness?"

A: "My uncanny ability to ignore my weaknesses."

 

[TheTick]

Maybe next time...

"My worst weakness used to be that I would voluntarily reveal my shortcomings and weaken whatever position I may have had in a situation. It's not a weakness anymore, though."

 

[GregLocock]

Well Tick that is nearly the perfect answer, one more loop of spaghetti logic in there and we'll explode the interviewer's brain. Which would at least generate a further vacancy in the company.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[Maui]

The answer that I gave above is honest, and was actually used in my last interview. I got the job.

Maui

 

[Ashereng]

Maui,

Congratulation on getting your new job.

I hope for everyone's sake that the all the people you work with are competent.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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