Question on weakness

A good weakness is something which might be a strength if looked at in a different light - for example, a weakness might be that I'm not very spontaneous and tend to over prepare for things, or that sometimes I come across as too quiet because I think too much about what to say. Both of these "weaknesses" might actually be very good qualities in certain situations.

A bad weakness is something which is just bad - ie I'm lazy, I procrastinate or I have no will power. No way to put a positive spin on a weakness like that. Everyone has them, but you might not want to draw attention to them during your interview...

Soccer885 said:

So I wanted to know what responses myself and others should stay away from.

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There's a general rule in interviewing when you are asked about the "weakness" question, and there are three admisisons you CAN make.

1) Talk about an unrelated weakness. For instance, you could say, "I generally manage my money quite well, but at Christmas I always spend way too much money on my favorite niece. I just can't help myself." It has absolutely nothing to do how good of a doctor you will eventually become.

2) Mention something you are in the process of correcting. "I used to have a problem speaking in public, but I'm almost finished taking a public speaking class this summer and it's been the best thing that ever happened to me. According to the instructor I've become one of the best speech makers in the class."

3) Pick a past mistake that you made and show how you have learned from it. It shows your adaptability.

In the category of things NOT to say:

Don't say something that will hurt you. Things like, "I often drink before driving", even if true, would be detrimental. Never say you don'y have ANY weaknesses. Everyone has at least one. Don't say your weakness is that you work too hard-- too many people use that one and interviewers recognize it as crap. Plus, don't offer more than one weakness unless they specifically ask for another one.

Its only one question. Don't sweat it too badly.

I have gotten this question and it seemed that the interviewers really liked my answer. First of all, confidence is just as important as being humble, so I explained how I had prepared for medical school and how this preparation had made me confident that I would excel in medical school. To stop there would probably be a wrong answer since no one is perfect, whether you think you are or not. I then went on to explain that while I do not believe that I have any detrimental or glaring weaknesses, there are various things that I could work on in order to improve. At this point just continue to be honest and talk with them about things you need to improve on, whether it be study skills, time management, money management, etc. Like someone else said, just make sure to not say anything that will truly damage you, such as:

"My weakness is that I'm really not very good at sciences"

or something worse that will not only get your application rejected before the interview is over but they will call other schools and tell them not to interview you, like:

"I really do not get along well with people, especially those of other races. In fact, I hate people"

Keep your weakness that you talk about marginal, and BE SURE to explain how you plan to improve.