Interview question: What is your major weakness?

[SirRichardPryor]

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How did you answer that question?

When I had my interview, I had to really think about how to answer that question. At the time I really couldn't think of a weakness which was tough because I didn't want to claim to be perfect.

Sadly, I don't remember how I answered that question.

 

[pharm B]

haha, based on 27 views and 0 responses, I'd say no one was able to answer this question. 😉

 

[Passion4Sci]

The fact that I shoot first and ask questions later.

 

[pharm B]

The fact that I shoot first and ask questions later.

Snap! Careful. This got one OK pharmacist in trouble this year already.

(in all fairness, the first shot isn't what got him in trouble, I know)

 

[Passion4Sci]

Snap! Careful. This got one OK pharmacist in trouble this year already.

(in all fairness, the first shot isn't what got him in trouble, I know)

Exactly. Ersland would've been fine if he'd just dropped that worthless oxygen-thief and left him there, but he had to go pump some more lead into the dude's dome. So his shooting first/asking questions later worked out a-OK until he got dumb.

THe biggest difference between him and I though is that I've actually got PTSD, and he doesn't, since he was never actually deployed (LOL).

 

[jmcfa002]

People are probably afraid to give away answers lol

 

[Passion4Sci]

People are probably afraid to give away answers lol

No, it's a cognitive dissonance effect, most likely.

Posting on this thread would mean that you'd have to divulge a major weakness that you, as a person, have, but then doing so you'd worry about judgment by the folks who'd read it on SDN.

 

[delano2000]

No, it's a cognitive dissonance effect, most likely.

Posting on this thread would mean that you'd have to divulge a major weakness that you, as a person, have, but then doing so you'd worry about judgment by the folks who'd read it on SDN.

Yeah. Especially if they are part of an AdCom for a school you intend on applying to.

 

[thephoenician88]

major weakness hmmm, probably that some days i try to build shells and stay away from everyone and not be trusting, so i would say that and then say something like, but i stop myself from thinking that way and try to be outgoing and get to know others around me etc

 

[poorlilrich]

I'm somewhat whimsical, which has gotten me into some trouble in the past. I don't think my weakness will impede my goal of becoming a pharmacist because I can discern between situations where I need to act professional and rational from those where I can be capricious and hedonistic.

 

[crazybob]

some videos i've watched and tips i've read say to talk about some skills that you have not been able to use in previous jobs and experiences and i guess you could talk about how you could improve that by working as a pharmacist.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

I always have a hard time with this question as well. I'm sure most of us are pretty highly functional people so it's hard to come up with a MAJOR weakness.

I can't lie with a straight face, so I have to find something that is true or else I won't even be able to talk about it.

I USUALLY say that a big weakness of mine is perfectionism because I am too hard on myself. In school I felt pressure to live up to the nerd status. I was put in "gifted" classes because my parents didn't want me to skip the 1st grade. Plus I'm an only child so I'm basically my parents only hope. haha They made me play mozart and chopin on the piano when I was like 5 and 6 years old because they said it would help me become a neurosurgeon later on. HAH. All I wanted to do was play Colors of the Wind from Pochahontas. Funny thing is... that's one of the only songs I still remember. 😀

I think that sounds sort of fake though, because it sounds like you're trying to turn a weakness into a positive thing (even though that's what they always told us to do for that question). Even though it really ISN'T a good thing in my case because I used to have HUGE panic attacks in high school (even before I started drinking massive amounts of coffee lol) I still get physiological symptoms every now and then, but I just deal with it and go about my day. I don't take any meds because I don't feel like I need to.

If they ask me that same question now, I'd probably say that I'm not very outgoing by nature, probably due to the only child thing, but I think a lot of us book worms are like that. I'd just explain to them that I try to involve myself in things that would normally make a more shy person uncomfortable and I've learned over the years to get over it. I've been doing cheer/dance/and gymnastics since I was in elementary school so I've learned how to deal will all kinds of people and work in a team. When I was in high school I always thought I wanted to do a lot of research, particularly in pharmacogenetics, but after working in hospitality I disovered my passion for customer service also so I'm particularly attracted to retail as well.

That's another thing... whenever they ask me what kind of pharmacy I'm interested in, I always say that I have a pretty clear idea of what I like, but I'm keeping an open mind because you always have to feel things out to really discover what you're going to set your mind on. That's one thing I like about UF is that they offer research opportunities in pharmacogenetics, so if I ended up going there it would be a great opportunity to figure out what I'm good at and what I would like to pursue further. Retail, research, residency, whatever.

 

[Sparda29]

Probably getting attached to people too easily. Makes a break-up really hard to get over.

 

[medicalCPA]

I wouldn't tell you MY greatest weakness, but a tip I have for you is: be honest, and talk about a true weakness.

I find that "take a weakness and turn it into a strength" crap to be just that: crap. IMO, it is the most hypocritical piece of advice ever, and if I was the interviewer who asked this question, and the interviewer tried to do that, I would do either of two things:
1. Reject the applicant OR
2. Politely tell him/her, "now you've told me the PC version, what is your TRUE greatest weakness?" (Saw this in interview feedback).

 

[SirRichardPryor]

I wouldn't tell you MY greatest weakness, but a tip I have for you is: be honest, and talk about a true weakness.

I find that "take a weakness and turn it into a strength" crap to be just that: crap. IMO, it is the most hypocritical piece of advice ever, and if I was the interviewer who asked this question, and the interviewer tried to do that, I would do either of two things:
1. Reject the applicant OR
2. Politely tell him/her, "now you've told me the PC version, what is your TRUE greatest weakness?" (Saw this in interview feedback).

But see, I remember stumbling on that question because I really don't think about my weaknesses and even if I were to make one up I wouldn't want it to be a weakness that would hurt my ability in pharmacy.

I think I told them that I put too much faith in other people and that I expect everyone else to be on my level when sometimes they aren't.

 

[Hels2007]

Just don't give any of the bull**** from the interview books like "perfectionism", "being too dedicated" and all that. Be honest. I don't like asking this question exactly because I get idiotic answers that tell me nothing except that the person in front of me either lacks self-awareness, or honesty, or brain, or is afraid to say something wrong (which is essentially the same as lacking a brain).

 

[pharm B]

It's a poor question for schools to still ask. It seems like a relic of the days of "paradigms" and other business garbage flooding every facet of school and work.

Someone should publish a new business interview book.

 

[KNB]

I haven't interviewed for pharm school yet (in the spring, though). But on job interviews, I usually say something like I have too much going or start too much and have to prioritize and reassess to make sure everything comes out like I need it to. Something along those lines. If you throw out a weakness, make sure you have a method to compensate for that weakness, as well. That's the best thing I can tell anyone that's asked that question on any kind of interview. Always cover your ***.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

I don't think that question really tells us much about the person no matter what you decide to answer with... obviously "turning a weakness into a positive" is something that EVERYONE knows about, so the interviewer is most likely going to recognize it and disregard whatever you say, unless you can really prove that it is a weakness and/or disadvantage you've had to overcome.

Other than that... no one is perfect, despite what a lot of people like to believe, so even the most capable and qualified students are going to have some sort of weakness. Whether it be procrastination, shyness, trust issues, whatever, they aren't expecting us to be perfect robots so I think in any case honesty is the best policy.

I think HOW you answer tells the adcom more about the person than what your actual weakness is.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Still standing by shooting first and asking questions later.

Might as well call me Ersland 2.0.

 

[CutaneousRabbit]

I'm curious what you all think about an answer like "several depressive episodes" or "panic attacks." The latter colored everything I did for years (and I know plenty of people have the former), but -- even though I'm totally functional now -- I'd be hesitant to be that honest.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I'm curious what you all think about an answer like "several depressive episodes" or "panic attacks." The latter colored everything I did for years (and I know plenty of people have the former), but -- even though I'm totally functional now -- I'd be hesitant to be that honest.

I doubt I'd directly bring up my diagnosed "Generalized Anxiety Disorder-NOS" or PTSD, but then again I don't think it's my major weakness. My intolerance for stupidity and laziness definitely is.

 

[busyizzy]

But see, I remember stumbling on that question because I really don't think about my weaknesses and even if I were to make one up I wouldn't want it to be a weakness that would hurt my ability in pharmacy.

The point is - you should have thought about it. Especially on your application, it's a process of finding about "yourself" and in that process, most people assume you've analyzed yourself not only on your strengths but your weaknesses.

My weakness would be being excited about a lot of things at once when I first start, and then have trouble prioritizing by importance (I do it by things I'm most interested in which tends to bite me in the ass later).

 

[Tinkerbell22]

I don't think I would say my panic attacks were a major weakness on my application either. It's something you pretty much have to learn to deal with and move on I think. I would try to say something that is more inherent in my personality that I've been trying to work on improving. I know how you feel, because when I was in high school it was sort of scary for me because they couldn't figure out why I was waking up at 4am sweating and dizzy. lol Once they ruled out pretty much everything else like hyperthyroidism, tested me to make sure I wasn't using drugs, etc, they figured out that I was probably just really stressed out and not sleeping enough.

Once I knew why I was having the physiological symptoms I was fine because it no longer scared me and it would go away after 5 min.

My point is... I don't think I would put something that could be considered a "medical" issue or whatever because number 1. most people can't help it, and number 2. some diagnoses carry a stigma that you might not necessarily want following you around.

 

[diastole]

I'm a total slacker. I can't think of a good way to say that in an interview without severe consequences. I've learned how to prioritize so I'm a high functioning slacker but I will always be a slacker.

 

[Lo|a]

For me it's being too casaul about things always thinking I'll have another chance at something and as a consequence I don't always but forth my best efforts the first time around. I am really working on that and have gotten better.

 

[pharmddreams]

What kind of weaknesses do you guys think would be acceptable and how would you approach answering the question?

 

[owlegrad]

What kind of weaknesses do you guys think would be acceptable and how would you approach answering the question?

My biggest weakness is my inability to stop stealing CII's and selling them on the side. Thankfully I was not asked this question at my interview. Whew.

But seriously you just need to be honest with yourself and just answer the question. Nothing illegal or immoral, also nothing about hating group work. Make it something real; but not so bad you can't be accepted.

One of my biggest flaws (and this may surprise some of you) is I tend to come across as arrogant. So I talked about that. I am also somewhat sarcastic, but I don't consider that a flaw.

 

[charfdorn]

What kind of weaknesses do you guys think would be acceptable and how would you approach answering the question?

Thank you for using the search function.

They're looking for a character trait, and they want to know that you can recognize this in yourself and how you deal with your weaknesses. Be sure that whatever you pick you can talk about ways you have to overcome this weakness. For instance, if you choose procrastinating, you could talk about how you have started scheduling big deadlines as a series of smaller deadlines to prevent yourself from getting behind. It doesn't really matter what your weakness is so long as it's something that you can deal with.

 

[owlegrad]

Thank you for using the search function.

They're looking for a character trait, and they want to know that you can recognize this in yourself and how you deal with your weaknesses. Be sure that whatever you pick you can talk about ways you have to overcome this weakness. For instance, if you choose procrastinating, you could talk about how you have started scheduling big deadlines as a series of smaller deadlines to prevent yourself from getting behind. It doesn't really matter what your weakness is so long as it's something that you can deal with.

This is very cliche', imo. Just give them an honest answer - don't dwell on how you overcome it or how you turn it into a positive, just give them some honest answer about some trait about yourself that you struggle with. Everyone and their brother talks about how they "study too hard" or about how they turn w/e their weakness is into a strength. Just give them some character flaws that you struggle with. Of course if you can't think of a flaw, congratulations on being perfect. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Youngbinks]

This is one of my favorite questions to ask when I am interviewing with students. There is nothing worse than hearing from a student that they have no weaknesses.

 

[KNB]

I'm a total slacker. I can't think of a good way to say that in an interview without severe consequences. I've learned how to prioritize so I'm a high functioning slacker but I will always be a slacker.

I almost forgot about this thread but you're comment sounds alot like me lol. I'm a procrastinator and have to prioritize and stay organized to be a procrastinator who gets things completed.

 

[Notecard]

This is a genuine weakness of mine but I can't decide if it's something I want to tell the interviewers. It's that I spread myself out too thin sometimes. Between work, school, friends, family, sleep ect. I can't decide if they will just think, "Oh, he won't be able to handle pharmacy school."

 

[2411t]

"kryptonite"

 

[peeps1234]

Difficulty saying no to people.

Most important part is not the answer itself but if you can explain how you have dealt with it or are dealing with it or how you will deal with it in pharmacy school/career.

Example. Because I've become very organized (and good at prioritizing), I am a lot better at gauging whether or not I have time to help someone with whatever they are asking for. Versus, just saying yes. And doing a half-ass job because I'm stressed about time.

 

[nyc76]

Is it still safe to say: "my greatest weakness is that I'm a perfectionist"

 

[tadolsen]

Would a good "greatest weakness" answer be that I always have to be right? I asked my wife to give he her honest opinion, and it took .5 seconds to come up with an answer.

 

[ChemPharm77]

I have a habit of always double checking my work and my other weakness is the chick fil a chicken minis

 

[PharmD for Me]

The answer I used (not necessarily my actual greatest weakness)

Me: Something along the lines of... "Well, sometimes I'm just too detail-oriented and have to remind myself what the big picture is. For example..."

Response: "OH! But being detail-oriented in pharmacy is very important!"

In my head: 😎. "Exactly." <---- Thought I was so clever.🙄


Bonus points on if you elaborate about how you have tried to overcome that weakness (always their follow-up question) and how you have learned from it.


Overall though, I feel this is a bogus question. Most people will do what I did or some variation of it and I'm sure the interviews are used to it. It's a question that will be asked in many interviews (school and job) though, so it's worth putting some thought into it. I have yet to come up with a real interview-appropriate non-BS answer.

 

[Corpseman]

The answer I used (not necessarily my actual greatest weakness)

Me: Something along the lines of... "Well, sometimes I'm just too detail-oriented and have to remind myself what the big picture is. For example..."

Response: "OH! But being detail-oriented in pharmacy is very important!"

In my head: 😎. "Exactly." <---- Thought I was so clever.🙄


Bonus points on if you elaborate about how you have tried to overcome that weakness (always their follow-up question) and how you have learned from it.


Overall though, I feel this is a bogus question. Most people will do what I did or some variation of it and I'm sure the interviews are used to it. It's a question that will be asked in many interviews (school and job) though, so it's worth putting some thought into it. I have yet to come up with a real interview-appropriate non-BS answer.

I always thought it was dumb to use a strength as your weakness, but I am glad your interviewer fell for it.

My greatest weakness is that I am too awesome......😴

 

[owlegrad]

I once said my sarcasm was my biggest weakness. Then on my annual evaluation my boss put sarcasm as one of my areas for improvement. During the review she commented that she remembered me saying during my interview that I had a problem with sarcasm. I kinda wonder if I didn't plant the idea in her head about that.

But I agree with the above comment, using a strength as a weakness seems corny to me.

 

[kcha90]

I think in most cases stating a strength as a weakness is disingenuous and the savvy interviewer will find it distasteful.

 

[tm79602]

I have a habit of always double checking my work and my other weakness is the chick fil a chicken minis

I couldn't agree with you more!!! I love those minis!!!!