what kind of weakness?

[luw]

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When you are asked to describe or list your weaknesses during an interview.. what kind are they looking for??? certainly not "I've got a weakness for strawberry ice cream😛 " right?

They want to know that you know yourself well and that you know your limits. But how do you tell them about a weakness without it working against you? How do you tell them about a weakness in a way that demonstrates your strengths?

Also, is it better to talk about a unique weakness rather than something like "a tendency to procrastinate" which is more common amongst students? And is it bad to talk about things like weaknesses in learning.. would it make them question your ability to excel at their school?

I guess I've been told so many times that it is important to emphasize your strengths and not draw attention to your weaknesses that I'm beginning to look too much into this simple question.

Any advice on how to approach this topic would be oh so appreciated! You know you wanna help a new SDN'er out 😉
Thanks!

 

[mikecwru]

Originally posted by luw
When you are asked to describe or list your weaknesses during an interview.. what kind are they looking for??? certainly not "I've got a weakness for strawberry ice cream😛 " right?

They want to know that you know yourself well and that you know your limits. But how do you tell them about a weakness without it working against you? How do you tell them about a weakness in a way that demonstrates your strengths?

Also, is it better to talk about a unique weakness rather than something like "a tendency to procrastinate" which is more common amongst students? And is it bad to talk about things like weaknesses in learning.. would it make them question your ability to excel at their school?

I guess I've been told so many times that it is important to emphasize your strengths and not draw attention to your weaknesses that I'm beginning to look too much into this simple question.

Any advice on how to approach this topic would be oh so appreciated! You know you wanna help a new SDN'er out 😉
Thanks!

The classic advice is to give a "weakness" that really is a hidden strength, e.g., "I'm a little obsessive-compulsive about getting things right," etc. But I think it's ok to list a real weakness as long as it isn't a huge red flag as long as you intelligently talk about how you deal with it or how you overcame it.

mike

 

[luw]

Thanks Mike, this is great advice that makes sense!
Being nervous about my first interview is making me second guess my answers to even the very simple interview questions.
So if there's more advice on this stuff out there, please share. Thanks!

 

[14931]

hey here is a thread from a while back, i hope it helps, good luck on ur interview.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=45287&highlight=weakness

 

[sunlover]

They can definitely tell when you're faking it about the weakness question. Lying or distorting the truth will not help, even if you are a good actor. Everyone has some weaknesses, and to try to play them off is a bad idea, they will think you are avoiding the question. I would be honest and tell them one real weakness (but not list a bunch!) and then give an example of it, and then talk about how you try to counteract it. You'll sound much more mature and realistic that way. Remember, your interviewer is a person with weaknesses, too!

 

[JJNY]

Here's a link to a search I did on the topic a while back:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=what+is+your+weakness+interview+questions

The best thing to do, from my research, is to detail a weakness you used to have, and then explain how you systematically eliminated that vice and are a better candidate today.

I use a spiel about how I was never a big planner, more of a go with the flow person. But going to grad school while working full time forced me to learn super time and life managment skills if I wanted to maintain my work performance, good grades, and a social life all at once. So now I'm super organized, carry a Palm Pilot to plan out my days, and find that I'm now an overall more productive and effective person.

Good luck. 😉

 

[Street Philosopher]

i just said some honest weaknesses; none of that thinly veiled crap. that being said, don't mention that you like to do cruel things to animals or anything like that. just mention some stuff that are weaknesses but which are correctable or at the least not very controversial.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I agree with those who said to choose a weakness that is also a strength. For example: I don't like working with other people. I like to do things by myself. That is a weakness, but it is also a strength because it shows independence. That's kind of an easy example, but you get my drift... 🙂

 

[Stan]

I like to be honest and say I can get emotionally involved with patients, which could impair my judgement as a physician.

 

[Cerberus]

blah blah blah the only one i like is SP's. Tell them you are addicted to smack and would sell your body for it...now that is a real weakness.

 

[kaos]

I told them my weakness is that I laugh too much at inappropriate times--and then I laughed nervously. 😀

 

[doepug]

Street Philosopher is right.

Don't BS, don't say "I used to have weakness x, but I fixed it now." Don't feed them crap.

Think about it. You're not perfect. If you can't think of a weakness, then you don't know yourself well enough. Perhaps your weakness is that you're indecisive.

Good luck,
doepug

 

[Chemguync]

This was the one question that really stumped me during my interview.. I really couldn't think of a weakness I had in terms of being a medical student / doctor. So I just made a dumb joke I'd read in a thread a while before about not being able to commit to exercize, which she giggled at, then told her honestly, I'm sure I have lots of weaknesses, but I can't really think of any right now. I figured that would look less bad than opening up a stale can of "I always push myself too hard to get a lot accomplished," or "I hold myself to too high standards sometimes." I dunno.. I'm still waiting for either the phone call to tell me honesty is the best policy, or the thin envelop to tell me to take some acting lessons. Good luck to ya

 

[Samoa]

I personally think the weakness for strawberry ice cream would work just fine. Shows you have a sense of humor even under stress.