What would you answer for an Interview question about weakness??

[sminj85]

If an interviewr asked about your weakness, how would you answer that?

I know the answer would be vary but it's hard for me.
I cannot say the weakness only. Rather I have to say some weaknesses that can turn into strength. I am thinking something but that makes me too stubborn perfectionist. Would you guys help me? Thx.

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[TheWiredNerv]

A weakness you can turn into a strength...isn't that a strength and not a weakness? I think when they ask you this question they are looking for you to be honest and say one of your downfalls and not try to say some answer to make yourself look good. If there was a question on the DAT that said pick the worst answer, would you pick the best? For this question I think you should bite the bullet and just say "sometimes when I get distracted it can take me a while to become focused again" or any weakness that you may have.

 

[hystericblue]

being a perfectionist can be a weakness. It can interfere with your decision making.

 

[jigabodo]

Imo, stubborn perfectionist is somewhat of a canned answer for that question. Personally, I dont think it has to be something that you can turn into strength. It should be OK as long as you can put some positive spin into it.

 

[tinman831]

Being a perfectionist, studying too hard, working too much... those are all really character traits that would be wonderful to possess as a dental student. Now if you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, ADD, or you have insomnia so you work to pass the time, then you would be able to pass those off as weaknesses. 🙂

 

[brown town]

Be honest! You can never go wrong there, except after you say your weakness, mention what you have done to improve this problem or things you have done to lessen this problem. Don't sound too scripted!

We're all human and we are by no means perfect, it's ok to have a weakness just as long as you are aware of it and you are working to improve it!👍

 

[phraud]

I think the whole spinning a weakness into a positive is overdone. Just be honest. Tell them a weakness that doesn't make you seem like a complete loser, and let them know that you're always trying to improve yourself.

What you can say:

"I tend to get sidetracked very easily when I'm doing work."
"I can be very stubborn sometimes."

What NOT to say:

"I'm a VERY hard worker and tend to work WAY too much because I'm an EXTREMELY hard worker... did I mention that I work a lot?"
"I'm always late with my child support payments because of my heroine addiction."

 

[E Nigma]

"I'm always late with my child support payments because of my heroine addiction."

Dang! There goes my acceptance.

And I agree with those that advise not to spin weaknesses. These people are hearing BS answers all day long, and the chance to hear uninhibited honesty is probably quite a refresher for a lot of them.

 

[in her drawer]

I'm sure you'll get accepted if you tell them that your biggest weaknesses are a lack of motivation and an inability to complete what you started.

 

[dr bojangles]

don't mention any inabilities to think straight, write coherently, or speak articulately. or that you made a mistake in applying to their school.
.....oh yeah and hide the bodies.
you will sail through the interview.

godspeed

 

[1992Corolla]

don't say I am a perfectionist...if you do then you might as well said 'I am conceited'.

It is good to be a perfectionist in dental school.

Things like:
I eat too much
I talk a lot
I annoy people
I can't make decisions
I smell

These are all NEGATIVE weaknesses. You want to say something about a POSITIVE weakness:

I am too serious sometimes, I need to relax more
I have a weakness for ______(insert hobby) and it can distract me sometimes
I don't read enough Dental Journals
I should read the newspaper more
I need to find more hobbies, or start a sport, or etc.

get it?

 

[Regmata]

What weakness?

 

[xianexiane]

If and when they ask about weakness tell them cookies especially the chocolate chip kind...or kryptonite....I've also thought about this question and I think 1992corrola has it right...positive weakness

 

[excusezmoi]

Some advice that was given to me was that saying that you're a perfectionist is a generic answer. If you research into job interview questions you'll find a lot of what to say about weakness.
One I can think of is you can say you work too hard. You may view it as a weakness because tend to over do it.
You can also be creative by saying a real weakness that you are working on and counter it by how you are going to fix it
Or how you use to have a weakness then say how you've managed to overcome it.