6 Real-Life Examples "What do you consider to be your weaknesses?" in an Interview

All employers know that when they ask the classic interview question “What do you consider to be your weaknesses?”, they are looking for an answer that says you are humble and down-to-earth.

So, how do you appear humble and honest but at the same time give a positive and impressive answer?

Here are six real-life examples of “What do you consider to be your weaknesses?” in an Interview.

  • Don’t be tempted to go for a cliché such as “perfectionism,” or to claim that you don’t have any weaknesses. But don’t highlight anything that might worry the interviewer, either.
  • Instead, choose something that you’ve found challenging in the past, but have successfully addressed.
  • Use specific examples to show how you identified the weakness, what you did to improve, and the positive impact this has had on your work since.

I'm pretty detail-oriented

I think my biggest weakness is that I'm pretty detail-oriented. Sometimes this can get in the way of seeing the big picture, and it's something I've been working on improving over the last year.

For example, one time I was doing research for a project and I had to read through about 20 different articles before I could pull out the information that would be most relevant.

At first, I was really frustrated because it seemed like no matter how much time or energy I put into reading through all those articles, I still felt like there were so many other things that might have been just as important but didn't make it into the final draft.

But then my manager pointed out that this was actually a strength—because I was able to pinpoint exactly what aspect of each article was most relevant to our specific needs, we were able to save both time and money by only highlighting those parts!


I consider my lack of attention to detail

I consider my biggest weakness to be my lack of attention to detail. I'm always worried that I'm not doing enough, and I sometimes rush through tasks without giving them the attention they deserve.

I first noticed this when I was working as an undergraduate researcher at [university name]. I had been assigned a project that was important, but I was having trouble getting started on it because there were so many details to take care of.

At first, I tried to just power through it—that's what you do when you're in school, right? But then professor [name] gave me some advice that changed everything: "You don't have to do all of these things perfectly," she said. "Just make sure that every step is correct."

Her words really resonated with me and helped me realize that even if there are mistakes along the way, as long as they don't affect the quality of your work overall then it doesn't matter if they're there or not!

This has made a huge difference in how much stress I put on myself about making sure everything is perfect before moving on with my work—and it has also made me feel like less of a failure when something does go wrong!


I’ve struggled is with prioritizing my workload

One area where I’ve struggled is with prioritizing my workload.

It’s easy to get excited about a new project or to want to help out on an existing project, but it’s important for me to take the time to evaluate whether or not each task is as important as it seems.

When I first started working at my current company, I found myself trying to do everything at once and only making progress on one thing at a time.

I realized that if I didn’t set specific deadlines and prioritize my tasks, nothing would ever get done on time! So now, when I take on new projects or tasks, I make sure to set deadlines for myself and prioritize them according to how pressing they are. This has helped me complete projects faster and more efficiently than before.


I sometimes get so caught up in the details of a project that I miss the big picture

I consider my biggest weakness to be that I sometimes get so caught up in the details of a project that I miss the big picture.

In the past, this has made it difficult for me to delegate tasks and to let others take responsibility for their own work. As a result, my projects have often been late and I've had trouble communicating with my team members.

To help address this issue, I started asking myself "what's the most important thing right now?" as a way of setting priorities and making sure that every task was getting done on time.

This helped me see what parts of a project were truly essential, and which ones could wait until later if necessary. It also helped me delegate tasks more effectively by giving me an opportunity to review the requirements before passing them off to someone else.

Finally, it allowed me to communicate more effectively with my team members—by focusing on what really mattered at each stage of the project, they were able to better understand why they were doing something and how it fits into their overall goals.


My ability to multitask

I consider my worst weakness to be my ability to multitask. I have always been a very focused worker, and when I am working on something, I tend to get absorbed in it. This can lead me to lose track of time or even forget about other things that are going on in my life.

However, recently I have been making an effort to improve this area of my work by setting reminders throughout the day and trying to stay more organized. This has helped me be more effective at work, as well as more present in my personal life.


Stay organized

I've always found it challenging to stay organized. I can be forgetful, and I don't always think through the steps that need to be taken in order to complete a task.

I've learned to create checklists for myself, and I make sure that I'm clear on exactly what is expected of me before I begin working on a project.

This has been really helpful in ensuring that I complete tasks on time, without feeling overwhelmed or stressed out about what needs to get done.