What are your weaknesses? What we say vs. what we really mean

Even in the 21st Century, the infamous ‘weaknesses’ interview question is still a thing. Anyone who’s done their interview prep has a strategy for demonstrating their honesty without damaging their professional reputation. But behind the smooth, sanitized answers, a much less clean and shiny truth is lurking—let’s lay it bare and find out what those answers really mean.

• What we say: “I can be impatient and want to get projects finished quickly.”

  What we really mean: “I’m most impatient about getting my hands on my salary.”

• What we say: “I sometimes get a bit stressed, but I’ve been practicing meditation to overcome it.”

  What we really mean: “I drink twenty coffees a day just to keep going. That makes me jittery, so then I go for a 3-mile walk to calm down.”

• What we say: “I need time before I trust people.”

  What we really mean: “If your company vibe is as aggressive as the comments section on a Facebook post, I’ll quit before my one-month anniversary.”

• What we say: “Public speaking isn’t one of my strengths but I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone so I can grow.”

  What we really mean: “I practice my order three times over before going through the drive-thru, so presenting results in front of the whole company is never going to happen.”

• What we say: “I don’t like asking for help but I’m working on communicating my needs better.”

  What we really mean: “You know that submersible Titan that imploded at the bottom of the ocean? Yeah, that’s me.”

• What we say: “I’m a perfectionist.”

  What we really mean: “I’m sneakily giving you a weakness that’s really a strength. I’m pretty smart …”

• What we say: “Delegating isn’t one of my strengths, but I’ve taken a course so I can get better.”

  What we really mean: “Delegate? So that someone else can stick their nose into my disorganized files and judge me? I don’t think so. Maybe we can just add messy to my list of weaknesses.”

• What we say: “I need to learn to say no!”

  What we really mean: “I’m always up to my neck in neverending tasks.”

• What we say: “I’m too passionate.”

  What we really mean: “I’m always one comment away from an explosion—try critiquing my work and you’ll see.”

• What we say: “I tend to take things to heart.”

  What we really mean: “I can spend a whole week worrying over a tiny comment thrown out in a meeting.”

• What we say: I need to get better at data analysis.”

  What we really mean: “I spent my Excel classes doing magic tricks for the person sitting next to me. What’s a pivot table again?”

• What we say: “I can be a little stubborn.”

  What we really mean: “I’m not joining your company for less than $60K. Don’t even think about it.”

• What we say: “I can sometimes be distracted by my environment; I need a calm space to work effectively.”

  What we really mean: “An Instagram notification at 10 am will have me distracted for a good couple of hours.”

• What we say: “I’m working on my listening skills.”

  What we really mean: “It’s not my fault if my ideas are better than everyone else’s, but I make myself listen all the same.”

• What we say: “I can be indecisive.”

  What we really mean: “I can’t decide whether to retrain as a botanist, become a full-time artist, head off on a world tour, or try my hand at becoming a Bitcoin billionaire. Oh yeah, or work for you.”

Translated by Debbie Garrick

Photo: Welcome to the Jungle
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