<div style='font: 10pt Tahoma; text-align: left; '>I read a good blerb about this subject on some site:
"Whenever I am conducting a seminar about Interview Question and Answers, I always make a mention of the weaknesses question. Interestingly, the most common type of interviewee hears this interview question and answers quite promptly. But that is more because this is a common interview question and less because it is an easy interview question. I like this interview question because:
• it allows me to assess the level of honesty of the interview candidate.
• based on how the interviewee listens to this interview question and answers tells me about how canned his responses in general are.
The biggest problem with this type of question is the inability of the interviewee to confess to a real weakness. And that presents quite a dilemma doesn't it?
On the one hand, if you try to list a strength masked as a weakness, you are being dishonest. I am referring to the interview candidate who hears this interview question and answers - 'Oh! I am too hardworking', or 'I am a perfectionist,' or 'I trust people too much.'
On the other hand is the confession candidate who will start convincing you that (s)he is terrible. This person will hear the weakness interview question and say, 'I am not good with people,' and 'I am short tempered,' and 'I am lazy.' A sure case for rejection."
Any suggestions for good ones (what would you say)?
On a related topic, some of you may have read my post, a couple weeks back, about how i disliked my job. I have done a lot of thinking on the subject and i decided that i do not want to ditch public accounting altogther because it is an industry i like am good at, so i decided the problem was my small firm. I dont really like our clients, i dont like what i do there, and a guy who has been there for 4 years is still doing what i do thus there is no room for advancement. The firm is 35 people with 8 partners, it is very top heavy. I think i will have a better time at a bigger firm and feel more at home and so i started sending out my resume. Hopefully i will like what i hear from the interview tomorrow, this firm is 160 people string and has 14 partners, what a difference!</div>
"Whenever I am conducting a seminar about Interview Question and Answers, I always make a mention of the weaknesses question. Interestingly, the most common type of interviewee hears this interview question and answers quite promptly. But that is more because this is a common interview question and less because it is an easy interview question. I like this interview question because:
• it allows me to assess the level of honesty of the interview candidate.
• based on how the interviewee listens to this interview question and answers tells me about how canned his responses in general are.
The biggest problem with this type of question is the inability of the interviewee to confess to a real weakness. And that presents quite a dilemma doesn't it?
On the one hand, if you try to list a strength masked as a weakness, you are being dishonest. I am referring to the interview candidate who hears this interview question and answers - 'Oh! I am too hardworking', or 'I am a perfectionist,' or 'I trust people too much.'
On the other hand is the confession candidate who will start convincing you that (s)he is terrible. This person will hear the weakness interview question and say, 'I am not good with people,' and 'I am short tempered,' and 'I am lazy.' A sure case for rejection."
Any suggestions for good ones (what would you say)?
On a related topic, some of you may have read my post, a couple weeks back, about how i disliked my job. I have done a lot of thinking on the subject and i decided that i do not want to ditch public accounting altogther because it is an industry i like am good at, so i decided the problem was my small firm. I dont really like our clients, i dont like what i do there, and a guy who has been there for 4 years is still doing what i do thus there is no room for advancement. The firm is 35 people with 8 partners, it is very top heavy. I think i will have a better time at a bigger firm and feel more at home and so i started sending out my resume. Hopefully i will like what i hear from the interview tomorrow, this firm is 160 people string and has 14 partners, what a difference!</div>
