The question “What is your greatest weakness?” is a popular and often dreaded question in job interviews, including SSB interviews. It is designed to assess your self-awareness, honesty, and ability to reflect on areas where you may need improvement.
While it may be tempting to provide a clichéd response or attempt to spin a weakness into a strength, it is important to approach this question with sincerity and thoughtfulness.
What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
When addressing this question, it is essential to strike a balance between acknowledging a genuine weakness and demonstrating your proactive efforts to overcome it. Here are some tips to help you craft an effective response:
- Be self-reflective: Take some time before the interview to self-reflect and identify an area where you genuinely struggle or have room for improvement. It could be a skill, a personality trait, or a specific behavior.
- Choose a relevant weakness: Select a weakness that is relevant to the position or field you are applying for. This shows that you understand the requirements of the role and are actively working to develop yourself professionally.
- Focus on improvement: Once you have identified a weakness, emphasize the steps you have taken or are taking to address it. This could include training, seeking mentorship, or actively working on personal development.
- Demonstrate a growth mindset: Show that you view weaknesses as opportunities for growth and learning. Discuss how you are open to feedback, willing to learn from mistakes, and actively striving for self-improvement.
- Avoid generic responses: Steer clear of generic answers such as “I’m a perfectionist” or “I work too hard.” Interviewers have likely heard these responses before and are looking for genuine self-awareness.
- Be honest but tactful: While it is important to be honest about your weaknesses, be tactful in your delivery. Frame your weakness in a way that shows your commitment to improving and highlights your strengths.
- Practice your response: Take the time to practice answering this question before your interview. This will help you feel more confident and articulate during the actual conversation.
Remember, the purpose of this question is not to expose your flaws but to evaluate your self-awareness and growth potential. By approaching it thoughtfully and showcasing your willingness to learn and improve, you can provide a compelling and genuine response.
my weakness is that i usually help other without giving a second thought and some times i ask too many questions due to curiosity.
My weakness is i am little bit short tempered,a careless,though m friendly with every1 i get angry wd people who pretends to be ur friend & backstabs…i do meditate 4 anger control,note down in my diary my thing 2 remove carelessness…but to those backstabers i donot express my feelings 4 them but i just hate from inside!!sir please comment on this??please advice me if its upto the mark???
my writing speed is slow…..
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I think that my weakness is managing time or my schedule.But I am working on it buy writing my schedule on a small notepad.
my weak points are that i am lazy and my communication skills in English are very bad
i want to improve my weak points for this i have fixed time to complete my different works and i try to complete them within time. to improve my communication skill i read English papers, magazines whenever i get time.., watch English movies , search related material on websites and try to communicate to more people in English.
my greatest weakness is that i am a little procrastinator as sometimes i leave things for the other day if i find my work very boring,
but I make sure i wake up early in the morning the very next day and complete my pending work as i am more fresh in the morning.
Sir,
MY weakness is spending more time in my hobbies .but i compensate for the loss of time in other task by reducing sleeping time.
my weakness is I got lazy on weekends.To overcome it i preplan my weekends with friends.
@Admin: Will this be a weakness?
I cannot tell specifically what my weakness is.
I think my communication skills, which is my greatest strength, is also my weakness. Once i start talking, i cannot stop myself. I speak anywhere and everywhere. As a result (i think) i become a object of fun everywhere.
Again, i am very straight forward and real, which is a good virtue, but, as a result, I sound rude at times.
Because I have been lonely for quiet some time that too in urban area, some amount of selfishness exists in me.
I am egoistic. I find it very difficult to digest someone teasing me. I cannot give appropriate reply in case i am teased or made fun of. And i feel extremely helpless in such situations. I cannot bear such fun and take it personally.
I feed on praises. (i take it as negative cause no praises = no energy)
I am extremely weak emotionally.
I am just a good speaker and not a doer. I decide things but don’t do it myself. However, i expect that others should do what they say. I am not sincere.
sir my weakness is i cant speak english fluently,and in some cases i m very aggressive,and i m not frank.
My weakness has always been “My anger”.
And I’ve overcame it very much since my childhood. Now i don’t get angry easily but still when i get angry it’s never good for me and others… m still working on it and m sure i’ll get it right soon… by converting my anger into other form of energy 🙂
my weakness is m bit talkative, short tempered ,, and smtimes i respond in haste..
i m trying to improve upon,, for this. i listen others,.
try to analyse the situations before quickly responding.
still I m not completely able to overcome these but i m happy that some improvement is there.
@admin- sir!!
@ admin
my weakness is that i think alot..n in my view it is not good for personal life while it help me in my professional life.
so,should i count as a weakness or as a strengh??
and thought i am fit but am i taking less care about my health…
@Sourab
If you know your weak points then just work on them 🙂
its credulous.. sorry by mistake. reply for the post sir..
My weaknesses are:
1)I am not fluent in english though working on it
2)I eat lot of junk food
3)I am cradulous
please reply sir…
THNKEW SO MUCH SIR FOR UR VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS..:)
@ADMIN is it good enough?
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The greatest weakness is that I am a bit lazy at times. I am working on it by making a proper time table and following it. I sleep on time and wake up early to exercise.
at times i found difficulty in concentrating things for long interval of time, vague thoughts popped up in mind and result into day dreaming, but i have started meditation its helping me,
another weakness of mine is consistency….
My weakness is that ,if some one criticizes me or tell some bad thing about me related directly or indirectly ,i keep on thinking about the reason &was it worthy, sometimes even has to loose sleep for that. Sir ,what to say in remedy.
@admin please refer to my weakness sir this is true
i cant say no to anyone who is asking for help sometime holding my own work , i dont critisize or speak out or burst out at face of anyone if i get hurted or disappointed by anyone activity,
@Khushboo
Most of the candidates instead of telling the weakness tells there strength as a weakness.
IO is a very experienced person, when he ask you about weaknesses then better tell weakness which can be improved ( not something which is permanent) . Also after telling your weaknesses tell how are you improving that and then it will turns into your strength .
(1)My main weakness is my English language (vocabulary) but i am working on it by reading newspapers,watching English movies and referring to the dictionary,and also by communicating with my friends in English.
(2)I am not able to refuse whenever anyone asks for help….Many times i become over helpful , i complete others work before completing mine…I consider it as a weakness.
sir,tell me 3-4 such example of weakness which turns in to strength…
i m poor in general awareness
my weakness is dat i cant speak english fluently &my height short
some time i take very tough decision towards the easy situation….
I used to trust peoples very easily and sometimes when a question is asked I forgot the answer even if I know it. But my first weakness has helped me a lot to understand an individual that which type of person is trustable which is not It is not 100% correct but most of the times it is correct & to overcome second problem I have a strategy listen carefully.take a few second pause & then speak.
my weakness is i am
agressive
I am unable to manage my time at times that weakens my focus on task,however i have started doing my work with setting priorities to overcome this problem and got good success in it.Moreover,i control my aggressive behavior by listening music and meditation.
How are you overcoming it ? Do you ignore other things also like friends and any college work ?
sir,
the main weakness which i feel i have is of being lazy sometimes. sometimes when my parents ask me to do some thing i just say ” i,ll go after 5 min. “. afterwards i try to avoid doing it.
thats the main weakness i think i have . i,m trying to overcome it now
two year back i was reluctant to take part in events due to stage fear and my weak pronunciation skills.
but now i have made myself up by starting participating in events getting my stage fear out of myself
for my pronunciation skill my friend have helped me a lot they have corrected me and i have started reading habit spl webpages
i m not taking my meals at time
stamina not good
Knowing and accepting your weaknesses is a great quality and working upon it is greatness…
my weakness is that i cant speak english fluently..
i m superstitious about colurs, i get excited too much sometimes, i have a bad sense of humour….sir what is your opinion regarding the weakness i have stated?????
I am not able to refuse whenever anyone asks for help….sometimes even holding up my work for the sake of others
i am bit impatient and lazy at times.Also,i am not able to express myself properly in concise manner using english language.
my weaness is my laptop and internet:)
nice joke
I have always been nervous speaking in public. This year however, I volunteered for a project in which I had to present to senior management. The presentation went pretty well. Of course, I was extremely nervous, but I got through it. Now, I am less intimidated by those sorts of experiences