Winning the "What are Your Biggest WEAKNESSES?" Job Interview Question

Hired: Talent VP on Job Interviews, Negotiation & Offers

Hired Podcast

Education, Interview Prep, Promotions, Self-improvement, Careers, Job Interviews, Job Search, How To, Resumes, Business, Cover Letters

4.9 • 638 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode tackles the dreaded "weaknesses" question in job interviews, often seen as tricky and nerve-wracking. But fear not! Host and recruitment expert demystifies it, showing you how to turn it into a strength. Key points:Mistakes to avoid: Claiming perfection, taking too long to answer, not having weaknesses prepared. 3 winning response styles: Weakness you're actively improving: Shows self-awareness and growth. Minor weakness unrelated to the job: Highlights honest...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Everyone has weaknesses.
0:03.1	This job interview question is scary and complicated and ridiculous, maybe a little bit overblown,
0:11.5	but it doesn't have to be.
0:13.1	I can simplify it for you right now.
0:15.2	I'm going to do this for you today.
0:17.5	After listening to this episode, you can use this question to stand out to come out of your
0:22.8	job interview looking better than ever. Welcome to the job interview experience. I'm a former
0:28.5	executive recruiter, search firm owner, director of town acquisition at a couple great, really
0:33.7	quickly growing companies. And today I'm your host of the job interview experience.
0:39.2	What are your biggest weaknesses?
0:42.3	This question comes up often during interviews, and it seems really hard to answer.
0:48.8	Everyone has completely lost their mind over this question.
0:53.0	How do you answer it?
0:54.7	Not just in a way that you don't look nervous and frazzled, but professionally.
1:00.4	How do you answer it so that you come out looking better than ever?
1:04.7	I hope when, after listening to this episode, when you're asked this question, you get a little
1:09.5	smile on your face because
1:11.2	this big scary monster of a question doesn't scare you. You think it's kind of funny and it's
1:18.5	easy to answer. What is the answer to this question? What are your biggest weaknesses? You'll most
1:23.1	likely be asked about your top weakness, not a list of three. That's a little much, but I'm going
1:30.7	to over-prepure you so you feel ready to go. Whether you're asked for just one weakness or three
1:37.0	or 103, the first response I'm going to give you is going to be your first or only response. I'll go over all three
	...

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