# Interviewer: What's your weakness? INTJ nightmare?!



## waiter

In the job interview for auditor/accountant position for the weakness question I said That I was not close enough to other team members(in college). The project was done on time and it was fine, but after that each team member was on his own way. I said I learned to be more compassionate. Not just to tell others what to do, but to sell the idea and follow up with them about the difficulties they are facing. I mentioned that one student didn't know how to use email, unbelievable to me, but I learned to be patient and follow up with him.

Then the interviewer seemed surprised and responded "Do you have a problem with team-work skills?"

I feel like I made a mistake. Although the weakness is my true answer, but I think any thing somehow related to people will be perceived as lack of team-work skills. If the interviewer has a checklist, she might check the team-work skill right away without paying attention to any details or circumstances.

As an INTJ, what should I do? Isn't that the natural weakness of all INTJs?
I'm self-aware of that and I doing something about it and I was successful, but these HR people are obsessed with so called communication skills!

Do you think it's better for me to find another weakness? THEY WANT 3! 
What do you suggest as weakness for auditor/accountant position? something safe not killer ones.


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## jbking

*Tactical assessment...*

Welcome to hitting a land mine on that question that really does lend itself to the construction of a few bombs generally. An honest answer can get the follow-up to the jugular in a sense while if you try to pick a strength that may seen as a weakness,e.g. my work/life balance is poor because I'm a workaholic and give 110% to the project no matter what.

My suggestion to you is to figure out your top 3 strengths and then negate these to say that these are your weaknesses which in reality they may well be. "Strength Finders 2.0" has 34 strengths themes if you want an idea although there are other typing systems that may provide the terms that you have to negate for this result. I'll run over this on my top 5 strengths just to illustrate this as much as I can:

Learner - While this strength is about gaining competence and soaking up knowledge, it isn't that hard to see the flip of this. If I was stuck doing repetitive work for a long period of time, this would be something I doubt I could handle. Picture pushing the same button sequence a few hundred times a day for a few hundred days a year and sooner or later I'd break.

Achiever - This is about getting things done. The flip of this is being in the situation of having nothing to do. Thus one could say I don't handle boredom well and so I like the idea of always having 2-3 things on the go.

Responsibility - This is about taking psychological ownership of what I say I'll do. Thus this is about finishing what I say I'd finish. If the work changes so much that I can't tell someone I may get something done by X, this may well go beyond frustrating for me. If I say something will be done by a date, I may try extremely hard to get there and some companies can understand this and some may just get this maniacal grin and think, "We'll crush him by spinning things so fast he'll suck in no time..."

Intellection - This is about how I like to think. Thus, give me mindless work that requires no mental stimulation at all. Physical labor tasks where even if I try to think about it all I'll do is frustrate myself even more.

Strategic - This is about identifying patterns and knowing which one is the best one to take. A What If -> Select -> Strike sequence in action over and over. Now notice how at the start of this I need to have a list of choices, while if you kept that super low this prevents me from using this strength. If I have to do something exactly by the book and there are reasons for why almost any kind of change can be blocked this would be a poor fit if I want to use this strength in my work.

INTJs come in enough different flavors that we all have different weaknesses. You may want to look at the Enneagram for another place to get some ideas on what things may be that weakness for you. For example as a Type 1w2, which is the perfectionist with helper wing, I can go overboard in getting things just right. While one could see continuous improvement as a positive thing, this can cause me to have periods of depression as I believe I'm worthless as after I finish something I see a better way to do it and am mad at myself for not doing it that way in the beginning. Thus, I may not be great at providing accurate self-assessments as I may downplay things generally. This is just my own thing and I work as a Web Developer in IT so knowing where to stop trying to build a better mouse trap can be useful but may take a lot of adjustments to find that optimal mix.

The key is for you to state something that would be used rather infrequently in the job as a weakness as something like, "Watching Tom Cruise makes me want to throw up," may not quite be applicable enough to count as a good answer. Similarly, having poor football skills so that you won't be getting a Super Bowl ring in the next 5 years may well go over poorly even though it could be called a weakness in a way as wouldn't most people consider those with Super Bowl rings to be successful? These aren't that useful except for as comic relief. I'd imagine within accounting and auditing that you'd deal with numbers regularly and that there may be some advanced work to extract positive aspects to spin the numbers, which may or may not be something that comes easy for you as Ni may give you some of that while putting a proper historical context on things may not quite be up your alley. Similarly, you may prefer a structured work environment where if things are almost structure-less this just doesn't work for you. You want to have rules and order around you to keep things flowing smoothly. Being introverted, if you had to always be talking to groups of people and providing presentations for groups of people in rapid succession, that may be difficult to do. Lastly, if you had to deal with handling others' emotions that may well be another area of weakness for an INTJ as while we have our feelings, it isn't necessarily that you'd bring us in to be cheerleaders ya know. My point here is to think of what you are that may be a problem in some work places and use those to state that you don't want this in your new workplace. I suppose I covered at least a few different possibilities here but if you want more ideas just ask a bit more specifically and I'll see what I can cook up using my Ni.


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## Tkae

Bahahah! :crazy:

Oh, you silly INTJs :tongue:

I just want to put my hands on you and infuse you with my INFP abilities. That question doesn't scare me at all. In fact, it's a balancing question, where in an interview that you sell yourself and buff up your strengths, you get to show humility in it all by knocking yourself down a peg, all while displaying masterful communication skills and honesty that usually impresses potential employers. 

So yes, (NOTE: I'm gonna try and flex my logic, which isn't gonna be pretty, so bear with me ), from your side of things a question about listing your weaknesses is counterproductive to the entire point of the interview, which is to display a proficiency in skills that will make them want to add you to their business. But this question is about showing the employer than you're aware of your weaknesses, so that they know you aren't 1.) vain, 2.) oblivious to your own weak spots, and 3.) in there bullshitting to make yourself look better, which a highly personal question will typically puncture and deflate. 

So to start off, you did a good job. You picked a weakness that doesn't threaten your job performance. But what you should have done instead of getting the deer-in-headlights look that I'm pretty sure you had at their response is to have gone on the defense and clarified what you meant. This is what I'd have said:

"Do you have a problem with team-work skills?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I don't have a problem with teamwork. As I said, the work was done on time and was of satisfactory quality. What I said was that I have trouble remembering to develop professional and personal relationships with the other team members, and tend to hyperfocus on the task at hand at the expense of taking the opportunity to use the job to get to know my coworkers better. The project in college was an example of how I have to consciously focus on being personal as well as professional, and reminding myself that understanding and helping my coworkers is just as important as getting the job done. Because at the end of the day the job is finished, but my coworkers will still be there."

See?

You've clarified, self-analyzed, but done it in a way that's not beating yourself up. It's showing an area where you've grown and are proud of your successes. Like an alcoholic who's proud to say he was an alcholic because he's been sober for ten years. Yes, it's negative to be an alcoholic, but out of the negative you show a strength in that you've overcome it and grown from it. 

Being tactical, but honest. They can sense when your'e lying.

:happy:


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## zwanglos

I always thought you were just supposed to give bullshit answers like "Well, one of my weaknesses is that I'm sometimes ... _too_ dedicated to doing a great job."


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## fn0rd

My answers have always generally been the following:

1. I lack patience with others that cannot so readily grasp concepts as quickly as I can.

2. I expect people to work as hard as I do, and when they do not, I find that I get frustrated with them. (This was ALWAYS brought up on my reviews as something I needed to work on, because I had zero tolerance for it.)

3. The answer I give will have required much thinking about several different scenarios, based upon the careful weighing of facts and consequences. Trying to get me to change my mind because you don't understand the long term effects is likely to earn you a dismissal out of hand. I've already thought about what you are going to say and either incorporated it as necessary, or dismissed it based on practicality.


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## Ikrash

I lack team work skills i dont like working in a team .


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## waiter

By reading your replies and what’s on internet, I think it’s necessary to identify the objective of the question first. What do they want to know? Do they want to know about a minor problem and how did you solve it? or a deeper one like preference to work alone?

I want you to help me to build a framework of three parts: 
1.What’s the objective of the question? Why they are asking this question? What they want to know?
2.How to respond after identifying what the interviewer wants? What option do we have in responding to each objective?
3.Evaluating the outcome of each objective-response and to analyze how it will affect the applicant chance to get the job.

So it will be like this:
Objective 1 > Response 1 > Outcome
Objective 1 > Response 2 > Outcome
Objective 2> Response 1 > Outcome
And so… I know it’s little bit INTJish, it will be helpful.

Now let’s start with the objectives: What do they want to know?

1. Specific problems: How did you deal with the situation and what did you learn.This tells the interviewer that you can be trained and can grow into new responsibilities. Ex: Presentation.

2. Long-existing traits and issues: Things rooted deeply in the personality and the employer needs to accept them. The weakness is not an skill like computer software or presentation skills, but more personal preferences such as working alone.

Which one do they want to know? Or do you have other objectives?


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## jbking

*More details...*

While one could question the tense of the question,i.e. "What IS your weakness?" compared to "What WAS your weakness?" this just really opens a bad can of worms as you may then be put into the nit-picky analytical person that may or may not be an advantage in most positions. If you did overcome the past problem, how is this still a weakness? It isn't and thus isn't a good answer to the question though I do understand how one could contest this part of understanding the question.

I believe the general idea of asking this question is to see how well one can navigate the sea of choppy waters it has as there are lots of terrible answers to this question and not that many good answers without getting near BS territory. While asking for clarification may be a good idea, one has to be careful about what kinds of examples one gives as there may be reading into each of the extremes possibly.

The objective of the question is to see how aware are you of your limitations and what will you tell to a relative stranger, at least that is what I'd pick from the laundry list of possibilities. What will you say, how will you say it and what level of explanation do you have for this. For example, if you like to work alone, why do you prefer it and why should the company care? In a way this is totally intended to be a tricky question and can be a bit of a delicious intellectual challenge where there is the question of honesty and self-awareness within the answer. A part of an answer is in how do you see yourself and what are the challenges in giving you a random task? Asking for a format of an answer is a good idea as there are lots of ways to communicate a summary of the idea though examples may be beneficial. This is my attempt at answering the first part of your framework as if your initial response is, "Why do you want to know that?" you may well end up over on a bad tangent as a few different thoughts could be in the interviewer's mind:
1. You should know why I'm asking this. It is standard procedure to ask this and see if you'll shoot yourself in the foot. Course I can't say that but that is what I'm thinking.
2. Isn't that a bit defensive and evasive for an initial response? Questions my motivations, how dare you.
3. Bugger, now I have to find an answer for this, ugh.

I'm not saying those are alone but those are some I could see and to a large extent they aren't pleasant but a key is in asking why to do so in an assertive manner and not come across as either passive or aggressive in asking it.

As for responding to that answer, do be aware that there may be mind games still on and so there are multiple levels at work here. I mean you could be given a BS answer and observed for how do you handle that. There can be a couple of different ways to look at this. There is also the question of enumerating all responses not really being a great idea if you want to try cover every contingency.

Unless you want to try to take the question to be given in the past tense, taking a past problem that has been resolved can be seen as not answering what was asked. If someone asks you, "What' for dinner?" and you reply, "Well, on Jan. 4, 2003 I had this awesome steak dinner," wouldn't you infer that someone didn't understand the question?

Preferences can be tricky territory here as you could be asked why that is or what happens if this isn't accepted. For example, working alone as a preference can lead to questions on why one has this, what are the consequences of not accepting this, and how strongly is this preference. While some people may want some of their day to work alone, they may want a balance the rest of the time.


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## waiter

It seems to me as a game for what words to choose and how one can twist them. Look at Tkae response to the question:


> "No, that's not what I meant. I don't have a problem with teamwork. As I said, the work was done on time and was of satisfactory quality. What I said was that I have trouble remembering to develop professional and personal relationships with the other team members, and tend to hyperfocus on the task at hand at the expense of taking the opportunity to use the job to get to know my coworkers better. The project in college was an example of how I have to consciously focus on being personal as well as professional, and reminding myself that understanding and helping my coworkers is just as important as getting the job done. Because at the end of the day the job is finished, but my coworkers will still be there."


jbking, I'll buy the book StrengthFinder, take the test and come back to this topic.


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## waiter

*I took the test*

The book claims that it tells people what their strengths are, Unlike other books which tell what’s wrong with people. Regardless of whether the book based on psychology or pure statistics, I’m interested in identifying my weaknesses and answering the question “What are your weaknesses?”

These are my strengths: 1.Achiever, 2.Deliberative, 3.Analytical, 4.Futuristic, 5.Learner.

There is two viewpoints regarding using strengths in answering the weaknesses question. The first one(like this one) does not recommend it. The second (like this one) changes the story and twist words so that it will not adversely affect the applicant chances.

Can you give me examples on how to use these strengths in answering the weaknesses question?

[Links of (like this one) are not working because I should have more than 4 entries.]


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## jbking

*Now for the fun stuff....*



waiter said:


> These are my strengths: 1.Achiever, 2.Deliberative, 3.Analytical, 4.Futuristic, 5.Learner.


Clifton StrengthsFinder Themes has short summaries on each strength for anyone reading that wants to know more about these and this is part of where I'll start though I have Achiever and Learner in my list so I know those pretty well as those are my second and top strength actually.

1. Achiever - This says you like to be busy and productive. Thus you may not like being idle and having to wait for things. The link has this statement about the strength: "They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive." Thus, what is the opposite of busy and productive? There is your answer.

2. Deliberative - This says you take serious care in making decisions or choices. Thus, you may not like having to make decisions with very limited data or where that care isn't valued. If you worked where you had to make choices quickly and without much care this may not suit you well. In being someone that anticipates obstacles, if you are always merely following orders willy-nilly, that may not work for you either.

3. Analytical - This states you search for reasons and causes. Negating this would mean doing things on a whim or without reasonable cause so this is repeated in a sense. To do things without reason or cause may not be comfortable for you.

4. Futuristic - This one is about seeing what could be. Thus if you had to stay the past or stay in the present, this could be frustrating as you'd rather think of what could be instead of what was or is. A historian job may not suit this strength that well.

5. Learner - This is about continuously improving and wanting to learn. Thus, if you had a job where you didn't have to pick up new things and was monotonous that may be the type of job that wouldn't work for you in the long-term. Initially there would be some mastery sure, but there is a diminishing return if you are trying to repeat the exact same thing day after day.

So, if you had a stagnant job where little was done and choices were made without care and reason that may not work so well for you, I'd imagine. While this is speculation I can state the possibility and you can decide for yourself whether, "Yeah, that makes sense to me," or "Nope dude you missed me by a mile."

Another way to view these is by looking at the leadership themes, where Achiever and Deliberative are in the Executing area and Analytical, Futuristic and Learner are under Strategic Thinking. Thus you have gaps in the Influencing and Relationship Building areas which would be another perspective to this. Just to take a few lines from that link:



> *Influencing
> *People who are innately good at influencing are always selling the team's ideas inside and outside the organization. When you need someone to take charge, speak up, and make sure your group is heard, look to someone with the strength to influence.
> 
> *Relationship Building*
> Relationship builders are the glue that holds a team together. Strengths associated with bringing people together -- whether it is by keeping distractions at bay or keeping the collective energy high -- transform a group of individuals into a team capable of carrying out complex projects and goals.


While one can try to use your current strengths to compensate,e.g. use that Learner to study relationships and Achiever to make a daily checklist for how to build relationships, there are others that may find this easier. Thus you could argue that you come up short in dealing with others and getting them to do things for you. That second link lists which strengths are in these categories and my strengths are like yours in being a couple Executing and a few Strategic Thinking. Thus, I may not do so well if I had a job where I was constantly trying to get others to do things and promote relationships all the time. I could try to figure it out but that could get messy and time consuming to my mind. Just to add a few more thoughts now that you know which of the 34 you likely have, looking at the opposite may yield what some may see as weaknesses. My guess on why this isn't advocated in the book is that most people aren't binary where either you have something or don't. Instead there are all these shades of grey, within that grey are some shades that may look a lot like black or white. If you can imagine that binary world then this may make some sense and away you go while if you look at the grey too much you may forget what the focus was in doing this.

Hopefully that sheds more light on where I'm trying to go with this.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> 1. Achiever - This says you like to be busy and productive. Thus you may not like being idle and having to wait for things. The link has this statement about the strength: "They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive." Thus, what is the opposite of busy and productive? There is your answer.


What's the opposite of being busy and productive? How to put it in a convincing context? 

Here's an example for being prefectionist and detail oriented:


> Earlier in my career, when I was a software developer, my strong attention to detail was an asset because I could quickly spot and correct systems errors. But after I was promoted to project manager, this strength became a bit of a liability because I was now responsible for delegating work and overseeing the big picture aspect of the project. I struggled at first because it was my nature to want to fix every error. While I still have that tendency, I now rely on the technical expertise of my team and this allows me to concentrate on delivering projects on time and on budget.


What's the opposite of being bust and productive? How to put it in a convincing context? give me an example. Remember I'm just a graduate applying for accounting/auditing jobs.


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## jbking

*Huh, let me think...*

Would there be a lull in the job? By lull, I mean a period where there isn't anything explicit to analyze or review and so you'd have to create your own work. There can be jobs where patience is required to handle those down times where things may dry up for a time but then later on you'll be swamped. That strikes me as one example though I'm not sure how well the footing can be for that situation where things aren't busy that has be managed.

Are there situations where your work is cyclical and can be where it appears that doing nothing is preferable to trying to do something? I know in my IT work there can be cases where a change is made and then another change can be made to undo that change which can be frustrating for me at times. The idea of working like a dog chasing its tail and just going in circles which can be a weakness since I wouldn't be following orders if I figure to just sit something out rather than do as I'm told.

Another thought is the idea of some work being dull as that can be the opposite of busy in a sense. This is going a bit more out on a tangent to some degree though in a way there is the question of whom are you having this conversation. If that person doesn't have a Math background then they may see the dryness of the subject while otherwise you may end up shooting your foot off with relative ease.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> Would there be a lull in the job? By lull, I mean a period where there isn't anything explicit to analyze or review and so you'd have to create your own work. There can be jobs where patience is required to handle those down times where things may dry up for a time but then later on you'll be swamped. That strikes me as one example though I'm not sure how well the footing can be for that situation where things aren't busy that has be managed.
> 
> Are there situations where your work is cyclical and can be where it appears that doing nothing is preferable to trying to do something? I know in my IT work there can be cases where a change is made and then another change can be made to undo that change which can be frustrating for me at times. The idea of working like a dog chasing its tail and just going in circles which can be a weakness since I wouldn't be following orders if I figure to just sit something out rather than do as I'm told.
> 
> Another thought is the idea of some work being dull as that can be the opposite of busy in a sense. This is going a bit more out on a tangent to some degree though in a way there is the question of whom are you having this conversation. If that person doesn't have a Math background then they may see the dryness of the subject while otherwise you may end up shooting your foot off with relative ease.


First example, Since I'm applying for public accounting firm, they are probably busy all the time and sometimes really busy. So I can't use that in a professional experience context.

Second example, There is no undoing, and it's dangerous to use this example because in first year there will be a lot of repetitive work which I'm going to do because I was told to do.

Third example, I agree. It's not just the different people one might meet in the interview, it's also the wide range of skills expected. They want you to do the detail repetitive calculation, and the same time they expect you dig deep and being an investigator and find the problem which might be a small error. They also expect you to stay long at night doing the boring job like a introverted janitor and the same time they want you to be extroverted and have excellent oral communication skills and talk to the angry clients. This is what makes me think twice before saying a word as a weakness!

However I'll never say anything related to people or communication skills because these HR people are extroverted and obsessed with communication skills.

My true weakness is being perfectionist and critical. Look at how I'm rejecting all of your ideas! I hate myself while doing that. 

Now I'm enjoying reading the book. I especially like the WOO strength. I might find a non-threatening weakness. meanwhile if you got an idea, let me know.

If you are interested to know more about auditors, search for this in google "What I Did with My Degree: Adventures in Accounting" and "onetcenter auditor".


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## jbking

*Now we are getting somewhere...*



waiter said:


> My true weakness is being perfectionist and critical.


The perfectionist is another side of the Learner strength to my mind. This can be a weakness if you will go overboard on getting something just right so that you may get 99% of the work done in a couple of hours but then spend 20 hours getting that last 1% done just to be really really sure it is correct. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist though I believe in moderation it can be a strength to want to do things better all the time.

As for critical, that may not be a bad answer to give as a weakness if you tend to be blunt and not realize how much something may hurt someone to be delivered in a straight and direct way. Another way to see this would be that you aren't much of a diplomat possibly as you don't sugar coat things. The key point on the question of weakness is how well can you show that something is a problem and then what are you doing about it as an identified problem, at least if you don't want to just BS the question.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> The perfectionist is another side of the Learner strength to my mind. This can be a weakness if you will go overboard on getting something just right so that you may get 99% of the work done in a couple of hours but then spend 20 hours getting that last 1% done just to be really really sure it is correct. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist though I believe in moderation it can be a strength to want to do things better all the time.
> 
> As for critical, that may not be a bad answer to give as a weakness if you tend to be blunt and not realize how much something may hurt someone to be delivered in a straight and direct way. Another way to see this would be that you aren't much of a diplomat possibly as you don't sugar coat things. The key point on the question of weakness is how well can you show that something is a problem and then what are you doing about it as an identified problem, at least if you don't want to just BS the question.


Unlike perfectist which is overly used, Critical seems like a believable non-threatening answer. But I need another example which does not include people. Any thing related to people or communication skills is red flag.

jbking, Enlighten me!


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## jbking

*I'm tryin'... I'm tryin'*



waiter said:


> Unlike perfectist which is overly used, Critical seems like a believable non-threatening answer. But I need another example which does not include people. Any thing related to people or communication skills is red flag.


Perfectionism can also be seen as being self-critical which has more than a few dangerous ways that one could use it. For example, I could argue that some of my depression and anxiety comes from being overly self-critical and worrying about "What if" all the time. While there is some truth to that, it is also opening a door in terms of health issues I have that I may not want my perspective employer to know. "Do you know that bully myself ruthlessly throughout the day?" would likely not go over well, I'd imagine. Another dangerous way would be ripping myself apart here by downplaying my abilities and aptitude. This could lead to a misinterpretation if I present myself as good and have had that confirmed by others but they may think that I'm better than that based on what I said. There are other negative thinking aspects here like catastrophizing and having an all-or-nothing view that while I may be getting help, I'd still have these issues to manage in my life.

Given an auditing/accounting background, there could be cases of having to find various ways to account for some numbers as situations involving amortization or depreciation may have various accounting rules to them. Trying to find the best answer at the expense of other work could be seen as a weakness that wouldn't be related to other people as this is more about managing one's own workload and the risk/reward within it. Trying to get that last 1% of something done at the expense of other work can be an issue though I'm not sure how easy this is to demonstrate or how often such a case would appear in this field. This could also be seen as poor time management in a way.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> Perfectionism can also be seen as being self-critical which has more than a few dangerous ways that one could use it. For example, I could argue that some of my depression and anxiety comes from being overly self-critical and worrying about "What if" all the time. While there is some truth to that, it is also opening a door in terms of health issues I have that I may not want my perspective employer to know. "Do you know that bully myself ruthlessly throughout the day?" would likely not go over well, I'd imagine. Another dangerous way would be ripping myself apart here by downplaying my abilities and aptitude. This could lead to a misinterpretation if I present myself as good and have had that confirmed by others but they may think that I'm better than that based on what I said. There are other negative thinking aspects here like catastrophizing and having an all-or-nothing view that while I may be getting help, I'd still have these issues to manage in my life.
> 
> Given an auditing/accounting background, there could be cases of having to find various ways to account for some numbers as situations involving amortization or depreciation may have various accounting rules to them. Trying to find the best answer at the expense of other work could be seen as a weakness that wouldn't be related to other people as this is more about managing one's own workload and the risk/reward within it. Trying to get that last 1% of something done at the expense of other work can be an issue though I'm not sure how easy this is to demonstrate or how often such a case would appear in this field. This could also be seen as poor time management in a way.


It seems that every answer might include a bomb inside it depending on the interviewer perception.
I'm afraid I'll have to say something like public speaking...I don't want to do that. I'm really good at powerpoint presentations. It's also related to confidence in dealing with people.
This is a nightmare...I keep searching the net but it's all rubbish.


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## jbking

*Just a thought...*



waiter said:


> I'm afraid I'll have to say something like public speaking...I don't want to do that. I'm really good at powerpoint presentations. It's also related to confidence in dealing with people.


An important point is the follow-up after stating the weakness. Why is this your weakness and what are you doing about it are where you can try to minimize the damage or impress the interviewer. For example, in choosing public speaking you could state that you haven't had to given many presentations in front of large crowds and the few times that you did, you heard various general negative feedback. Hearing a few people say, "You suck," doesn't really give one a strong direction on how to improve in this area. However, I have been trying to be better prepared and have a thicker skin about handling these situations as I realize these may arise. Keep in mind that this should still be a current weakness so claiming that you overcame it can sound like you weren't answering the question.

Course another tact is to respond with a clarifying point of how related to the job does the answer have to be. "Chocolate. I seem to enjoy it so much, though I am trying to resist the temptation better now," could be a reasonably decent answer if you are OK with trying to be a little humorous in taking the question. Another way is to insert various references that may distract from an answer. "Public speaking is my Kryptonite. Don't try to send me on some tour of big arenas playing for crowds in the hundreds of thousands please," could also possibly be another way to work around the question. After all, how many accountants or auditors would do shows like a rock star?


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## waiter

I still Remember how the interviewer responded when I said I was not close enough to other members.


> Then the interviewer seemed surprised and responded "Do you have a problem with team-work skills?"





jbking said:


> After all, how many accountants or auditors would do shows like a rock star?


The interviewer: Are you a shy person? Not outgoing? Not extrovert?


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## jbking

*Hhhmm....*

Just as something to ponder about this:



waiter said:


> The interviewer: Are you a shy person? Not outgoing? Not extrovert?


I'd be tempted to remind the interviewer that this is dangerously close to asking about my health conditions that I'm pretty sure is protected somewhere in terms of privacy and discrimination. It could be fun to see how they'd respond to such an assertion as in a way there is a legitimate point here in that I shouldn't have to disclose my various anxiety and depression conditions to you at this point, right? However, keep in mind that if you do pull out this card it could also make you be seen as "hard to manage" or a "bad fit" since you didn't voluntarily give the default expected answer.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> Just as something to ponder about this:
> 
> 
> 
> I'd be tempted to remind the interviewer that this is dangerously close to asking about my health conditions that I'm pretty sure is protected somewhere in terms of privacy and discrimination. It could be fun to see how they'd respond to such an assertion as in a way there is a legitimate point here in that I shouldn't have to disclose my various anxiety and depression conditions to you at this point, right? However, keep in mind that if you do pull out this card it could also make you be seen as "hard to manage" or a "bad fit" since you didn't voluntarily give the default expected answer.


Interviewer: uhh defensive!

I wish there was some kind of database of people answers to this question so I would pick 3 which are not threatening.

I'll just put some of my true weaknesses so that may be it's possible to make them look harmless.
1. Prefer working alone.
2. Always need a big goal to stay motivated
3. Can't get enough sleep
4. need music to continue working
5. I will think of more..


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## jbking

*Hhhmmm....*



waiter said:


> Interviewer: uhh defensive!
> 
> I wish there was some kind of database of people answers to this question so I would pick 3 which are not threatening.


Yes, it is rather defensive though I do wonder if there is an assertive way to state the problem with answering a question like, "are you shy?" that I'll probably ponder for a while now. As for that database, practice your Google Fu and see how well you can find some answers that way.


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## xezene

I too am an INFP that has no place in this thread...BUT! :laughing: I feel this should be mentioned.

Like was said earlier, interviewers value genuine people -- genuine awareness, genuine values, genuine everything. I know this because I've tried to fake genuineness but have had it hit me in the face -- when you fake it, they see it (unless you are a skilled ESTP :crazy, and you don't get the job.

The only way to be genuine about it, then, is to be genuine with yourself. This is going to require reflection. No test is going to be able to tell you your weaknesses or who you are -- only reflection and inner-awareness brings about genuine understanding. Tests only go so far -- they don't even open the door, they are like a _hallway_ to the door -- a door that you have to open yourself, and _then_ to understand you must step through this door -- but only you can do it, no one else.


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## waiter

jbking said:


> Yes, it is rather defensive though I do wonder if there is an assertive way to state the problem with answering a question like, "are you shy?" that I'll probably ponder for a while now. As for that database, practice your Google Fu and see how well you can find some answers that way.





xezene said:


> I too am an INFP that has no place in this thread...BUT! :laughing: I feel this should be mentioned.
> 
> Like was said earlier, interviewers value genuine people -- genuine awareness, genuine values, genuine everything. I know this because I've tried to fake genuineness but have had it hit me in the face -- when you fake it, they see it (unless you are a skilled ESTP :crazy, and you don't get the job.
> 
> The only way to be genuine about it, then, is to be genuine with yourself. This is going to require reflection. No test is going to be able to tell you your weaknesses or who you are -- only reflection and inner-awareness brings about genuine understanding. Tests only go so far -- they don't even open the door, they are like a _hallway_ to the door -- a door that you have to open yourself, and _then_ to understand you must step through this door -- but only you can do it, no one else.


So it's not about what you say but also about how you will say it. For example, what do you think about Tkae answer? Is this weakness a threatening one for an Accountant or Auditor?


waiter said:


> In the job interview for auditor/accountant position for the weakness question I said That I was not close enough to other team members(in college). The project was done on time and it was fine, but after that each team member was on his own way. I said I learned to be more compassionate. Not just to tell others what to do, but to sell the idea and follow up with them about the difficulties they are facing. I mentioned that one student didn't know how to use email, unbelievable to me, but I learned to be patient and follow up with him.
> 
> Then the interviewer seemed surprised and responded "Do you have a problem with team-work skills?"





Tkae said:


> "Do you have a problem with team-work skills?"
> 
> "No, that's not what I meant. I don't have a problem with teamwork. As I said, the work was done on time and was of satisfactory quality. What I said was that I have trouble remembering to develop professional and personal relationships with the other team members, and tend to hyperfocus on the task at hand at the expense of taking the opportunity to use the job to get to know my coworkers better. The project in college was an example of how I have to consciously focus on being personal as well as professional, and reminding myself that understanding and helping my coworkers is just as important as getting the job done. Because at the end of the day the job is finished, but my coworkers will still be there."


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