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Interview question: your weak sides. Questions about the candidate's shortcomings

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We decided to prepare our own version of the analysis of the question for an interview in a common piggy bank, perhaps some of our fellow recruiters will come in handy not only as an example of how to submit a job for a competition, but also in work. And the topic - one of our favorites - is the question about the weaknesses of the candidates.

Applicants often consider this question about shortcomings to be provocative or tricky, they suspect the employer of wanting to find grounds for refusal, to take him at his word and other sins. Is it really? Let's try to figure it out.

Target

There are no ideal employees, there are those whose “features” the company can or cannot tolerate.

Asking in an interview the question: “What are your weaknesses?” or "What are your main weaknesses?", we want to evaluate:

1. openness,
2. the adequacy of self-esteem,
3. self confidence,
4. ability to introspection and development,
5. the ability to talk about uncomfortable topics,
6. flexibility and ingenuity,
7. presence of critical deficiencies.

Restrictions

From the side of the candidate

Training. Candidates are now preparing for interviews like they are for exams. Thematic sites and forums, career consultants and coaches do everything to make the applicant appear fully armed before the employer. Answers to standard questions are memorized to the point of bouncing off the teeth.

On the one hand, this is bad, since it is becoming more and more difficult to get something even remotely resembling sincerity from a candidate. But on the other hand, the main part of the “assistants” listed above strongly recommends not to lie at the interview, which is good. In addition, if the candidate took the trouble to prepare for the conversation, it means that he is serious about his career, does not like to let everything take its course, and the vacancy is important to him. And this is a "plus" in his piggy bank.

From the side of the recruiter

The temptation to play detective. In pursuit of the weaknesses and shortcomings of our future employee, it is easy to go too far. You should not make sure that the interview focuses on this aspect. The candidate may have an unpleasant feeling that can affect his perception of the company as a whole and scare him away from further cooperation.

In the issue of weaknesses, it is important for us not only WHAT the candidate says, but also HOW he presents information. This is precisely what gives us the opportunity to deal with learned and unnatural answers. Behavioral reactions, calmness or nervousness, the length or monosyllabicity of phrases, the ability to give examples will say much more than the content of the answer.

To whom, when and how do we ask a question?

It is most logical to ask this question after the candidate has told about himself, his experience and achievements. It can be addressed to candidates for any vacancies. The ability to soberly evaluate yourself is important in every business. Ranking should rather be expected from the answers. Managerial positions require a much higher capacity for reflection than executive ones. Potential managers can be asked to give examples of professional failures, to describe lessons learned and steps taken to remedy the situation.

Rules for evaluating the answers received to the question about the shortcomings of the candidate

Let's make a reservation right away that it is possible and necessary to evaluate the answer to the question about weaknesses at the interview in conjunction with what the candidate says throughout the interview.

		A comment
"I have no flaws"	Couldn't be worse	Almost a clinical case. The candidate is not set up for dialogue, is closed, cannot evaluate himself, does not know his weaknesses or is not ready to discuss them, self-esteem is too high. He has no imagination and no sense of humor at all.
An attempt to reduce the question to a joke: “I have the right not to testify against myself” and similar ironic remarks	A bit better, but still bad	Irony and a sense of humor are very useful qualities. The candidate has them, we found out. Otherwise, it is also closed, as in the previous version. The seriousness of intentions regarding employment in the company raises doubts. We repeat the question and ask you to take the answer more seriously.
Formal blanks: “I am a workaholic and a perfectionist” “I am so passionate about work that I forget about everything in the world” “I can’t rest, I’m always drawn to work” Qualities not related to work: "I eat a lot of sweets" "Can't Quit Smoking"		The candidate accepts the rules of the game and expresses his readiness to follow them formally. Perhaps this is the influence of the very “respondents and assistants” that we mentioned earlier. A person has read a lot of “smart” books and articles, and thinks that this is how it should be, that this is exactly what the recruiter is waiting for. We reveal the trick and give the opportunity to express their own thoughts in relation to the content of the vacancy.
Trying to get the recruiter to justify the question: “Let's discuss the criteria for weaknesses, in which normative documents companies they are specified, and how they are measured”	Bad, with rare exceptions	This answer is only good if you are talking to a future legal adviser or trial lawyer. Such a grip may indicate a professional instinct. In other cases, this is a block, a way to get around an unwanted question or an attempt to assert oneself at the expense of a recruiter. The last assumption makes you think about the personal qualities of the candidate. Do we need such a feisty teammate?
Disadvantages not directly related to job responsibilities: For an accountant or programmer: “It’s hard for me to speak in front of a lot of people. I'm lost" ForPR manager: "It's hard for me to work with large amounts of digital data" For operatorcall center: “I have problems with grammar, it’s difficult for me to answer questions in writing”	Acceptable but uncertain	The candidate is ready to talk about his shortcomings, but not in the context of the vacancy he is applying for. It remains to be directed in the right direction. We concretize the question, we ask you to concentrate on the position under discussion.
Partial lack of knowledge or experience as a point of growth. The strategy only works if the applicant is well informed about the goals and corporate culture of the company. “My experience is somewhat less than what is stated in the requirements. On a formal basis, this is a minus. But if you look at it, I have experience, but there is no fatigue from work, and there is also a fresh look, a desire to improve in this area. I know that you have a young team and you strive to keep up the pace of development. Our goals are the same. I have a high motivation, and I am ready to prove it to you every working day. Professional burnout is not a threat to me for a long time. And experience, like age, comes with time.”		The candidate understands his weak side, speaks openly about it. He was clearly preparing for an interview. I studied the information about the company, analyzed it and came up with a way out of the situation. We check the sufficiency of knowledge with the help of a subject expert.
The shortcomings must be known in person. If they cannot be defeated, then they must be used or compensated. "I am an owl". My productivity in the morning is zero. That is why I chose your vacancy with a free schedule. I am much more productive at night than the average person during the day. There are no distractions, no unnecessary conversations and reasons to shirk.” “I think badly. This does not mean that I do not like numbers, it's just that the computer counts for me. I am well versed inExcel and learned how to work with large data sets, analyze them and display them in a user-friendly format. I, like no one else, know how hard it is to work with numbers, so I write the most detailed explanations. I encounter computational difficulties only during the calculation of change in the store. Although recently I have solved this problem - I pay with a plastic card.		The candidate is self-confident, knows everything about himself. He calmly talks about, at first glance, impartial things. And he does it not without pride. He was able not only to identify his "demons", he defeated them and forced them to work for himself. Constructive, knows how to turn shortcomings into strengths, and respects the interviewer because he gives a complete answer to the question posed.

Additional questions

People do not like to talk about their shortcomings with strangers. For this there are relatives, friends, acquaintances. Of strangers, such things are shared only with fellow travelers. Therefore, sometimes you have to help the applicant, guide him, rephrase questions.

1. What qualities can, in your opinion, interfere with the implementation official duties? How do you plan to deal with it? Such a formulation allows a person to be led to the strategy that we agreed to consider correct - to be aware of their shortcomings and find ways to compensate for them.
2. Give examples of situations where your personal and professional quality prevented you from achieving the desired result? We check the accuracy of the information. If a person came up with “beautiful” flaws for himself, it will be difficult for him to quickly compose such examples. If the information is true, then the examples will appear without problems.
3. What do you think, if we were to ask your previous manager now, how would you describe your weaknesses? We give the candidate the opportunity to look at himself from the outside.
4. What professional and personal competencies do you plan to develop in the near future and why? In fact, this is the same question, only in a milder formulation. We get the right information, and also find out the candidate's expectations in terms of training and development.

Everyone has flaws. They are not only the reverse side of the advantages, but also the potential for development. And it is also a safety device that does not allow a person to get into a business that is not at all his. The standard question at any interview: “What are your weaknesses?” Can make the candidate think about how correctly he chose the area of ​​\u200b\u200bapplication of his strengths and protect him from the wrong career decision.

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In order to become a leader, commanding skills alone are not enough, you need to cultivate other strengths in yourself. A person who claims to be a leader in any team must be able to think constructively and creatively, as well as set an example for all his subordinates.

If you set yourself the task of becoming a leader in a team, you must begin to work on yourself and develop in yourself human strengths one of which is strength of character. People with this trait are able to influence others than people with some other ability. It is character that is yours calling card by which others will form their opinion of you. Your character is a reflection of your mind, values, priorities.

Many are sure that the character of a person, at least its main part, is formed in early childhood, and later it is no longer possible to change or refine it. However, this belief is incorrect. In fact, the character of a person develops and changes throughout his life, although these changes occur rather slowly, and therefore are not noticeable to others.

The main indicator of character can be considered human behavior, which can be weak or strong, bad or good. We unmistakably distinguish people with a strong character by their vigor, determination, strong nerves, endurance and willpower. The qualities listed are human strengths, which means that by educating them in yourself you can become a real leader with a strong character.

A person with a strong character is not necessarily a good person. As an example, we can name the leaders of any criminal group. There is no doubt that they are strong personalities, but this does not make them good people and law-abiding citizens.

Consider in more detail the strengths of a person.
What qualities can be attributed to them? This list is going to be pretty long:

discipline,
honesty,
courage,
responsibility,
diligence,
patience,
self confidence,
compassion,
justice,
leadership,
devotion,
reliability...

You can continue it for a long time.

People with these qualities are able to control themselves, their actions and thoughts, and also try to do the right thing.

How can you develop a strong character? There are several ways to do this.

Method 1.

Always keep your word. If you can't do something, don't promise. If you made a promise, make sure that it does not turn into empty words. If, for reasons beyond your control, you cannot fulfill it, report it, apologize and try to compensate the person for the damage you caused.

Method 2.

Learn to say "No"! If you can't do something, feel free to say so. Do not try to bite off a piece larger than you can chew! Instead of reassuring the asker, immediately let him know that you cannot help him in any way.

Method 3.

Don't complain about circumstances or other people. Instead of wasting time on complaints, it would be more correct to deal with the problems that have arisen.

Method 4.

Show resilience. If your day was not the most successful for you, you should not transfer its negativity to your future life. All old problems should be left in the past, and new ones should be addressed as they arise.

If after asking about professional achievements life runs before your eyes faster than the heroes of action films, you definitely need to prepare for the interview in advance. We chose 3 questions that an employer will definitely ask, and figured out how to answer them without panic and irritation.

"Tell me a little about yourself"

Such a seemingly simple request can make many applicants pretty nervous. What exactly to tell? How much time to talk? What can and what cannot be said? What should be focused on? How not to seem too modest or immodest?

Telling about yourself is very important point self-presentation at the interview. It doesn't have to be a long story about your life or listing the highlights of your resume. Telling a story about yourself is the first and probably the best chance to let the recruiter know that you are the right person to hire for the position.

If you don't know where to start, use the simple and popular "present-past-future" formula. First, talk about who you are this moment what you do, what you know. Then - talk about what brought you to your current position: a combination of skills and experience. At the end, talk about your plans and prospects, paying special attention to the opportunities that open up for you along with this work. Also tell us about what you will do to develop the company in this position.

Remember that in the story you need to pay a lot of attention to the professional skills required for this position. You can say a few words about your hobbies and hobbies, but a few words are 1-2 minutes of your interview time, no more. As for the duration of the whole story about yourself, everything is very individual here, but try to keep within 7-8 minutes, after which invite the recruiter to ask their questions.

"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"

Talking about their strengths ah, don’t get carried away with general phrases like “easily integrated into any team” or “not conflict”. List the specific character traits and skills that are needed specifically for this position: “I know how to manage people”, “I have experience in successfully organizing the work of ten people”, “I won first place in the regional marketing competition”, and so on.

When talking about your achievements, focus on how they affected the success of your organization. If you can brag about non-work related accomplishments—for example, community initiatives—try to link them to yours. labor activity. When listing your strengths, do not be too modest: if you do not tell the interviewer about your advantages, no one will do it for you at the interview. However, do not go to extremes: you should not arrange a half-hour presentation on the topic of your conceivable and unthinkable virtues. Instead, talk briefly about the main strengths and be ready to describe each in detail if asked.

With disadvantages, too, everything is not so difficult. Don't try to be perfect. Recruiters value sincerity and the ability to adequately assess themselves and their shortcomings in applicants. Do not try to embellish or hide your weaknesses: if you get this job, sooner or later everything secret will become clear.

However, there is a little trick. Speaking of any shortcoming, you can talk about how you successfully deal with it. For example, at school you had a fear of public speaking. Then it was a huge problem. You couldn't even calmly go out to answer the board. However, at the university, at seminars, you made presentations as often as possible, participated in amateur performances. The fear of speaking began to recede. Today, although you are experiencing great excitement, you are quite capable of speaking in front of an audience of one hundred people. In addition, you continue to work on yourself - attend trainings, read special literature. The main thing is for the employer to see: you not only recognize own disadvantage but actively fight it.

There are also weaknesses that will play into the hands. For example, at your last job, you were considered a meticulous bore with a lack of creative thinking, and this one will be valued for attentiveness and responsibility, especially if the creative is generated by other employees.

Remember that the worst response to a question about weaknesses is a joking "I'm too perfect" or "I struggle unsuccessfully with my perfectionism." This will leave the recruiter with a rather negative impression of your self-esteem and sense of humor.

"Your biggest professional achievement"

The best argument in your favor in an interview is a list of impressive ones. The recruiter's logic is simple: if a candidate has achieved a lot in previous place work, then you can expect accomplishments from him in the future. Therefore, before the interview, take a piece of paper and a pen and make a list of your brightest and most impressive victories on the work front. These can be examples of successfully implemented projects, increasing profits and reducing costs, or increasing sales. Try to rank the achievements according to their importance to the enterprise. The more important the victory was, the higher its rating. When you can isolate the most significant achievement, dwell on it in more detail. First, tell us why you chose it. Secondly, explain how your success has turned out for the enterprise and what it has given you personally. Thirdly, share how you managed to achieve success, what technologies and methods you used in your work.

Don't forget your colleagues. Tell us about who helped you achieve results, who was a partner, who inspired you to win. Tell us about the difficulties you encountered and how you overcame them.

Finally, be sure to link your past job to your desired future position. Share how the techniques you have used can help you achieve results in the present. The recruiter must understand that you are not going to stop there and intend to move on, bringing benefits to the enterprise where you will work.

A resume is the first step in communication between an employer and a job applicant. vacant position, “clothing”, according to which the company evaluates the applicant until the interview. First of all, the professional skills and achievements of the candidate are considered, but his human qualities play an equally important role. That is why in many resumes there is a “Strengths” item, where the applicant talks about the features of his character that can be useful in professional activity.

As a rule, candidates do not pay enough attention to this point of the resume, and for most people it is the usual list of virtues of the “office superman” - responsible, sociable, stress-resistant, trainable, etc. However, a properly compiled list of strengths can attract the attention of a recruiter and significantly improve your image in his eyes.

How to identify your strengths?

A resume is a marketing document, a kind of advertising brochure, in which the applicant lists all his achievements and positive qualities, which justifies his compliance with the desired level. wages. In an effort to present themselves in the most favorable light, many candidates admit typical mistake- list dozens strengths of a general nature, having nothing to do with the specifics of the position for which they are applying. Here is a typical list of human strengths found in the vast majority of resumes:

• Sociability.
• Responsibility.
• Purposefulness.
• Adequacy.
• Diligence.
• Honesty.
• Energy.
• Learnability.

This list could be continued endlessly. But let's look at it through the eyes of a recruiter. Imagine: in front of him lies a dozen resumes from candidates of approximately the same professional level, and each lists a dozen of such “faceless” pseudo-positive qualities. It is obvious that this item in the resume will, at best, be simply ignored, and at worst, it will set the HR manager against such applicants.

means to predict the psychological portrait of the recruiter and to meet his expectations as accurately as possible. Therefore, when determining your strengths for a resume, adhere to the following rules:

• Your positive qualities should correspond to the specifics of the vacancy. Nobody needs a sociable and creative turner. As well as a programmer who is fluent in oratory. The turner must be hardworking, neat and preferably non-drinking. And suitable strengths for a programmer would be good analytical skills, a creative approach to solving problems, the desire to optimize and rationalize processes in the company.
• It is not enough just to list your strengths - justify them. If on your resume the item about positive qualities consists of a simple list, this will not inspire confidence in the personnel manager. It is much better if you give a short justification for each position. For example: "creativity (designed new logo companies); analytical skills (based on the analysis of sales data, created new system motivation of managers, sales increased by 20%)”.
• Do not confuse professional skills in a resume with positive qualities. In the section, you must write what directly relates to your future position - possession of the necessary software products, knowledge legislative framework, foreign languages etc. In the "Strengths" section we are talking about your human qualities that will be useful in your work.

Strengths of a person in a resume

As we have already determined, the list of positive qualities should correspond to the desired vacancy. Let's try to give examples of positive qualities for candidates for various positions.

Let's start with a list of universal characteristics that are valued by employers in all applicants. These strengths are, of course, diligence, punctuality, purposefulness, honesty, discipline and stress resistance.

If you are applying for leadership position, the employer will expect you to communicate, good organizational skills, initiative, resourcefulness and diligence. Also, pluses will be independence in decision-making, responsibility, the desire to delve into the essence production processes. A good manager is a team player, a team leader, not an overseer, and you will need to convince the recruiter that you can organize subordinates and lead them by your own example to achieve your goals.

If a person applies for the position of an office worker, the ability to find mutual language with colleagues, friendliness, ability to adapt to circumstances, conscientiousness, scrupulousness and the desire for self-development. Representatives creative professions does not hurt to note creativity and love for innovation, and financiers and lawyers - high level discipline, decency and pedantry.

Representatives technical professions, to which we include programmers, can indicate such strong qualities as attention to detail, the desire to optimize and rationalize the workflow, love to find the best way to solve the tasks.

Important: don't try to impress the employer with a huge list of positive qualities. You will appear in his eyes not as a superman, but as a person with high self-esteem. It is better to reduce the list of your strengths to four or five points, but confirm each of them with an example from life or professional practice.

In addition to positive, they may ask you to indicate your negative qualities. This is like a test of honesty - when you study the weaknesses you indicated, the level of your self-esteem and self-criticism will become better understood. should be indicated with caution - it is important not to frighten the employer. Ideally, your weaknesses should turn into additional benefits for the employer. For example, if in the resume for the position of a programmer you indicate as your negative side thinking about the task for a long time before starting the activity - this can even more endear you to the recruiter. The logic is very simple - you do not rush headlong into work without understanding the task. On the contrary, having thoroughly thought everything over, you are likely to propose and implement a more optimal solution.

Is it worth it to exaggerate your merits?

Lies and embellishment of reality is a great art, to which more than a dozen books are devoted. Lying when writing a resume is often not a whim of candidates, but the only way to get an interview. Classic example- People who are employed for the first time. The requirements for most vacancies indicate the presence of work experience - but where can a yesterday's student get it? Therefore, young people often list internships and volunteer projects as experiences. Employers are well aware of this and often turn a blind eye to it.

Strengths should be exaggerated with caution. On the one hand, it will be quite difficult to check the presence of this or that quality at an interview, on the other hand, by exaggerating your positive aspects, you will create certain expectations from the employer. If you have indicated communication skills and openness in your resume, you will most likely be offered activities related to active communication with colleagues. Obviously, a notorious misanthrope will quickly fill up such a job, and he will soon be fired. Therefore, exaggerating his strengths in a resume, a person should ask himself the question - will he be able to correspond to the formed idea about himself in the future? If the answer to this question is no, it is better to remove the excess from the list of strengths and not form inflated expectations from the employer.

Summing up

The list of positive and negative human qualities of the applicant is often no less important than his professional skills and achievements. You can be a wonderful specialist and a completely unbearable employee. When compiling a list of your strengths, try to strike a balance between modesty and the desire to present yourself in a favorable light.

On the one hand, feel free to point out your real important qualities On the other hand, don't overpraise yourself. Sometimes it's better to hide some the good side and reveal them already in the process of work - this way you will make the employer a pleasant surprise and increase your own value in his eyes.

The device for the first place of work is troublesome and incomprehensible. On the student bench, they don’t teach you how to fill out questionnaires, and if they talk about it, then in a general sense, without specifics. Therefore, young people enter into a stupor when it is required to name the weaknesses of a person. What to write? How, in general, to approach such points? How are the strengths and weaknesses of a person determined in the context of professional activity? Let's figure it out.

self-knowledge

Let's start with the fact that a person, one way or another, evaluates his character, inclinations, abilities. He knows more about it than anyone else. The weaknesses of a person are an obstacle that hinders his realization. As such, we usually consider laziness, absent-mindedness, gluttony, love to sleep, the desire to have fun, and not to work. But this has an indirect relation to the place of service. And is it worth it to tell the employer that you like to eat cakes three times a day? This is for execution job duties doesn't really affect it.

When you need to tell about yourself, you need to focus on the conditions in which you have to work. That is, to analyze your qualities, to identify those that will help you work, and those that will interfere. Pay special attention to the “weak sides of a person” item. Talk too much - you will be denied employment. Hide the actual - fired in a few days. The moment is very subtle. It should be approached carefully, thoughtfully, carefully, but honestly. Below we will try to fill in this paragraph in practice in order to avoid negative consequences. But first, take a piece of paper and write down what you consider to be your weaknesses. Don't think about work just yet. Record everything that comes to mind. We'll weed out the excess later.

How to analyze your abilities

To describe the weaknesses of a person for the questionnaire, it is necessary to carefully understand the character, habits, internal attitudes. You say that only a specialist can do this? Wrong! Now you will see everything for yourself. Sit comfortably, armed with a pen, and make lists. Enter in the hotel columns that:

• doing well;
• like to perform;
• does not work at all;
• still needs to be mastered;
• causes disgust;
• done, but with a creak, without enthusiasm.

If you approach this process thoroughly, you will get a basis in order to identify the weaknesses of a person for the questionnaire. So, in principle, experts do. They pull out the specified information in the process of conversation, observation, testing. But you know yourself, so things will go faster. And to make your job easier, here is a list of what are considered weaknesses. Focus on these data, but try not to copy them. Use your own brains!

Weaknesses of a person: examples

The employer needs you to keep things moving, not standing still. A person is assigned a range of duties that must be strictly fulfilled. His personality traits can interfere with work. In order to identify such inconsistencies, a column is filled in that determines the weaknesses of a person. Believe me, there is nothing to be ashamed of. We are all different, different from each other. One can command, the other is better at performing. Either individual will find a place for himself that will bring satisfaction and profit to him, and benefit to the common cause. Weaknesses can be as follows (for an employee):

• lack of inclination to communicate, low sociability;
• isolation;
• little experience;
• excessive emotionality;
• lack of specialized education;
• bad skills;
• conflict;
• condescending attitude towards lies.

The list is very approximate to guide the one who first encountered the problem. Here you can add, for example, fear public speaking(if necessary), inability to count money (as needed), and so on. You should proceed from the job responsibilities for which you are applying.

Strengths

By analogy, you can praise yourself in the questionnaire. Indicate all your talents, abilities, skills, experience. Eg:

• strength of will;
• endurance;
• resistance;
• purposefulness;
• calm;
• organization;
• mental clarity;
• determination;
• sociability;
• initiative;
• patience;
• truthfulness;
• justice;
• thrift;
• business ability;
• financial skills;
• tolerance;
• spirituality;
• analytics;
• the ability to compromise;
• artistry;
• accuracy;
• respect for leaders.

The list is also very approximate. It will be easier to correct it if they explain to you what you will need to do at work. Be sure to ask. And from the duties, highlight the skills that are necessary for their successful implementation.

What do you want to hide

Lying while filling out the questionnaire is not recommended. But there are some moments that are better left unsaid. For example, you lack willpower. That is, there were no moments in life when it needed to be demonstrated. So you think it doesn't exist. Then just leave this item out. There is nothing wrong with this. Believe me, this quality, called positive by the society, is doubtful for the employer. If a worker rests, having all the inclinations to achieve the goal, it is difficult to cope with him. Such people complain to the courts, and they can write a statement to the authorities. Why these problems to the heads?

When filling out the questionnaire, focus more on business characteristics. This is where you have to be extremely sincere. Each item indicated in the questionnaire will be checked in practice. It will be embarrassing and embarrassing if caught in a lie. If you don't know how to talk to a client, say so. This is a profitable business - they will teach. And for honesty you will receive bonuses, even if they are intangible.

You know, interviews are usually conducted by people who can identify the strengths and weaknesses of a person. Examples constantly pass before their eyes. Involuntarily, you will learn to notice the subtleties and nuances of behavior, project them onto characters. When faced with such a questionnaire, fill it out and read it twice. It is necessary to take a look at your data as if from the outside. You have two lists. Look at the ratio of the lists. It is desirable that there be three times more positive, strong qualities than weak ones. Judge for yourself, who needs a worker who can do nothing, who does not want to? It is foolish to give such an individual a chance for growth. And what do you think?