How to Talk About Your Flaws in a Job Interview

A job interview is a very important test in the professional environment since it represents an opportunity for knowledge between the company and the candidate. In this interview, the candidate answers different questions related to his career, his experience and his training. But also with his way of being.

Some of these questions may be more uncomfortable, for example, those that are intended to delve into possible shortcomings or defects in professional practice. How to talk about your weaknesses in a job interview ? In psychology, we give you the keys to face this situation with emotional intelligence, increasing your options to achieve that job.

Tips for talking about your flaws and weaknesses

These ideas will help you get through this moment with more confidence in yourself and have a positive attitude in a job interview :

1. Planning the test

From your experience in interviews of this type, you can identify common questions that are repeated in the selection processes. In that case, prepare your answers before the test. This does not mean that you have to say a script from memory, simply by imagining yourself verbalizing these messages you prepare yourself to face that moment naturally when the situation arrives. You can do a role-playing exercise, a simulation dynamic about the job interview itself.

2. Complement your flaws with your virtues

When you list a defect, you can immediately reinforce the message by expressing qualities and virtues with which you can overcome this difficulty, which, in no case, should be a point that affects your own personal brand or your professionalism. For example, you may not be satisfied with your level of English, however, you can explain that you are studying at the Language School to correct this point as soon as possible.

In other words, you can relate your limit to your own desire to improve. For example, if you did not like public speaking before, you can express that you have overcome that difficulty through experience. The defects in a job interview take on their true meaning when they are interpreted from a global point of view.

3. Avoid giving manual answers

Interviewers ask different candidates so many questions that it is a mistake to repeat common answers on this question. For example, it is unoriginal to resort to perfectionism as a form of defect that is itself a virtue. Actually, try to boost your introspection to give an answer that you feel identified with, but also, with which you feel comfortable at the time.

4. Share your desire to learn

A candidate who wants to continue working, learning and evolving shows through his attitude that in a natural way he is a resilient person capable of overcoming his own difficulties through the development of new skills. Therefore, express this wish at some point during the interview.

5. Self-esteem

Not only do you express information about yourself when talking about your flaws, but also, in the way that you do. Don't talk about yourself through self-pity, victimhood, or guilt. In fact, don't pretend at this point so that the interview runs its course with other topics of conversation.

Turn your flaws into an opportunity: positive flaws

The moment in which they ask you to mention your own defects is one of the most stressful for a candidate who fears not being chosen at this point, however, in reality, you should see this information as an opportunity since the coach looks at many important details through your answers. It is a mistake to believe that the resume is the best representation of your ability because in reality, you are your personal brand . Your way of being, your social and emotional skills are also significant at this time.

Around this question, by answering this question you also demonstrate your level of self-knowledge by showing that you are a person who knows yourself well thanks to introspection. In addition, you also put into practice a virtue as important as the sincerity of showing yourself as you are.

This expression of flaws is also a clear lesson of humility for you. In turn, you demonstrate your communication skills around this matter. For this reason, when you think about that moment when you have to answer this uncomfortable question in the job interview, look at everything that your answers contain, even if it is not explicitly. That is, your answers say more about you than I would have imagined at first.

How to overcome your personal flaws at work

1. Become aware of what your limits are , that is, identify where you would like to improve. Change the concept of defect to weakness. Just as your virtues are your strengths, your defects condition you.
2. The flaws are not fixed . When you talk about yourself, avoid the prejudice of believing that you are like that and you can do nothing to change. No matter how old you are, you can continue to evolve so that those limits affect you less and less.
3. How to do it? Through an action plan that integrates the steps aimed at promoting your personal development against that limit that you have previously identified. Start working in an orderly manner, that is, start with a specific point that you would like to improve.
4. Personal coaching process. Coaching is an increasingly present discipline in the work environment. The key to its success lies in the fact that it positions the client in a leading role in which they assume responsibility for generating significant changes in their attitude.
5. Be open to constructive criticism and suggestions from the workplace. Receive these comments as an opportunity to improve by realizing aspects that you may not have perceived until that moment.