acing the interview

[sirex]

Lets get a thread on how to answer interview questions by blowing the interviewer out of the water...

the question that I particulalry hate, and most jobs always ask you the same stupid question:


What is your greatest strength and greatest weakness?

I hate this because wtf, greatest weakness.. why would I want to tell you my greatest weakness.. What if my greatest weakness is something that you hate as a trait in people..

[Justin e36]

IMO there is no generic way to answer these questions. As your responses should always depend on the job description for the job you are applying for. Answers should also be relevant to what they are looking for in an applicant. The only generic responses should be geared around teamwork, strong communication skills, trustworthy, honest worker, and willing to learn new skills to better suit the position.

[sirex]

yeah i know and i agree... i think my new pet peve is: when an interviwer asks you what is your greatest strength and weakness.. can u ask anything that isn't so stupid.

[BMW_7]

I always say that I am not organized for day to day activities (I don't keep a daily planner)

[jstalin]

****ing offerhim a gram of hash & be done with it, ricky style

[rhythm]

You tell them something good as a weakness. For example: "I tend to check work email from home too often........"

[Miguel]

simple answer:

"my greatest weakness is that I tend to overwork myself, Im a workaholic"

/thread

[Justin e36]

Originally Posted by sirex

yeah i know and i agree... i think my new pet peve is: when an interviwer asks you what is your greatest strength and weakness.. can u ask anything that isn't so stupid.

Greatest strength: Keep your response goal-oriented.
Greatest weakness: Keep it both honest, and logical. Be genuine, but keep it petty.

Originally Posted by rhythm

You tell them something good as a weakness. For example: "I tend to check work email from home too often........"

That's not a strength, especially in the Corporate world. You have to show you have a pre-established work/life balance. Working too much, especially when you should be spending time at home with your family, is frowned upon now a days. Unless, perhaps, if you're working for a mickey mouse company.

[BMWags]

Originally Posted by Miguel

simple answer:

"my greatest weakness is that I tend to overwork myself, Im a workaholic"

/thread

exactally...something to the tune of..."sometimes i try to take on too many tasks at once and because of this I overextend myself" BS them into thinging u actually live to work and a social life is an afterthought

[propr'one]

lol. i could mabye consider working around my social life. and sleep. but probably not

[Chris de la Cruz]

/thread

[sirex]

weakness:

Id have to say my greatest weakness is that sometimes I get the urge to tell my co-workers to **** off and do some work... but that applies only if they are being lazy or not carrying their weight


im going to go and apply to a whole bunch of jobs next week..im going to use this line a the interview.. ill tell you how it goes.... i think ill put down fake names on my resume as to not completely ruinmy name hahaha

[Wannabe]

Originally Posted by mirek2

weakness:

"sometimes i tend to be a perfectionist"

'

Over played.. don't use this one

[M3ti Compact]

Originally Posted by mirek2

weakness:

"sometimes i tend to be a perfectionist"

lol...I remember that is what my CO-OP co-ordinator told everyone to say when asked during one of her lectures. Then later, I heard from friends that they used that line at actual interviews, and one interviewer asked if we were all coached to say that as EVERYONE before him said the exact same thing.

Anyways- you can say any weakness you want- but follow that up with "it's a weakness, but the first step in fixing the problem is identifying it, so there"