If you don't admit to having any deficiencies, you'll demonstrate a lack of self-awareness and immaturity. You must be willing to discuss your problem areas, but there's an effective way to do so.
What are your personal weaknesses? Are you doing anything to try to correct them? What are your biggest personal failures? Why did they occur? What have you done to prevent them from recurring? Lastly, what are your professional weaknesses? What have you done to try to improve yourself in this area? Never offer a list of deficiencies. Mentioning one will suffice. Also, don't tell an interviewer about a weakness that will interfere with your ability to perform the job or that could cause him to doubt your qualifications. If you have such a problem area, you probably shouldn't pursue the position. Instead, discuss a deficiency that will have little impact on your performance or that could even be viewed as a strength. Examples of the latter are the tendency to become overenthusiastic about one's work and allow it to interfere with personal life, or to be impatient with delays and want to complete assignments successfully, but in the least possible time. Be careful, however, as some interviewers won’t appreciate this type of response.
Of equal importance, explain what you're doing to correct the liability or compensate for it. Don't let an interviewer feel that you're ignoring it. For example, suppose you have difficulty managing your time or planning your daily activities. When discussing this problem, tell the interviewer about the measures you take to improve yourself: each night before leaving the office, you determine what you want to accomplish the next day and how much time each task will require; then you write down the steps you'll take to assure you attain your goal. By discussing a liability in this fashion, not only do you minimize its seriousness but you turn it into a strength, since you force yourself to be proficient in planning your time.
What do people criticize about you? This is another way of asking you to describe your weaknesses. Respond as above.
What are your biggest professional failures? Why did they occur? What have you done to prevent them from recurring? In addition to answering as above, try to mention a failure that took place early in your career or that's unrelated to the position for which you're being interviewed.
Your liabilities may also surface through the course of conversation. An interviewer could then make a negative comment about some past activity. Although this reproach isn't a question, it demands an immediate response. Otherwise, the objection will crystallize in the interviewer's mind and his interest in you may diminish.
Try to offset such a remark with a positive statement, or explain what you learned from the experience, how it enhanced your capability, and why you can now prevent a similar situation from occurring.
The following are three challenges job-seekers frequently encounter, with suggested responses.
Challenge
"You don't have a college degree." or "You don't have the required experience."
"You're under qualified for the position." or "You don't have enough experience."
"You're overqualified for the position/' or "You have too much experience."
Response
"I have more than the equivalent in educational background." "My accomplishments demonstrate this." (Cite your accomplishments!)
"I'm a fast learner. “Look at what I accomplished in my previous position in a very short period of time." (State your accomplishments!)
"Because of the depth of my experience, I'll be able to make an immediate contribution and bring a fresh perspective to the department."
In addition to all the questions that have been discussed, some interviewers might ask about your age, race, religion, national origin, marital/family status and plans, financial situation, a physical handicap, or if you've ever been arrested. You might take offense at some of these questions and you should know that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission has ruled that they're illegal, since they don't pertain to the job that someone will perform or to an applicant's work life. (An interviewer may ask, however, if you've ever been convicted of a crime; he just can't ask if you have ever been arrested.)
If you're asked questions along these lines-and you don't want to answer them, you're in a difficult situation. On one hand, you're protected by the law and don't have to cooperate with the interviewer. But on the other hand, if you tell the interviewer that he's just asked an illegal question or that you don't see how his question pertains to the job that's being discussed, you'll alienate him and hurt your chances of being made the offer, although you may not want to even work for an employer who disregards the law like this.
Unless you strongly object to a certain question, the best approach to take is to be tactful and answer the interviewer as good-naturedly as you can.
Additional Questions for Women
Women face their own set of unique challenges in the workforce, and employers may potentially ask about these issues.
How do you feel about supervising men? It makes no difference if a subordinate is a man or a woman. You're interested only in the quality of someone's performance.
How do men like working for you? You've never been told that you're any different to work for than a man.
How does your husband feel about you working? He approves. If an employer asks this type of question, you may rightly feel like he wouldn’t make a good boss.
What would you do if your husband were transferred? You would move with him. Not only will an interviewer respect your honesty, but saying anything else would cause suspicion about the stability of your personal life.
