The short answer: name a real weakness that isn’t central to the job, give one example of when it caused a problem, then say what you’re doing about it and what has changed. Keep it to about a minute. Avoid disguised strengths like “I’m a perfectionist” or “I work too hard”: in a Harvard Business School study, most candidates answered that way, and the people rating them preferred the candidates who admitted a real weakness. Below are 30 weaknesses you can use, six sample answers, the ones to avoid, and how to answer “strengths and weaknesses” together.
Why interviewers ask about your weaknesses
The question tests three things, none of which is whether you have weaknesses. Everyone does.
- Self-awareness. Can you see your own performance clearly?
- Honesty. Will you tell them something true, or a rehearsed dodge?
- What you do about problems. Do you notice a gap and work on it, or wait for someone else to point it out?
It also checks for a mismatch: a weakness that would make the job hard for you. That’s the one thing to steer around.
What the research says: don’t humblebrag
In a study reported by Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge, researchers asked 122 college students to answer “What’s your biggest weakness?” as if in a job interview. 77% humblebragged: they disclosed a strength dressed up as a weakness instead of a real one. The most common answers were perfectionism (32.8%), working too hard (24.6%) and being too nice (14.8%). The people rating the answers were much more interested in hiring the students who gave an honest weakness.
The published paper, across nine studies, explains why: humblebragging is seen as insincere, and it lowers both liking and perceived competence. An interviewer has heard “I’m a perfectionist” many times. A real weakness, handled well, is rarer and more convincing.
How to answer in three parts
- Name the weakness plainly. One sentence, no excuses. “I’ve found it hard to delegate.”
- Give one real example. When did it show up, and what did it cost? “When I started leading the onboarding project, I kept the design work myself, and we missed our first review date.”
- Say what you’re doing and what has changed. Specific actions and a result, even a small one. “Now I hand over whole pieces of work with a clear outcome and a check-in date. On the last project I delegated three of the five workstreams and we delivered a week early.”
The University of Alabama Career Center puts it simply: be honest, pick something you’re challenged by “that would not be a red flag to the interviewer,” and include how you’re working to manage it.
Aim for 45 to 60 seconds. At an average speaking pace of about 150 words a minute, that’s roughly 110 to 150 words. More on speaking pace in interviews.
30 weaknesses you can use in an interview
Pick one that is true for you and not central to the job you’re applying for. Each comes with the kind of evidence that makes it credible.
Work habits
| Weakness | How to show you’re working on it |
|---|---|
| Saying yes to too much | You check your current workload before agreeing and give a realistic date |
| Spending too long polishing work that’s already good enough | You agree what “done” looks like at the start and set yourself an earlier deadline. Only use this with a real cost, such as a missed date |
| Putting off tasks you find dull | You do them first thing, in short blocks |
| Prioritizing when everything feels urgent | You ask your manager to rank conflicting requests |
| Losing track of small admin tasks | Everything goes in one task list you review each morning |
| Impatience with slow processes | You ask why a step exists before pushing to skip it |
| Starting before the plan is clear | You write a short plan and share it before you begin |
| Reluctance to ask for help | You give yourself a time limit: stuck for 30 minutes, you ask |
Communication
| Weakness | How to show you’re working on it |
|---|---|
| Presenting to large groups | You volunteer for short updates and practice out loud beforehand |
| Speaking up in meetings | You prepare one point in advance for each meeting |
| Giving critical feedback | You use a simple structure: what you saw, its effect, what you’d suggest |
| Sounding too blunt in writing | You reread important messages for tone before sending |
| Writing long emails and reports | You put the conclusion in the first line |
| Explaining technical work to non-specialists | You lead with one concrete example and test explanations on a non-specialist |
| Talking too fast when nervous | You pause between ideas and record practice answers |
Skills (only if not core to the job)
| Weakness | How to show you’re working on it |
|---|---|
| Limited experience with a specific tool, such as SQL or Salesforce | A course you’re taking and a small project you used it on |
| Advanced spreadsheet work | What you’ve learned recently and what you built with it |
| Budgeting and financial knowledge, in a non-finance role | A course, or owning a small budget |
| Knowledge of a new industry, if you’re changing careers | What you’re reading, who you’re talking to, what you’ve learned |
| A second language the team uses | Classes, and where you use it already |
| Negotiating | Practice in lower-stakes situations, and a book or course |
| Automating repetitive work | A script or tool you set up, and the time it saved |
People and leadership
| Weakness | How to show you’re working on it |
|---|---|
| Delegating | You hand over whole tasks with a clear outcome and a check-in date |
| Checking in too often on people’s work | You agree check-in points in advance instead |
| Saying no to colleagues | You explain what you’d have to drop to say yes |
| Taking criticism personally | You ask questions, then take a day before responding |
| Avoiding conflict | You raise disagreements early, privately, with a proposed solution |
| Working without clear instructions | You write down your assumptions and confirm them early |
| Building relationships beyond your team | A regular coffee with someone in another team |
| Dwelling on mistakes | You write down what you’d do differently, then move on |
Six sample answers
Examples are illustrations, not quotes from real candidates. Adapt the details to your own experience; an answer that isn’t true won’t survive a follow-up question.
Presenting to groups (entry level)
“Presenting to big groups has been hard for me. In my final year I had to present our project to about 60 people and I rushed through it, so the questions afterwards were about things I’d skipped. Since then I’ve volunteered to give the five-minute update in our weekly team meeting, and I rehearse out loud the night before. It’s still not my favorite thing, but I presented our results to the department last month and finished on time with room for questions.”
Delegating (new manager)
“Delegating is the thing I’ve had to work on most since I became a team lead. At first I kept the hardest pieces of each project myself, and on our onboarding redesign that made me the bottleneck: we missed the first review date. Now I hand over whole pieces of work with a clear outcome and a check-in date, and I only step in if we’re off track. On the last project I delegated three of the five workstreams and we delivered a week early.”
Saying yes too often (any role)
“I tend to say yes to too much. Last spring I agreed to help two other teams during our busiest month, and my own reporting slipped by a few days. Now, before I agree to anything, I look at what’s already on my plate and either give a realistic date or say what I’d need to drop. My manager has noticed that my deadlines are more reliable, and I’ve still been able to help when it matters.”
A tool you’re still learning (analyst or marketer)
“My SQL is still basic. In my current role our analysts pull the data, so I haven’t needed it much, but it means I wait days for numbers I could get myself. I’m three months into an online course, and I’ve started writing simple queries for our campaign reports. Last week I built the weekly performance query myself, and I’d like to keep building on that here.”
Giving critical feedback (team lead)
“I’ve found it hard to give critical feedback. I used to soften it so much that the point got lost: one teammate didn’t realize his reports needed work until they were flagged by my manager. Now I use a simple structure: what I saw, the effect it had, and what I’d suggest, and I say it within a day or two rather than saving it up. It’s made those conversations shorter and less awkward, for both of us.”
Asking for help (early career)
“I’ve been slow to ask for help. In my first internship I spent most of a day stuck on a data problem that a colleague solved in ten minutes. Now I give myself a time limit: if I’ve been stuck for 30 minutes and tried the obvious things, I ask, and I bring what I’ve already tried. I get unstuck faster, and I’ve learned a lot more from the people around me.”
Weaknesses to avoid
- A core skill of the job. Attention to detail for an accountant, patience for a customer service role, staying calm under pressure for a nurse. If the weakness would make the job hard, choose another.
- A disguised strength. Perfectionism, working too hard, caring too much. They’re the answers interviewers hear most, and the research above shows they backfire.
- “I don’t have any.” It fails the self-awareness test immediately.
- Something personal, ethical or behavioral. Lateness, losing your temper, honesty. These raise questions you can’t answer in a minute.
- A weakness you’ve done nothing about. Without the third part, it’s just a confession.
Strengths and weaknesses together
When the question is “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”, answer both, briefly, strength first:
- One strength with proof. Pick one that matters for this job, with a short example and a result.
- One weakness, in the three parts above. Shorter than usual: a sentence each.
- End on progress, not on the problem.
Example: “My main strength is turning messy information into something people can use. In my last role I rebuilt our weekly sales report so the team could see which accounts needed attention, and managers started using it in their Monday meeting. My weakness is that I’ve found it hard to delegate. I’m working on it by handing over whole pieces of work with a clear outcome and a check-in date, and on my last project that helped us deliver a week early.”
Other versions of the question, and how to handle them:
- “What are three weaknesses?” Pick three from different groups above, one sentence each on what you’re doing about them.
- “What would your manager say you need to improve?” Use real feedback from a review if you have it. It’s more credible than anything you invent.
- “What’s an area of improvement for you?” The same question in other words. The same answer works.
For “tell me about a time you failed”, a related but different question, use a story with a clear lesson: see the failure example in our STAR method guide.
Practice your answer out loud
Write your answer in three short lines, then say it out loud and time it. The second and third time, you’ll hear where it drags or sounds rehearsed. Our mock interview questions include this one with the other common openers.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good weakness to say in an interview?
What is the best answer to "What is your greatest weakness?"
Should I say perfectionism as a weakness?
How many weaknesses should I mention?
Can I say I don't have any weaknesses?
How do I answer "What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
How long should my weakness answer be?
Sources
- Nobel, C., Humblebragging Is a Bad Strategy, Especially in a Job Interview, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, July 2015.
- Sezer, O., Gino, F., & Norton, M. I. (2018). Humblebragging: A distinct—and ineffective—self-presentation strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(1), 52–74.
- The University of Alabama Career Center, Strength and Weakness Questions. Read on 30 September 2026.
- Baruch College, CUNY, Tools for Clear Speech, Speaking Rate.
