How to talk about your weak points during a job interview, by Thierry Andrieux.

1/ What is a weak point and how to identify it?

Thierry Andrieux
Founder – Humanessence
Recruitment consultancy

First, good news: everybody has a weak point. But a weak point is a relative notion, because it can be a technical skill or simply a trait of personality. It depends on the environment. I’d say that if it’s a crucial skill for a given job, for example, a software, a foreign language, there is no choice: if you have this skill, it’s ok, if you don’t, apply elsewhere.

Second: if it’s a more or less flexible environment, regarding a job or a job description, you can take a decision according to the applicant’s strong and weak points. Is a particular personality trait a weak point or not? Hard to tell. But it depends on the context, and especially on what the interlocutor thinks about you. My advice: prepare an interview beforehand to identify any weak points. First, ask for the job description, in order to understand what they are looking for. Does it fit your profile or not? Second, read the website attentively, in order to get information about the company’s culture and dimension.

2/ How to move forward when you have a weak point?

Bad news: you’ve got a weak point. But you’ve a job interview and you want to move forward. What can you do? If there are things you don’t master, it’s better to admit it. Be honest with yourself and with your interlocutor. It begins with your résumé.

You speak English fluently. Be able to speak it. You have a degree: be able to present it. Then, be open-minded and take initiatives. In other words, react. Don’t let your weak points get to you. Show that you know how to negotiate an obstacle and challenge yourself.

Rephrasing is useful. You make your interlocutor know you’ve understood his or her expectations. Another useful advice: question your interlocutor about his priorities, in order to know if your weak points really are disadvantages, in regards of his requirements. If it’s not a weak point, then you can bounce back and set up improvement axes.

3/ How to improve a weak point?

Be careful with “overadaptation”. You could get exhausted and lose your motivation by getting away from your personality. You can improve a weak point while being yourself. You need to identify the companies that match your profile.

Do not lie to yourself, it’s important. It means you have to know yourself well, regarding your personality and skills. You need to keep your energy, whatever personality and skills you have, and to know to what extent you want to change a weak point.

If you don’t really want to change, it will be difficult. You are not familiar with a software, you don’t talk a foreign language: think about professional trainings. Whatever improvement axes you have set up, you need to work on yourself.

Finally, do not forget your professional and personal entourage: they can tell you things that can be very useful.