05 Weak Points Examples to Say in the Job Interview

Do you need 5 examples of weaknesses when this question is asked in job interviews?

Who is applying for jobs job, you know you need to be prepared for all possible questions, from your favorite food to your biggest weakness.

It is common for recruiters to ask this type of question to find out more about candidates and potential employees at their companies. This way they will know if the candidate has the “cultural fit”.

05 examples of weaknesses

It's much easier to praise yourself and say good things about yourself than to recognize your flaws and know how to talk about them, don't you think?

Therefore, we end up not knowing what to say when asked about our weaknesses, and saying that we don't have any or don't know is not an option!

With that in mind, let’s check out some examples for when this question comes up in your job interview.

1 – Perfectionism

What can be a quality also fits very well as a defect, perfectionism is very good for long projects that need to be perfect.

But in some situations, it ends up causing the person to waste a lot of time on minute details, directing their efforts to issues that are not so urgent.

For many, this answer is seen as a cliché, so if you choose to say that one of your weaknesses is perfectionism, be sure to give examples of why this is your answer and how it applies from your perspective.

2 – Difficulty saying no

If you donate too much to help a co-worker, you could end up getting in your way and delaying your own deadlines, causing problems with your leadership. 

So it can be considered a weakness, even if some people think that this is a desire to make things happen or a proactive characteristic, it may not be the case.

Accepting many projects because you don't know how to say no can end up compromising your work in progress, the final result, and your physical and mental health.

3 – Anxiety

According to 2023 data from WHO, World Health Organization, Brazil is the country with the largest number of anxious people in the world, corresponding to 9.31 TP3T of the population.

Not to mention people who have never sought psychological support and are anxious, but don't know it due to lack of diagnosis or self-knowledge.

When mentioning this in your interview, bring examples of situations in which this condition has already harmed you.

4 – Difficulty asking for help

Asking for help is part of good teamwork, but you also need to know when and how.

Even though autonomy is a valuable trait for an employer, they expect you to have a voice when you need help with technical and even personal issues, to avoid consequences in the future.

5 – Lack of patience

The excitement to achieve a result at the end of a project can be something that demonstrates impatience.

Especially when you need to work with other people, who have other priorities and deadlines than yours.

The pressure you put on yourself and others can be a relevant defect to mention in Job interviews.

Each weakness that you raise and know how to exemplify by talking about them, shows a quality: self-knowledge, which nowadays is a highly sought after soft skill.