Job Interviews "your weaknesses"

[woutR]

I'm applying to two committees for my study organization and they are going to ask me my 3 strengths and 3 "weaknesses".
My strengths I am confident about, just my weaknesses I am struggling.

I basically have two options: going for "I am a perfectionist, too fussy bla bla", the weakness is an actual strength. Problem here is that it is extremely unoriginal, and when I tried to go for a little more subtle one ("I can't cope with people who deliver bad work, then I'll do it myself") it was perceived as the same.
Otherwise I can be 'honest' and really tell a weakness. Problem is that I'd rather not say something the interviewer really sees as a weakness. (I actually said my third weakness is that I only have 2, probably should work on that too)

Anyways, what are good answers to the question "what are your weaknesses?" (NOT I am a perfectionist, I get tunnel vision+shut people out= fkin amazing work cause super focused, I don't like bad work etc) I need something original cause these people have 100+ applicants and have seen it all.

[BuDo]

Any comments given here about what you can use as your weakness in an interview wont necessarily be YOUR weakness. You might end up creating a false impression to your potential employer if that matters to you.

You need to look at your whole life from as long as you can remember and identify your own weaknesses...there is probably quite a few...you'll just have to find a way to relate them to the work environment.

[sting13]

Just popping in here since I actually took a course on interviews.

While finding out your weaknesses is entirely up to you, you have to remember not to tear yourself down in the interview.

If you suck at project presentations for example, say that one of your weaknesses is public presentations, but then go on to say "however... this is what I'm doing to improve on this herp, derp herp". My instructor explained it as peaks and valleys, you want to get back up near the peak after you mention a weakness.

Hopefully it helps

[*BlackFox]

Well, try to find your "positive weaknesses" such as.. being too much of a perfectionist, or being fussy about punctuality... etc

[MrTwilliger]

How much experience do you have? When I (successfully) went for my interviews they asked me the same question. I didn't have any pre-planned answers, that's not really my style, but I truthfully told them that my main weakness is a lack of IT experience in a cop-operate environment. I went on to explain that I have a lot of knowledge both through my studies and my own client servicing work, but haven't been exposed to a larger business model yet. He seemed to respect the brutal honesty of it *shrugs*

[CrimsonNuker]

Kryptonite.

[woutR]

well in the end I went with 1) a lack of experience, but very eager and motivated to learn 2) some times being too involved, try to help other people too much and then I can lag behind and have to make up for it by working very hard. They didn't ask for a third.
Was received ok this time

[Vaya]

I've never reached this level of work as I'm still a student, so I didn't deal with any big company that make such interviews, usually it's just a paper to fill with my info and previous experiences.
but, considering that I'll do someday be in the same situation, I'll be honest as long as what I say won't ruin it for me, like telling him real weaknesses but not big ones, and I would do my best to not to make many stops in the middle with "aaaa", "ummmm" because this doesn't really help, will make you you more nervous and show the interviewer another weakness, thinking much and slow reactions.

[Amarisa]

How much experience do you have? When I (successfully) went for my interviews they asked me the same question. I didn't have any pre-planned answers, that's not really my style, but I truthfully told them that my main weakness is a lack of IT experience in a cop-operate environment. I went on to explain that I have a lot of knowledge both through my studies and my own client servicing work, but haven't been exposed to a larger business model yet. He seemed to respect the brutal honesty of it *shrugs*

honesty is key. If I was an employer I would look for someone that knows their weaknesses and are not afraid to admit them. If you hide them then you are not going to fix them.

[Morgoth]

I've heard that these types of questions are used to see how you have dealt with your problems and handled that type of situation. A possible answer that I read somewhere is to actually state a real weakness that you once had and to explain how you made up for it. Or if you currently have a weakness, talk about what you are doing to to overcome it. Either way, give them answer answer that shows good problem solving from your part. Good luck.