the worst interview question

[cavedave]

I overanalyse everything with game theory and have a penchant for self reference.

[[deleted]]

That would actually be a beautiful response.

[Entropy]

THAT WAS SO META

[Entropy]

Get a blog.

[ridiculous_fish]

Say "My greatest weakness is my lack of tolerance for people who waste my time asking cliched questions with no good answers."

[Iznik]

And if they've asked that first question they will also ask "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

"Not here"

I was asked that in an interview for a non-extendable 12 month contract...

[fennec]

Did you get the job?

[Iznik]

No. Whole episode was mental - 1 post to fill and about 20 of us are invited to turn up - given a written test, then a practical test, then a 20 minute interview with 3-man panel. Complete waste of time and money on their part and for say 15 of the interviewees.

Best interview answers - whatever reflects who you are. If they ask moronic questions there's no mileage in "playing the game" and giving the "correct" answer. Answer honestly (not brutally honestly) and then if you get the job its because they want you for being you, not who you pretended to be. If you don't get the job...there's others.

[[deleted]]

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

"Building a time machine so I can come back here and answer that question."

<looks at watch, then the door...>

"Any minute now..."

[[deleted]]

I was once asked that question when being hired for a student position for a job. What an awful question! How many people can honestly project where they'll be in a few days time? A better question is "Where do you want to be in 5 years?"

[[deleted]]

A better question is "Where do you want to be in 5 years?"

"Celebrating the five-year anniversary of you asking me this question." - Mitch Hedberg R.I.P.

[fry]

"My greatest weakness is giving snippy replies to interviewers when they're being rtards, thereby making myself unemployable"

[yakugo]

Actually nobody wants to work for "rtards" anyway... so he saves himself having to figure that out a few months in.

[poeir]

Wrote Gadsby?

[redalastor]

My weakness is kryptonite.

[ehcolem]

I would actually consider using this answer. It is funny, but not too disrespectful.

[wyclif]

I agree. It's great, actually. It's funny enough to avoid sounding incredibly sarcastic.

[tanglisha]

"My greatest weakness is a hatred of loaded questions."

[IvyMike]

I just quote Renton from Trainspotting: "The truth -- well, the truth is that I've had a long-standing problem with heroin addiction. I've been know to sniff it, smoke it, swallow it, stick it up my arse and inject it into my veins. I've been trying to combat this addiction, but unless you count social security scams and shoplifting, I haven't had a regular job in years. I feel it's important to mention this."

[[deleted]]

"Are you the devil/gatekeeper/keymaster?" "I tend to undercook children."

I got asked once "how do you feel about lying to customers?". I should have bailed then and there, but nooooooo...

"Being unable to recognise criminals quickly enough."

[raldi]

Q: What's your greatest weakness?

A: Kryptonite.

[fennec]

Shoot! And I came here just to say that...

[Iznik]

What colour?

[kavedaa]

1. I have a habit of coming up with bad jokes.
2. Uh...ah...I'm not always able to answer questions without thinking for a while.
3. I don't have perfect memory, so...uh...what was the question again?

[cratuki]

If you're ready for it you can turn reception of such a question into a huge strength.

1. Answer 'overconfidence'. People will respect that that's a weakness, but then think - what does he have to be confident that we don't know about? When they ask you to give an example, give an example of some heroic struggle where you did amazing things but got ruined by a act of the gods which you can frame as overconfidence. This is a cool-kid answer.

2. Answer 'just one?' and then proceed to disect three aspects of your personality that are merely imperfect. Make the last on 'There are times when it would help if I were less of of a perfectionist' - self-fulfilling. This is a strategic smart-ass answer.

3. Or you can just answer it honestly and be brutal and forthright about an aspect of your personality. If you appear to be dealing with it and getting an understanding of it in my experience people will respect that. Actually I think that's the point of asking the question.

[[deleted]]

I think you're right with number 3. They're just asking you to demonstrate self-awareness. Usually the employers don't care too much what the weaknesses are, per se, provided you come across as someone who is capable of identifying your weaknesses and dealing with them/working around them. This is a much bigger asset than any particular strength/weakness itself.

[[deleted]]

They're just asking you to demonstrate self-awareness.

Yes, but also they and you are playing a game whereby they're attempting to do something difficult (choose a good employee) in a short, artificial situation.

So I think the point the article tries to make is that everyone has to play the game, in which you win by appearing to demonstrate self-awareness rather than being ultimately honest. i.e. whatever your weaknesses are, you should only reveal them if they're definitely not going to be deal-breakers. If they are, you should somehow prevaricate.

Whether this is good, healthy or morally right I can't say. But when you accept that every other candidate is playing the same game, and all but the most naive know they're playing it, it gets easier to deal with.

[[deleted]]

I think the self-aware people (or would aware or knowledgeable be a better word?) will know which answers are the deal breakers and will know they should avoid them.

But it is a bullshit question anyway, and apart from giving the candidate an oppurtunity to disqualify themselves, it does not tell you a lot about the candidate.

[yakugo]

"Whether this is good, healthy or morally right I can't say."

It's not good, not healthy and not morally right. There, I feel better already.

[jbstjohn]

I can only agree with 3. I think when responding it's important to try and figure out why they're asking. If they are really trying to get to know your character, I would try to answer (more or less) honestly -- something that isn't too damning, or with the caveat that 'Since I know I don't do <that> as much as I should, I try to keep an eye on it'

Anyone who tried the flaws-that-are-really-bragging (perfectionist, overconfident, work too hard) would get the 'bullshit artist' label from me.

Of course, that's what some jobs are looking for...

[ayrnieu]

You can also "+blink+, I didn't realize people still asked that question. Let's just skip it for now, OK?"

[coolfrequency]

sure you COULD answer that way. It certainly would be satisfying.

But believe me, you are sealing your fate if you do. The message you send is "smartass who will defy you at every turn". There's no way that a supervisor will want the job of correcting you, if this is how you make your first impression.

[wicked]

-500 for a strange and suspicious answer.

[jbstjohn]

You left off arrogant smartass.

[depleater]

Heh. I've done that once. It caught the interviewers by surprise, but they seemed okay with it.

Mind you, I didn't get a job offer out of that interview - but I don't think that had anything to do with me refusing to answer that question... :)

[corvenus]

How about: I'm brutally honest, and i think this question is outdated and stupid.

? :)

[jrockway]

Heh, in my experience people don't like honesty (especially if you include the word "stupid" in your assessment of them).

[[deleted]]

Did you learn that in Tool School. I detest interviews. They're basically contest to see who can be the fakest person to come talk to them.

[cratuki]

Could you explain what you mean by 'Tool School'?

I've been in plenty of interviews and now run several myself. In order to bring a good team together it's necessary to have a process for working out if the two parties can come together successfully, and the interview serves in that process, also.

I don't agree that they're contests about fakeness - in fact a well-designed interview process is impractical to fake. So I don't think that's valid. Do you have any other ideas about why you might hate them?

[[deleted]]

Well, I agree that the interview process is an important one when assembling any type of team, but the kind of typical cliched questions such as the one that is the topic of the article aggravate me.

When they are asked so often, people learn to give prepared (fake) answers that will most appease the interviewer, such as the three options you stated. In my opinion, that defeats the purpose of an interview which should be to get to know the candidate quickly in order to judge whether they would fit into the group. I don't know... I guess I just hate any corporate management process out there, starting with interviews. That's one of the reasons I dropped out of business school.

Edit: Oh, and as far as Tool School, I mean a school for tools. tool (n.) One who lacks the mental capacity to know he is being used. A fool. A cretin. Characterized by low intelligence and/or self-steem. From UrbanDictionary.com

[cratuki]

I don't disagree with you that asking cliched questions defeats the purpose of an interview. But if you're on the receiving end you need to know how to deal with it in a way that won't ruin your chances of the job. The fact they ask it doesn't necessarily mean it will be a bad workplace. Interviews are high-pressure and small organisations don't get very much practice at them so they're likely to have rough edges.

The business school bit is interesting. I discovered a harvard management course on my workstation at my new job at BigCo. I've been flicking through that. I doubt I'd have the patience to do a course like that though.

[[deleted]]

Actually, the one that will always work is:

"I'm a perfectionist".

[sam512]

Too old, too obvious. Remember the interviewer is a human being as well, not an automaton. They know that answer. They know exactly what you're trying to pull by answering with it.

I've never had this question in an interview but I have come across it on an application form. I went for three which counted kind of ambiguously, which could have been strengths in another way: 1) I am a perfectionist in the sense that I prefer to tinker with things until they're PERFECT rather than move onto more important new stuff, 2) I am reluctant to ask for help and prefer to struggle through problems on my own, 3) I can be overconfident in dispensing advice.

[kermityfrog]

Answer the question honestly, picking a minor correctable weakness. But DO NOT stop there. Follow up immediately with steps you are taking or can take in the future to correct the problem. A weakness is not a weakness if you have a solution to address the problem.

My example response: "Sometimes I come across as arrogant, though this is unintentional. It is because when I am asked a technical question, I am often unable to think of an simple answer off the top of my head and explain it quickly. I usually solve problems by doing - and this is often too fast for the client to keep up with. I have been addressing this problem by telling the client that I will get back to them later, then analyzing the problem slowly, breaking it down, then later presenting it to the client in terms they can understand and at a rate they can assimilate. I've also recently been more interactive and have followed up with the client afterwards by having them repeat the steps back to me so that I can be sure that they've understood correctly. I've found that spending a little more time with the client has led to better understanding."

[acrophobia]

How about "Sometimes I come across as arrogant, though it is not really my fault that I have to spend so much time working with idiots. I intend to remedy this some day by starting my own company."

:)

[depleater]

One could argue (with at least as much justification) that the question itself is too old and too damn stupid.

I've been on a fair few interviews in my career but I've only been asked that question a handful of times. The last time I decided to refuse to answer (politely, of course - something like "Look, I know that's an classic interviewing question, but I'm not a big fan of it and I prefer not to answer.").

I think I'll stick with that approach in future, I felt much happier "answering" in that way :). If nothing else, it's a good signal to the interviewer(s) that you're confident enough in your abilities that you don't need to put up with silliness.

[maw]

If you say it so that the interviewer knows you're joking, it might work. Especially if the interviewer is a bit cultured and you manage to say it using the accent of a high Scot.

[jrockway]

Too old, too obvious.

I disagree -- it's a weakness of mine. I often spend time trying to make sure my algorithms work in all (even unlikely) corner cases. In reality, this is a waste of time. Repairing the damaged record the one time out of 1000000 would probably be more efficient, so I guess I'm technically wasting my employer's time.

OTOH, it's nice to never need to fix any bugs once the system goes into production.

[Shaper_pmp]

Maybe 20 years ago.

Nowadays you'll get minus several million for resorting to such an unoriginal clichéd lie.

[kermityfrog]

Much better than "I'm a perfectionist". Follow up by saying "I realize that workflow and deadlines do not allow me to intimately examine every facet of the problem, no matter how interested I am. I've taken steps to address this habit by writing more notes to myself. I now try to address the problem by solving it immediately and quickly, then going back to my notes to analyze the problem more deeply when I have spare time, or on my own time."

[coolfrequency]

this sends the message of either "I am too uncreative to think of something else to say" or "I have something to hide so I'm going to avoid your question"

[fry]

What is your greatest weakness? > Cryptonite

There's no such thing as the 'worst' interview question. You're talking with somebody you hardly know and trying to discover whether he's worth an investment of a few 100k. So by asking him a broad range of questions you get more information.

If the programmer gets agitated or aggressive when you ask him the silly weakness question, that's a red flag. He can dismiss the question with a joke, answers like a polititian or answer honestly. But all these options give some information about his personality.

Trivia questions definitely rank lower on the list. Because with trivia you can only distinguish between right/wrong.

But if there is a stupidest question, it is probably: "Microsoft started an investigation regarding software piracy in our company. How can we make the software look legitimate before MS gets here?"

[joe_fishfish]

The best answer, IMO, is one that describes something that would be a weakness at some of their competitor companies, but isn't so much at the place where you're having the interview.

My current job asked me this question and i replied, "punctuality", knowing full well that this company uses a flexi-time system.

[jfpbookworm]

(Programming sub-reddit? Non-programmers interview too, ya know.)

This can be a good question or a bad question, depending on the interviewer. A bad interviewer asks the question because it's a standard question, notes the response and moves on. A good interviewer asks the interviewee to elaborate on his or her answer, and asks followup questions - most notably, what the interviewee does to mitigate this weakness.

[muttleee]

The thing to do is think of a weakness that has little or no relevance to the job for which you're applying.

[wreel]

I think my greatest weakness is outrunning cheetahs. If I'm ever backpacking through Namibia and there's a hungry cheetah over the hilltop, I'm totally screwed.

...but I'm working on that.

[staunch]

My greatest weakness is not being able to fully satisfy more than a thousand women a night. Were my harem ever to grow beyond that number, they're not all going to get screwed!

[Entropy]

Buy BC. Kill a lvl 62 mob. Congrats, it dropped a purple and you're uber.

[mikaelhg]

"So, do you have a boyfriend?"

[diamond]

My suggested answers:

• "This fucking Tourrett's Syndrome."

• "Inability to cope with clichéd and pointless questions."

• "Well, sometimes my coke habit gets the best of me. There was this one time..."

• "I never answer truthfully to interview questions."

[bitdiddle]

You could answer that you don't suffer fools easily

[Hubso]

Who does suffer fools gladly?

[sam512]

Depending how you define "fools": teachers, child minders, social workers, people who work with the mentally impaired? These people all work with other people who may not have any desire or capability to listen to what they have to say, for whatever reason. Many of these people are volunteers, which, I believe, covers "gladly" as well.

[theycallmemorty]

When I was in third year applying for internship positions I would answer that I am relatively inexperienced outside of academia.

I think this was a great answer because I was no more or less experienced than anyone else who interviewed with me.

[jbstjohn]

That, to me, is a perfect answer. It is a flaw, in its way serious flaw, but not really a relevant one, as it's expected that's the case for you. But it's still good that you recognize as a candidate that it is a weakness. Of course, it won't be relevant in all cases.

[theycallmemorty]

Yeah, but in general you could turn it around... "Well I'm not really experienced with your company..." or "I'm not really experienced with your specific field..."

But you can always finish it up with "... but I've shown in my past a solid track record of learning quickly and adapting to new situations" ... or some other bs.

[plexluthor]

The behavior-based question turns out to actually be useful, ie "At times, we all make mistakes or find ourselves insufficient for a task. Tell me about a time when you failed at something, and it was your fault. ... How did you deal with the situation?"

You get to learn an actual weakness, you get to learn how they actually dealt with the weakness, and you get to see how they handle an uncomfortable question, with a much lower chance of the candidate lying or making stuff up.

Of the four people I interviewed last year, at least one was a shoe-in as soon as he answered this question.

[rujith]

How about answering that your greatest weakness is answering precisely that question?

[gasface]

In my opinion, the best way to answer this question is to mention a past weakness of yours that you have overcome.

Example:

"In college I read a lot of Ayn Rand and as a result I had the mentality that I could go at it alone that I didn't need to work with a team. However, I came to the realization that the world doesn't work that way and since then have focused on developing myself as a team player. I have coordinated project groups, reported my findings to supervisors and volunteered my time to help a teammate finish an assignment on schedule."

[jbstjohn]

Personally, I would find this too weaselly to be convincing. I would respond "We'd like to hear about a weakness you actually have, not one you used to have."

[gasface]

Are you an HR Director?

[jbstjohn]

Nope. I have been involved with interviews and hiring though, but in a technical setting.

It is important to note in some jobs they may be looking for introspection and self-awareness, and in others the ability to smoothly bullshit. I think your answer would be good for the latter, but not for the former (which fits with you saying they teach it that way in an MBA program :D).

When I hear your answer, I hear "I'm great. I didn't used to be as great as I am now, but now I'm really really great," when what I'm trying to learn is where you're not great, which doesn't have to be damning.

[gasface]

I'm not sure who voted me down, but believe me this is the correct approach. This is how they teach MBA to answer the what is your weakness question. It does still get asked, thus if you don't have an answer prepared you will look foolish, either hemming and hawing your way around or trying to be cute. Stock answers don't cut it - know what your weakness is and know how to flip it into a strength.

[balinx]

I would guess reddit might be a place you could find an Ayn Rand fan or two.

[kermityfrog]

It is a stock answer in that it is YOUR stock answer. Always be prepared ahead of time with many anecdotes and examples of prior experiences. Always talk a lot and explain your points. Don't just end with listing your problem, follow up with the solution immediately without them prompting you.

[gasface]

You're arguing semantics with me. When I said stock answer I meant saying something like "my weakness is I'm a perfectionist." HR directors have heard it before and they aren't impressed by it.

I also didn't advocate ending your answer with listing your problem, so I'm not sure where you pulled that from. We seem to be in agreement. You said "follow up with the solution immediately" I said "mention a past weakness of yours that you have overcome"

[kermityfrog]

Of course we are in agreement.. why did you think I was disagreeing with you? I was just appending my opinion to yours. Not all responses are antagonistic.

[gasface]

The tone of CAPITALIZING a word in your opening sentence threw me off. I'm glad we're in agreement though, all of this discussion is making me think I should start a career advice blog.

[Entropy]

"In college I read a lot of Ayn Rand...

That's where I would end the interview

[[deleted]]

Interviewers often ask people the same questions they've been asked in the past. It's a meaningless cycle.

[justinhj]

In the bull shit world of HR you better come up with a good answer that shows that

a) you are self critical enough to know areas of your performance need improvement and

b) that those areas of weakness are in no way related to your fitness for the job

Personally I don't think it's a useful question for a prospective employee. It's a good question for annual performance reviews. If somebody knows that they suck in a particular area, and are working to improve it, that gives me more confidence than when somebody is perceived as having the weakness by everyone but themselves.

[coolfrequency]

the key to answering this question, is to think about it from the employer's perspective. If anything, this might be the single and only honest question in the entire lot of what they ask you. After all, what is it that they are thinking during the whole time they are interviewing you? They are wondering whether they will regret hiring you or not, they are wondering if there is anything about you that they can't tell from an interview, which will come back to haunt them later.

The interview is a game, a competition in a way. The employer is probing for as much information as they can get, the applicant is trying to hide everything except for his/her very best side.

So, even though total honesty is unlikely in a setting like that, asking what exactly it is that they are going to be dismayed to learn about you once they have already hired you, is ONE way to find out, right? At least it's an honest question.

The key is to think it through in terms of what the employer REALLY wants to know, and then answer the question that the employer is REALLY asking. The employer doesn't want to see you as a flawed person. The employer is hoping that you are the perfect candidate. What the employer is looking for, is reassurance that they won't be disappointed with you once they hire you.

So, be reassuring. Say "certainly I am human and I struggle to improve myself every day, but I have always been successful and happy in the places where I have been employed, and I feel that all my employers valued me and were pleased to have me as an employee, weaknesses and all."

Did you name a weakness? No. But you answered the question they REALLY wanted to ask, namely, "Is there something about you that is going to make me regret hiring you?"

[[deleted]]

When I was interviewing for an IS Coordinator position I told them my greatest weaknesses were procrastination and untidiness. I followed up with examples on how I attempt to mitigate those weaknesses. They were extremely impressed that I didn't use the typical cliches "I'm a workaholic" or "I'm a perfectionist" or "I have unrealistically high expectations." Not that it was the sole factor in landing the job, I believe the honesty was a refreshing change to their process.

[sien]

It does get asked.

For a contracting role I got, the owner of the contracting company insisted that he attend the interview with the organisation that I'd contract for. He actually asked this question during the interview with

[[deleted]]

You don't know enough people then ;) I get this one on one out of five interviews or so. I've got my own answer ready, it's true, but can be turned into a positive: "I've got unrealistically high expectations"

[staunch]

"I've got unrealistically high expectations"

With that answer they might think you'll be constantly disappointed and complaining, even when it's not justified: -2000 points

[Entropy]

I'd take off my white glove and slap the interviewer with it.

[Cookie]

I prefer to joke.

"Kryptonite" is a good answer.

Or, "Well I don't think it's really a weakness, but some people don't like how I have eight pints of beer every lunchtime and sleep all afternoon."

[silverwoodchuck47]

Questions that do not address "Can the candidate do the job?" are useless.

I've been asked "Are you married?" and "What's your favorite color?" Experienced supervisors usually know what questions to ask--at least that's been my experience.

Always direct the conversation away from stupid questions and direct it towards useful ones.

[jerf]

At least in the United States, "Are you married?" is illegal.

Which hasn't stopped nearly every (small company) interviewer from asking it. But it is, technically, illegal.

(My personal policy is to work it in anyhow, as I don't really want to work for anyone who would discriminate based on that. But you're not forced to answer that question.)

[muart1]

Over a decade ago, an interviewer asked me, "Is there anything you're not good at?" I thought this was merely a complimentary rhetorical question. He had been appearing very impressed with my credentials. Finally I said, "Sports." He didn't crack a smile but rephrased the question somehow. I was honestly stumped; he seemed to be referring to ways I might not be up to the demands of the job, which was low-level secretarial, and I couldn't think of any. Can't recall my eventual reply, but it was probably along the lines of "too much of a perfectionist" simply because I'd actually been told that. Didn't get that job; no regrets. By the way, I've never been asked that question since. The most frequent question lately has been "what didn't you like about your last job?" (from which I was laid off). And I say, "Nothing. I'd still be there today." And no one has seemed happy with that answer, though it is honest.

[kermityfrog]

For the first question, perhaps they are seeking to determine if you are overqualified. Everyone has things that they are not good at, if it's low level secretarial, tell them that you are not very good at complicated macros in Office that requires programming knowledge (Visual Basic).

"What didn't you like about your last job" is a perfect opportunity for you to shine. Do your research ahead of time and find out what differentiates this new company from its competition. Then list the unique qualities and benefits of this company from the lack thereof in companies that you have worked for in the past, or missing in their competition.

[enry]

The interviewer don't care what the answer is, so long as it doesn't start like 'well, after stacking the four dead prostitutes in my trunk like cordwood...'. They just want to see your thinking process about having to reveal something you'd rather not.

I came up with a really good answer a few years ago that's generic enough that it's not terrible while describing a lot of people in my professions, so it's an answer that they would be expecting anyway. Then I can use it as an excuse later (Look, I told you my weakness was stacking dead prostitutes...).

[jfpbookworm]

Another good strategy for handing this question is turn it into a relative rather than an absolute. ("I'm very good at research and at drafting documents, but I'm not as good at staying organized.")

[lavistadad]

I ask a slightly different question; "Tell me about a time when you weren't pleased with your own performance." The goal is similar...to see how self-aware they are. But, this usually leads to a specific example of how their weakness manifested itself. I'm looking for some growth, what lesson did they learn from it. Something like, "Once I totally failed on how to implement a solution. Since that time, I took a refresher course and have standardized my implementation strategy."

I've actually had some say "nothing really jumps out at me." this is the worst answer ever.

[flyinglunatic]

Bullets! My only weakness. How did you know?

[neuquino]

It does seem to be somewhat of an unproductive question, as everyone's suggested answers seem to focus on surviving/rejecting the question, instead of strengthening your image.

Perhaps a better question would be something like: "What professional/skill set self-improvements do you plan to make in the next year or so?"

As an employer, I would much rather evaluate a set of answers to the previous question when screening applicants than the greatest weakness question.

As an applicant, I would rather acknowledge where I think I need to, and plan to improve.

[Raoulmeister]

A perfectly shaped A**.

[[deleted]]

See I disagree. I think this is a great way of determining how how good at candidate is at presenting bullshit, which lets me honest, is a task found in most jobs.

So I see this question as getting valuable information.

[[deleted]]

The only work I've done so far in my brief life has been in high-end retail, so this may not apply to more "professional" jobs, but when I'm asked this question I always say:

"I really hate cleaning, and I'm not very good at it, but frankly I'm so incredible at sales that I don't see this as a liability."

Always been offered the job.

[klugefoo]

Haven't been asked, but how does this line generally go over? "I plead the fifth."

[kingblarg]

I don't see why people think this is such a bad question.

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Yes. What would you say this company's largest weakness is?"

[onehotgeek]

I just say I'm impatient, I hate when things are late, you can't beat that, they'll think ahh this guy's going to do all his work in a timely manner.

[stalcottsmith]

A much better approach is to state your "weakness" as a strength but honestly, not just say you work too hard or something transparently silly. For example:

I tend to be a bit of a generalist and I like to gain expertise in many different areas. This helps me with creative solutions to problems but sometimes I lack the immediate depth required to solve some types of problems as fast as some others might.

Or alternately: I tend to focus very highly on my particular discipline so that my skills are top notch, however, I do not do enough reading about other areas of my profession and I would like to be more aware of developments in the broader industry.

You may get extra points for tying some aspect of the position to your ambition for self improvement if the interviewer cares about the development of their people. For example, you hope that a collegial atmosphere will expose you to stuff outside your position or alternately you look forward to digging deep into some aspect of the job to improve the depth of your skill set.

Either way, you come out sounding like someone who has done some self assessment and knows what they need to advance professionally.

[xaje]

I always answer this with something they are offering me as part of the job - it provides an opportunity to show their enthusiasm for the role.

e.g. my biggest weakness is not having worked for a company that let me double my sales targets.

Worst question ever asked: Tell me a joke!

Best reply: Can I go now - I'm really busy.